Ten years ago, I had the privilege of standing before this Economic Club of Detroit.  At that time, I was relatively new as the Roman Catholic Archbishop for the 1.5 million Catholics of these six counties of southeastern Michigan.  On that occasion, I spoke about my hopes and dreams for rebuilding our city and the wider metro area by means of shared partnerships between business, government, and religious groups.  In broad strokes, I also articulated my hope and dream for some type of shared partnership in the education of our youth.

One or two small paragraphs out of a rather lengthy address became the catalyst for an exciting adventure now eight years old, the Cornerstone Schools.  Thanks to the immediate, generous, and wholehearted response from a number of religious and business leaders, a germ of an idea soon blossomed into four schools currently enrolling 650 students in the neighborhoods of our city.  In fact, many of the pioneers of Cornerstone Schools are with us here today – students, staff, benefactors, and organizers alike.

Also present among us are young men from Loyola High School, an urban-missioned, academy—high school co-sponsored by the Archdiocese and the Jesuits since 1992.  These young men embody yet another example of a partnership created in the wake of my Economic Club address of 1990.  In the mind of God and in the hearts of many of us abide hopes and dreams for still further new educational possibilities for all our youth.

 As I was preparing for this year's address – exactly a decade later – I was conscious of the fact that our first Cornerstone students are now reaching midpoint of their high school career; college and full-time employment in the world of commerce and the professions loom on the near horizon.  What is the next step we need to take on behalf of these young people and all of our youth?  As I told a gathering of Catholic business leaders a month ago at our annual Commerce Mass, we are all the beneficiaries of schools that produce good citizens, well-educated students and capably-trained workers.

There are many ways to interpret our recent election with regard to the educational needs of our youth.  Over three million Michigan voters weighed in on questions about the future of education in our state.  Despite diverse viewpoints in trying to interpret the results, undoubtedly, we would all agree there is no consensus on how to best achieve quality education for all.
 Even now, two weeks after the election, I am troubled by numbers that are not in dispute:

• There remain 2-hundred-thousand Michigan children in school districts that do not graduate over one-third of their students.
• As recently as 2-months ago, the Detroit Public Schools reported 12,000 "no-shows."
• There are six thousand homeless young people in the City of Detroit between the ages of 18-to-21, the vast majority of whom are high school dropouts.
• Two-thirds of Michigan's Charter schools have long waiting lists. And, the premier magnet schools in Detroit– such as Cass Tech and Renaissance – are filled to capacity.
• Only 12-hundred of Detroit's students (less than 2-percent of total enrollment) have been welcomed into the called the "Schools of Choice" program, which permits them to enroll in suburban schools outside their district.

I share these numbers with you because I believe that every issue we face – as business leaders or homeowners, as members of the clergy or as government workers, can somehow trace its roots back to questions of educational opportunity.   Whether we are in the public or private sector, we are stake-holders in addressing these sobering realities. 

In his special address on education two-years ago… Mayor Archer put it this way… these are his words:  "At stake is the very future of our great city.  The simple fact of the matter is— if we don't prepare our children for the 21st Century now— we won't have much of a city for them to live in." 

Strong words from the mayor, but they needed to be said. And as I stand here in the 11th month of the 21st Century… let me put it this way:  For the sake of our society, our economy, our community… we need to approach this challenge with creative strategies, honest assessments, open minds and open hearts.

Our Catholic tradition and heritage can offer some valuable insights for the ongoing public debate on educational alternatives.  We understand education as more than just acquiring intellectual information.  We typically prefer to use another term – "formation" – that is the handing on of the values of personal responsibility, self-discipline, and a willingness to work together with others for the common good by sharing of our gifts and resources.  So much of the formation process happens indirectly and has to do with the way that we shape the many extracurricular activities that are necessary components of the educational process.

Cornerstone Schools have been successful in large part because of their sensitivity to things that go beyond the normal academic curriculum.  Consider, for example, their commitment to partnerships.  Many in today's gathering are partners with particular students whom they support financially and with whom they meet personally on a quarterly basis.

Our Catholic heritage also underscores a second message that directly applies to our current debate – that is, the primary responsibility of parents— and care-givers— for the education and formation of their children.  Again, we see this principle of parental involvement enshrined in the Cornerstone Schools.  In the Cornerstone model, parental involvement is not an option; it is an absolute requirement and parents participate in the learning process with their children.

