Don't discount education

<Deal Nowp> I agree with Diana Smith ("Career choice isn't singular," March 4) that finding a perpetual, realistic, single life path may be unattractive. It is also very unlikely today. Not having one is exciting. So is leaping from Mount Rainier in a whiteout without survival gear.

I grew up in the 1950s, when everybody seemingly had a job, and I was surely going to get one no matter what. Fortunately, I had a solid K-12 education that was my foundation for state college, graduate school and employment. My job quest with all of this preparation involved moving from coast to coast and north to south. I also got advanced training along the way.

Smith makes no acknowledgment that education plays any part in her awareness plan. I hope that she has acquired the intellectual skills to cope with the ever-changing employment landscape she is facing.

Actor Jamie Foxx said his grandmother told him to get his "tools for life" the day he went to kindergarten. This insightful and profound message propelled him to stardom. Students and parents need to demand that they get their tools from K-12 education. Otherwise, they may face an exciting life of unemployed awareness.

David Webb