On Dec. 10th, 1948, the United Nations passed the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights as the foundation of freedom, justice and world peace. Article 26 states that education is a fundamental human right that promotes freedom and empowerment and is essential to the exercise of all other human rights. Unfortunately, millions of children and adults remain without access to educational opportunities often a result of poverty.
Our community is not immune. In La Plata County, 20 percent of adults eighteen years of age and older need either a high school equivalency diploma or English as a second language training to succeed. Their life circumstances – ranging from a need to help support their family, illness, homelessness, drug and alcohol or other issues – prevented them from finishing high school.
The state of Colorado does not provide direct support for adult education, but it should. Adult education can transform lives and budgets for individuals, families and for state and federal governments. High school graduates increase their earning potential by approximately $375,000 throughout their working lives. Increased incomes result in higher state and federal tax revenues, lower unemployment, less incarceration, and less dependence on and lower costs for health and social service programs.
Last week, Durango celebrated the accomplishments of 20 Durango Adult Education Center students who achieved a high school equivalency diploma. It is an important and exciting first step for these graduates, and an achievement not to be understated; many had different starting lines and took difficult paths to get there.
Not all of the education center’s G.E.D. students are low-income, but the majority are. Knowing a diploma opens up other educational and career opportunities for the rest of their lives, they succeed with the help of organizations such as the Durango Adult Education Center, Women’s Resource Center and Colorado Workforce Center paying student tuition, child care or transportation costs, and more recently helping to provide stable housing solutions.
As the proverb goes, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Congratulations graduates. Your future is bright.
