Read the following passage with ten blanks. Select one word for each blank from the box below. You may not use any of the words more than once. initially, qualify, eventually, additional, critically, varying, desirable, currently, urgent, predicts Some of those who say they aren't planning to go to college consider the new rules an unfair burden. At a student assembly, