Grammy-winning Gretchen Wilson at her GED graduation.
My what a difference a year can make, as demonstrated by country music's favorite redneck diva, Gretchen Wilson, who will testify before Congress on May 5, 2009, about the importance of education that targets adult learners.
It was only last year--specifically, during a May 15 ceremony--that Wilson, then 34, earned her General Educational Development diploma to demonstrate to daughter Grace, now a second-grader, that it was important to get a proper education--even if one already has millions in record sales and a Grammy on the mantle in the paid-for double-wide, if you will.
The Illinois-born Wilson, who now makes her home in Lebanon, Tenn., told The Tennessean newspaper last spring that she originally dropped out of school in ninth grade, because of "family problems."
However, when another of Wilson's family members began to study for the equivalency diploma after learning he was going to come up short when it came to having enough credits to graduate high school, the hit singer-songwriter opted to begin studying to take the GED, too.
“I certainly don’t want her to think you can be this successful without an education,” Wilson said at the time, referring to her only child.
In turn, in April 2008 the country star, whose first radio single, “Redneck Woman,” spent five weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and earned her a 2005 country music Grammy Award, wound up becoming not only the first in her family to get a record deal and earn platinum record sales, but also the first in her family to complete her high-school education. In the process, she eliminated herself from the ranks of Tennessee's estimated 20 percent who don't have a high-school diploma.
During her appearance before Congress, Wilson will testify in a hearing before the Subcommittee on Higher Education about her experiences in earning her GED, urging Tennessee legislators to support adult education on the state and national level.
"I truly believe that we can be better parents and better Americans if we make adult education more accessible," Wilson said.
According to a press release on the event, the hearing will discuss the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), Title II, which establishes the structure, services and size of federally funded adult education and literacy programs. Since its installment in 1998, the act has never been reauthorized and is preventing states from adapting services to community needs.
In addition to Wilson, Dollar General president and adult literacy advocate David Bere will also testify to help rally support and awareness for the cause.
Gretchen Wilson's "Here for the Party" music video.
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