PAROWAN — Gov. Spencer J. Cox visited Parowan High School on Monday morning as part of his “Connecting Utah Tour” to visit at least one school in each of Utah’s counties this year.
“Education is the key to successful futures,” Cox said to the 300-plus students gathered in the auditorium at the beginning of the school day.
“I’m hoping you all have some plans post-graduation, to do something,” he added. “Not everyone needs a bachelor’s degree, although a bachelor’s degree is awesome and will certainly help you. Everyone needs skills. And there are different ways to get those skills so that you can have a good job in the future.”
Cox also emphasized the importance of the teaching profession.
“You have great teachers here, and we need the next generation of great teachers,” he said, adding that the state has been making efforts to increase educators’ wages.
“When we passed over $750 million of new education funding this year, a significant portion of that will go directly to our teachers,” he said.
Cox also touched on the importance of water conservation.
“I’m less worried now (about water) than I was six months ago,” he said. “We’ve had record snowfall; in fact, we’re at about 300% of normal here in southwest Utah, which is awesome.
“I’m so excited about that. And I’m so grateful for the water that we have received. Now, instead of praying for snow, I pray that it melts slowly.”
After Cox’s initial 15-minute opening remarks, Parowan High student government leaders Tate McNeil, Daisy Dunlap, Jayden Griffiths, Chloe Townsend and Harrison Cheney joined the governor onstage for a question-and-answer session.
The students asked Cox how became interested in politics, what he likes about Parowan and other rural communities, how to close the gender wage gap and his ongoing efforts toward promoting kindness and civility.
“I’m here to assure you that the world will reward you for your kindness and your goodness,” Cox told the students. “I see it all the time. Yes, sometimes the bad guys finish first, right? But mostly, over time, the good guys … actually do better in this life.”
The governor also shared with the students four keys to happiness: faith, family, friendship and work.
Cox then asked the students a few questions of his own, the last of which was for them to use one word to describe the United States right now.
Dunlap, the fifth and final student to respond, said, “I don’t know if this is a word, but ‘un-united’?”
Cox then noted that the most common word that most Americans use to describe the country right now is “divided.”
“We almost got it,” he said. “‘Un-united’ was very close.”
Other answers commonly given by respondents include “disconnected,” “intolerant’ and “weak,” he added.
Additionally, Cox said that when people were asked to use a word to describe their feelings about the nation, “Frustrated was the most common, followed by disappointed, exhausted, disgusted and angry.”
But Cox then offered a few suggestions for possible solutions.
“I don’t want to end on a negative,” he said. “I want to end up positive because what Chloe mentioned is absolutely right. We’re not talking to each other anymore. In fact, we’re doing the exact opposite. We’re just screaming at each other, right? And social media has exacerbated that.”
Cox said that a large part of the problem is that in today’s social media culture, “the loudest, the craziest, the farthest left and the farthest right voices are getting the most attention, right?”
However, he noted, “It turns out that 80% of us actually kind of agree on most things, with a little bit of emphasis one way or another.”
Cox encouraged those in the audience to take time to listen, communicate and spend time with people with different points of view. Doing so, he said, helps people solve problems better by working together.
“Don’t listen to debate, listen to understand,” he said. “What happens when we do this, it’s really magical, we can actually find common ground.”
Cox also noted that approximately 90% of the 575 bills passed by the 2023 Utah Legislature were done so either unanimously or almost unanimously. But those generally don’t attract much attention, he said.
“All you hear about are the 10 (percent of the time) when they really disagree,” he said.
Cox then encouraged the students to resist the urge to tear other people down, especially online.
“I hope you’ll join me today in being better,” he said. “Join me in treating other people with respect, especially if they disagree with you. And going one step further, there’s power in proximity, getting close to someone who is different than us.”
“Let’s get off the social media, have face-to-face interaction, and work to be builders,” Cox said as he concluded his remarks.
Principal Bailey then showed a brief slide show that featured a selection of photos from Cox’s own high school days, which were taken from one of Bailey’s old yearbooks (both Bailey and Cox are graduates of North Sanpete High, with Bailey being two years younger than the governor).
Cox also congratulated the Parowan boys basketball and girls volleyball teams for their recent state championships and joined with the crowd as they loudly clapped and sang the school’s fight song.
In addition to the Parowan High School student body, the assembly was attended by Iron County School District officials, teachers and staff, civic and community leaders and local law enforcement officers. The respective student government officers from Cedar High and Canyon View High also attended, with the students going up onstage afterward to greet the governor and pose for group photos.
Cox said afterward that his favorite part of the tour is interacting with the students.
“That’s one of the reasons we do this,” he said. “It’s my favorite part of these tours, sitting on stage, asking them questions, them asking me questions, really listening. We’re taking notes and learning from them. And I’m hoping that doing more of this will help them feel more connected, and that they are being heard and that we really are listening.”
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