If you graduated from high school in the 1960s you more than likely had an opportunity to go to college. Those who chose that path felt prepared. Confident. Those who did not had other opportunities — working for the local phone company or a utility company. Or working at the plant, where Dad, and his father before him, labored. Some entered apprentice programs to become electricians, plumbers, steelworkers or painters. Others chose careers as firemen, policemen, secretaries.

Everyone worked who wanted to work. Or so it seemed. Health insurance and retirement pensions were the norm. Life was good.

We were encouraged by parents to have a better life than they did. Can we do the same for our children? Unless changes in our educational system are made, the answer is no.

The United States is an $11 trillion economy that leads the world in technology, research and innovation. In literacy and science however we trail at least a dozen other developed countries.

In eastern North Carolina the problem is acute. In the 2005-2006 school years the North Carolina State Board of Education and the Department of Public Instruction developed "High School Turnaround." This program was designed to address the special needs of high schools that are identified as low-performing because of the large number of students performing below proficient, or that have a history of below-average performance. Of the 35 schools identified, 15 were in the eastern part of the state. This included schools in Bertie, Columbus, Cumberland, Duplin, Halifax, Weldon City, Harnett, Hertford, Hoke, Northampton, Washington and Wayne counties.

In 2006-07, 52 additional high schools were identified as "Turnaround Assessment Schools." Twenty-three of these schools were in Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Edgecombe, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Nash, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Robeson, Sampson and Wilson counties.

The Rev. William Barber, president of the North Carolina Chapter of the NAACP, said politicians talk about school reform but don't necessarily act. The poorest schools turn out the poorest students, with test scores running 20 percent below the state average. We have the expertise, technology and money, Barber said, but do we have the will to make changes?

State Superior Court Judge Howard Manning agrees the problem isn't money. He blames administrators. Good principals attract and maintain good teachers. "We have a 32 percent dropout rate, led by minority and low-income students," he said. "Throwing away this part of the population contributes vastly to the crisis evidenced in our courts every day. The economic and social consequences are horrendous."

When three out of 10 students in the United States today need remedial courses to enter college, something isn't working. And two-thirds of those students drop out before graduating.

There are other options to public education: charter schools, religious schools, and in some states, vouchers. The National Education Association is opposed to charter schools. So is the North Carolina Association of Educators. The NEA also opposes vouchers, tuition tax credits, parental choice programs and making English the country's official language.

In fact, any option for educating children outside the public school system appears to meet with opposition. Teacher unions represent a strong voting block, aligning themselves with the Democratic Party, which seems to endorse their every whim. Chances of real change coming anytime soon, given the status quo, seem remote. Compounding the problem, the NEA is opposed to the testing of teachers as a criterion for job retention, promotion, tenure, or salary.

Schools need to better nurture students and create stimulating environments where boredom becomes passé and standards once again rigorous. And recognizing that students must be prepared to work in a global economy, curricula need to be developed to challenge the human mind and spirit. Yes, it's still reading, writing and arithmetic. But it's geared to the new millennium.

The breakdown of the family unit also contributes to the problem. Parents must shoulder their share of the responsibility. Teachers are only as good as the children we send them.

Not all schools are failing, of course. There are gifted teachers, but many of them are frustrated. They are the ones that realize that education is the engine that creates opportunity. Other teachers — who simply show up and collect a paycheck — would be better served in some other vocation. So would their students.

Change is needed. We have 20th century schools trying to prepare children for the 21st century. When we allow our schools to fail, our communities, state and nation fail as well.

Bob Steinburg, a resident of Edenton, is chairman of the Chowan County Republican Party