Among other things, we learn from Cornerstone Schools the same message we will be celebrating on Thanksgiving – that is, the importance of inter-generational sharing.  Many families will bring together grandparents and even great-grandparents, along with the very newest members of the family.  Memories and stories of days gone by will be shared.  Something powerful will happen as the youngest members of the clan will invariably ask impertinent questions or get everyone laughing with their antics.  These thoughts bring me to some images I would like to present today.

I entitled my address "Hands Across the Ages ... "  In so doing, I had several images in mind.  One of them is adults walking hand in hand with a young child – whether in a Communion line at church, at a gathering for Cornerstone Schools, or even on the way into Cobo Hall today.  The strong and steady hand of an adult grasps the fragile, restless, and tiny fingers of the child, providing protection and guidance, showing the way.

Another image involves hands reaching out beyond generational lines, extending ourselves across the economic, geographic, and demographic lines that criss-cross our metropolitan area; very simply and concretely, I think of the two joined hands which are the logo of Focus: HOPE.

As I noted earlier, from my perspective, every issue facing this community has some relationship to education.  With few exceptions, just about every "success story" involves a partnership, a hand reaching across and reaching out – to another citizen in need.  This process happens for both the young and the old.  Within a very short span of time, the tiny hands of the child become the strong and guiding hands of a "coach," teacher or therapist guiding the feeble, elderly parent.  What transpires between the transformation from school child to senior citizen brings us back to education, to formation.

Formation can be impacted in any number of ways, for example, pre-school and after-school programs and through tutoring and mentoring; these are the building blocks of "community."   This is something that goes beyond the purview of our legislators or educators:  it begins in the home; it is carried out in the work place; and it manifests itself everywhere in our willingness to learn and listen to other viewpoints and experiences.

As we reach our "Hands Across the Ages …," we need to consider to whom and with whom we are extending ourselves.  As we consider the many, many relevant factors and influences which impact the education and formation of today's youth, I would like to outline a challenge for all of us:  What if – for the next two years – we began every meeting – whether in a business setting, a government hearing, a corporate board room, or a church youth gathering – with an open and creative discussion regarding ways to strengthen the education and formation of our youth?  I lay this challenge especially before my own staff and those who administer our 166 Catholic schools – whether in the city, suburbs, or rural areas of these six counties.

What kind of dialogue do I mean?  What kind of discussion do I envision?  I suggest that we need to be genuinely open to all options and all voices and try to get everyone to sit down at the same table.  For example, I applaud the efforts happening right now to bring together supporters of Proposal 1 and people from the MEA and teachers' unions.  Representatives from school boards in Detroit and Inkster should be there, too. We all care about our young people.  We all want what will be best for them.  We all worry about the same things:  the risk of violence on the way to and from school; children who have no caring adult present on a regular basis; the need for a healthy, safe and supportive learning environment; and a balanced "hidden curriculum" of self-discipline, personal responsibility and commitment for the common good.

How might such a dialogue take place?  It can only happen to the extent that no one thinks or acts from the side of power or strength; in a genuine partnership, all sides must be treated with equal respect.  All voices must be given equal time and opportunity to express themselves.

For too long, many of us have been providers and not necessarily people who seek to journey with the other.  As you know, it is one thing to do things for someone else and it is quite another thing to do something with someone else.  The latter approach takes more time and patience but is ultimately much more effective.   I look around and see many people in this room who have "partnered" with students at schools like Cornerstone and Loyola … or through the "Detroit Compact."   Better than I, you can describe the dividends from your "investment."  As we leave here today, I invite you to make a special effort to share your stories with your co-workers and your neighbors… and to continue to do so. 
I also invite all of us to consider that our "Hands Across the Ages" can reach forward… and sometimes, even into the past.  Our ideas and imagination should not be restricted to coming up with the "newest best thing."  This is where we need to listen to the wisdom of our "elders" while, at the same time, engaging our young people. 

