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According to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, the median price of a U.S. home is $225,000. The annual salary to qualify with 10 percent down payment is $71,000.
This hurdle is compounded when you look at wage trend over the past few years. Earnings for workers with four-year degrees fell 5.2 percent from 2000 to 2004 when adjusted for inflation (Report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Work Force, Tough Choices, Tough Times.) In fact, since 1990, only those workers with a bachelor’s and graduate degrees have seen a significant increase in their real wages. The gap between the have’s (those with graduate degrees) and have not’s (high school drop-outs) since 1976 for wage earners nearly has doubled.
We can talk about the value added to our communities, our state, and our nation relative to a well-educated, highly trained work force. We can talk about the global marketplace and competition. We can talk about democracy and freedom and America’s role in the world. All are important considerations, but when you remove all of that window dressing, it really comes down to the quality of life for our children and our grandchildren. It’s that simple.
“For the past 25 years, we have optimized our organizations for efficiency and quality. Over the next quarter century, we must optimize our society for innovation.” (National Innovation Initiative, Council on Competitiveness, Final Report, December 2004). Creative people often thrive in chaos, are constant learners, value excellence and prefer to be in stimulating and engaging environments. This is true in the workplace and in schools. Creativity, innovation, and flexibility will not be the special province of an elite. It will be demanded of virtually everyone who hopes to make a decent wage in the creative economy.
Schools and what happens in them are vital to our children’s future success. We must design schools that will prepare our young people to thrive in the 21st century, mastering rigorous literacy, math and science standards and the ability to think critically, creatively and respond to new challenges with agility. Those are the keys that will unlock doors for our young people. We simply need to pause long enough to listen and observe—child’s play. 
Dr. Steven Webb is deputy superintendent of Vancouver Public Schools.
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