Teenagers at Bruce Randolph School in northeast Denver posed questions to the nation’s education secretary Tuesday that rivaled the best from the national press corps.
At the event with Arne Duncan and Sen. Michael Bennet, students asked why white, rich students get a better education than those of color; what he was doing to address the achievement gap between the races; and why teachers were not paid more money.
“Great, great questions,” Duncan said over and over to the crowd of about 200 students, government officials and Denver school administrators.
“Oftentimes, the students have the answers way before the adults have them,” Duncan explained, adding that he is considering starting a national student advisory board.
“They asked all the right questions: How can you help us? How can we go to college? How can we graduate?” said Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien. “I thought Duncan was giving them some tough answers. You hardly ever hear an adult talking to kids like that. I was jazzed.”
Sixteen-year-old Mila Stillman’s question came from her heart. She has family members and close friends who have dropped out, and she wanted to know what Duncan was doing to address the problem.
“If you drop out today, you are basically condemned to social failure,” Duncan said, bluntly. “There are no good jobs out there for students that drop out.”
He encouraged kids to watch out for their friends, help them get back on track and encourage them to stay in school.
One student asked why children of immigrants who have been raised in Colorado for most of their lives had to pay out-of-state tuition rates.
“In this country, we have to let every child — it doesn’t matter if they are documented or undocumented — live the American dream and have a chance to go to college,” Duncan said, sharing his disappointment over the recent failure of a Colorado bill that would have changed the law.
One student even asked who won when Duncan played President Barack Obama in basketball.
Duncan, deft as a former hoops pro, gracefully maneuvered around the question.
“We always have fun,” he said.
