In a Nov. 30 column in The Vicksburg Post, Charlie Mitchell stated that Mississippi “probably generates more musicians and writers per capita than any other.” He continued with a Marie Antoinette plea for letting the school systems eat cake in the form of extracurricular funding.  

Mississippi ranks last or next-to-last in virtually every measure of a productive society. The primary objective of any school system should be to ensure its graduates are either prepared to enter the work force or prepared to enter an advanced educational system.

Boosted funding for singing, dancing and other forms of in-school amusements will not alter the fact that the bulk of the Mississippi work force is so nearly illiterate and unskilled that it is virtually nonfunctional in modern society.

Certainly there are many factors beyond the educational system that contribute to the poor stature of Mississippi. However, not until the state’s politicians, educators and population recognize that not every student is an unfinished academian and restores vocational training to the secondary school curriculum will the bulk of high school graduates, and dropouts, be more than burger-flipper qualified.

Being able to play the violin, flute, guitar, piano, harp and trumpet does little good in a world that is looking for technicians and craftsmen. High self-esteem, a popular goal in modern education, is synonymous with gainful employment; this begins with a relevant education.

In pre-revolution France, upon hearing of the peasants’ bread riots Marie Antoinette said, “Let them eat cake.” Lt. Napoleon Bonaparte said, “Let them eat grapeshot” and ended the riots. Napoleon went on to become the chief architect for modern France.

Grapeshot should be applied liberally to Mississippi public education.

Jon Duke

Vicksburg