This edition is courtesy of Daryl.

Melinda Gates (wife of zillionaire Bill) was asked about the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s call for all students to go on to college:

“NPR: I just want to ask you about a statement on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Web site that I read, which is that, “All students in the United States can and must graduate from high school, and they must leave with the skills necessary for college, work, and citizenship.” I think everyone would agree that they better leave with the skills for citizenship because everyone can vote at age 18, and we urge them to. College. Can we reasonably expect 100 percent of high school students to become college students?

MG: Yes, I think we can. And, in fact, I’m here today in the Chicago school district visiting with students – huge number of Latinos and African-American populations, and guess what? I’m in schools where 95 to 98 percent of these kids are going on to college, and it’s because they started freshman year with teachers who believe in them and said, ‘These kids can do it.’ And maybe they are not coming in with the right reading or math skills, but we are going to bring them up, and we are going to have high expectations of them. And guess what? Those kids are succeeding, and those kids are getting into college.”

Question: Do you agree that college for all is a worthy goal? Why or why not? Is it even a reasonable goal for all students to be “college ready”?