By Joe Bogardus, Director of Client Service
“I never let my schooling interfere with my education.”
– Mark Twain
Like Mark Twain, I am a former resident of Elmira, NY. That is where I received much of my “schooling” and for 22 years the bulk of the “education” referenced by Twain. It was a great place to grow up. Safe. Secure. Friendly. A quality environment that shaped my value set and where I learned about life.
Community environments have a large impact on the perceived quality of life. This is a perception of many Blount County residents as well.
Last year, working with Bryant Research, we completed a research study for the Blount Education Initiative. In the study, residents were queried on the importance of living in a community where you can keep on learning to ensure your quality of life was achieved. More than 80 percent of Blount Countians thought it was very important to live in such a community.
This allegiance to learning is being engrained in Blount County’s younger generations. In corresponding surveys completed with the graduating classes at the area’s four local high schools in 2009 and 2010, the vast majority of seniors – more than 95 percent – reported that they planned on continuing their learning experience in college, the military or vocational training. Many of them plan on returning to the county after completing their “schooling.”
If this generation does return to Blount County and they perpetuate this commitment to lifelong learning, it bodes well for the long term quality of life we all enjoy here in our section of East Tennessee.
Tags: Blount County, Blount Education Initiative, Bryant Research, education, Joe Bogardus, Mark Twain
