Last week, Stephen Colbert had New York City mayor Bill de Blasio as a guest. It was a typical satirical Colbert interview which the mayor handled very well.
Mayor de Blasio wanted to get his message out. There are number of items on his agenda, including income inequality. As he pointed out, income inequality in New York is at its highest level since the 1920s.
It was his views on education that I was most interested in. He started by saying: "we can have an education system that actually prepares our young people for the future."
He followed this up by pointing out: "It is in everyone's interest - it's in those who are doing well's interest, it's in folks who are struggling's interest - to have a strong society. What does that mean? An educated society. The future of this city - the future of this county - runs through our education system."
This was not a rousing election speech or an impassioned plea before a convention. It is simply common sense as far as he is concerned. A strong education system is vital to New York City.
These sentiments could be expressed by any number of politicians in any number of cities around the world. Who knows how many are thinking it?
However, I would go one step further and be a little more inclusive than just New York City or even the United States. I would argue that the future of our society runs through our education system.
And in this case, I mean society in its broadest sense, including civil discourse, the economy, political structure, and everything that allows us to live together in relative harmony.
This is, in part, why I find the general attack on education somewhat perplexing.
Yes, no one wants to pay more taxes but paying teachers and supporting schools is critical for the future of our society.
Further, the present labour strife between B.C.'s teachers and the provincial government is about much more than wages. It is about what type of education system we will have. Class size and classroom composition are critically important issues if we are going to prepare our young people for the future.
Labour relations aside, the other side of the attack on education seems to be about educating young people, period.
For the past couple of years, our provincial government has been advertising its Jobs Plan with its familiar tag: Canada Starts Here. The central theme of these advertisements seems to be oriented to skills training and the trades.
There is nothing wrong with trades training. Far from it. If British Columbia is going to take advantage of the opportunity afforded by Northern Gateway, liquefied natural gas, and any number of mining opportunities, we are going to need highly trained, skilled tradespeople.
The government's website even highlights this demand. They estimate one million new jobs by 2022 with 78 per cent requiring some form of post-secondary education and 43 per cent being in the trades.
However the government's advertisements don't mention the other 35 per cent or 350,000 jobs openings that will require a university degree. They will require an education.
There is a persistent theme in the media that a university education is "not worth it." That student debt and the high cost of tuition mean that pursuing a university education is a losing proposition. Especially when trades training takes a much shorter period of time and the pay is so high.
I am often asked: "what good is a degree in chemistry? Or biochemistry? Or history?"
Personally, chemistry has been a terrific boon for me. I also know that many of our students have gone on to jobs with bio-energy plants, breweries, refineries, environmental consulting companies, pharmaceutical firms, and many other organizations. Some have even gone on to graduate school and obtained doctoral degrees.
The B.C. government surveys students two years after graduation from university and UNBC's chemistry students are gainfully employed.
As for biochemistry, the Northern Medical Program has accepted around 300 students over the past 10 years with about a third coming from UNBC. By a large margin, those students studied biochemistry. Indeed, UNBC biochemistry students going on to the NMP outnumber all of the other degree programs combined.
But becoming a medical doctor is not the only thing that you can do with a biochemistry degree. We have graduated close to 300 students over the same time period and 97 per cent of them are employed in a wide variety of positions.
As to history, the survey shows that 34 of 36 graduates over a three-year period were gainfully employed two years after graduation with an average salary of $50,000 per year after only two years on the job.
The future of the north runs through our education system - from kindergarten to doctoral degrees. Education is critical if we are to have a strong society.
