Preparing Students for Success in College: A Reflection on POV's "All the Difference"

This article is the first in a series of four blog posts featuring programs from PBS’ Spotlight Education week of educational programming. In this first installment, former PBS Digital Innovator Peter Van shares his thoughts and reactions following an advance screening of POV’s “All the Difference”. "All the Difference" <="" i="">airs tonight on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings. You can also follow the conversation on Twitter using #SpotlightEduPBS and #TeachBoldly.

Around mid-May each school year, the seniors in my classes at Lindblom Math & Science Academy in Chicago start to celebrate the end of high school. Advanced Placement exams are complete, prom and graduation are right around the corner, and the students start to talk about how they are “finished” and “done” with school. While they should rightfully revel in the accomplishment of completing high school, they are by no means finished with school or their education. Although it used to be true that a high school diploma meant a career and a place in the middle class, this is no longer the case. According to the Pew Research Center, “college graduates ages 25 to 34 working full time in 2015 earned more annually – about $20,000 more – than employed young adults holding only a high school diploma.” This gap has widened over the last twenty years and shows no signs of narrowing.

http://www.pbs.org/education/blog/preparing-students-for-success-in-college?hootPostID=83d562d6df631600ecf80cc2351514f4