Together, we will be able to find new ways to foster inter-generational sharing in the educational and formational process.  Such things are already happening in many ways as senior citizens give their time and energy to tutoring students on the elementary level.  By word and example, coaches teach students athletic skills, sportsmanlike conduct, and the value of teamwork.   As exemplified in the exquisite story Mr. Holland's Opus, music teachers, dance instructors, and drama professors also are touched and changed in and through the friendships that are formed by hours of intense shared study and just plain "being together."    That same principle is often applied in our… your…. work-places… when businesses provide invaluable experience to students through internships and on-site vocational training.

These activities – whether volunteer or paid – are powerful mentoring moments and almost always have a lasting impact.  They are times and settings of genuine giving and receiving.  They complement well the testing and evaluation which are necessary and unavoidable parts of instruction.  Mentors are necessary for students of every age.  We all have something to give and we all need to receive.

Tom Brokaw has spoken of our current senior citizens as "the greatest generation" of Americans.  Why?  Part of the answer is to be found in their unselfish commitment to their children and grandchildren, and all children everywhere.  With generous magnanimity, they have always been "ready and willing" to step up to the plate and fill any vacuum created by absent parents.  They see the "big picture."  They take the "long view."  Speaking to and about this same generation, Our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, has described them as "guardians of shared memory."

On a personal note, I would add that our Holy Father very powerfully, yet simply, embodies exactly the kind of gentle strength our world needs today.  Back in August, the Wall Street Journal raised the question:  How and why does a frail 80-year-old man draw such an enthusiastic response from two million youth gathered from all around the world in the intense heat of a Roman summer?  The answer rests, in part, in the Holy Father's example of steadfast fidelity, openness to listen, and genuine love and respect for young people.  They are drawn to him because he treats them like peers, genuine partners.  And, he is drawn to them because he sees their deep desires, their hunger and thirst for truth, love, acceptance, freedom, and meaning.

Whether in urban, suburban, or rural areas, all our young people need experiences of continuity and acceptance which can often be best provided by supportive elders – be they blood relatives or generous good-hearted people who want to give of their time by being with and for young people.   Truth is … it's not always easy to nurture a young person in "personal responsibility" … "self-discipline" … and "concern for the common good"… but it's always, always worth the effort!

We need shared wisdom, the exchange of giving and receiving.  We need ten thousand tutors and mentors to make our public schools all the more viable, to ensure that charter schools and Catholic schools stay true to their specific missions.  As the great contemplative Thomas Merton once put it, in the end it is not the tasks that are important, but the relationships.  The work comes and goes, but the relationships endure.

I hope that some of my ideas about formation and inter-generational sharing in the education process will spark some creative local responses by those gathered here or those who will read these remarks.  Cornerstone Schools and Loyola Academy were surprising developments within the last decade; what happens in the next ten years rests in large part in the hands of the people gathered in this room.  What we say or do not say, how and where we invest personal or corporate resources, policies we create in our businesses and/or professional settings:  all these things will shape the "hidden curriculum" of the formation of young people.  It is my hope and prayer that together – hand-in-hand – we can form new relationships on every level as we continue to partner with youth— and for youth— to look for realistic new strategies to improve all aspects of education and formation. 

Life is a process of learning and unlearning, or relearning.  The gifts and needs of others constantly call forth from us untapped or hidden resources.  Inter-generational sharing and joining hands across all boundaries will make all of our schools not simply places of education but, also, settings of formation.  We all need to keep asking these questions:   what kind of education and formation do we want for our youth?  What kind of education and formation do they really want?  Out of such a genuine dialogue between individuals of all ages and groups of all backgrounds, new ideas will come to light and Detroit will experience a true Renaissance in education.

We are about to celebrate our 300th birthday as a city and metropolitan area, and the presence of the Church in the area.  The many events of the coming millennial year will provide unique opportunities for sharing and celebrating what we have received and what we need to give.  In that dynamic process, I pray that we will use these historic moments to take a new look at how we can join hands across the ages.

I close by making my own the powerful vision and dream of the Jewish prophet Joel.  Although his words are now almost 2,500 years old, they still retain their original urgency and hope, and offer my own deepest prayer for our city and its future:  "I will pour out my spirit on all mankind.  Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions; even upon the servants and the handmaids, in those days, I will pour out my spirit." 

Together – hand in hand – let us dream dreams and see visions and let us make our city and metro area a fountain of youth 300 years young!