The key to unlocking success in a future global society lies directly in the hands of today’s high school freshmen, says Bill Daggett, president of the International Center for Leadership in Education.

Daggett shared his message with the freshmen classes from Dobie, Sam Rayburn, South Houston, Pasadena and Pasadena Memorial high schools recently. The internationally-known expert in education reform has been instrumental in helping Pasadena ISD launch the Expectation Graduation initiative, which began with this year’s freshmen classes.

“The labor market you will work in someday will be a world labor market,” Daggett said. “The minimum requirements to graduate are no longer enough to survive in today’s world. You must work hard now for a better quality of life in the future.”

According to Daggett, teachers in countries such as China and India are placing a strong emphasis on math and science. “They require more education in these areas than anyone in the world,” he said. “That’s why you see these countries making a major push in the economic markets.”

Daggett explained how innovations in nano-technology and bio-technology are growing and how they will affect today’s students and their futures. He said “projection keyboards” could be unveiled in the near future, where a computer keyboard could be projected onto a tabletop. He also cited the development of new drugs that could dissolve plaque in the arteries and increase the longevity of life in Americans.

“The evolution of technology requires higher-level thinking skills,” he said. “A great deal of today’s technology is coming from overseas. It is apparent that today’s freshmen classes are headed right into that global market.”

Research from Daggett indicates that by 2010, there will be an increased demand for people to move into more “higher skill” jobs.

“More jobs will be made available to you in the future, but you must take advantage of the educational opportunities in front of you now,” he said. “Take the opportunity to expand your horizons in more challenging courses. It is imperative to your future, because you’ll need these skills in order to compete.”

In addition, Daggett said the key to future success for students includes pursuing knowledge in a chosen discipline and applying that knowledge in that chosen field and in unpredictable “real world” situations.

“Imagine the world you have in front of you,” Daggett said. “It is going to be a world that is much more fundamentally different than your parents. You face a tremendous responsibility in shaping that future.

“Pasadena has one of the best school districts in the state of Texas and is providing you with some great opportunities,” he added. “Seize these opportunities and be everything you are capable of being – and even more.”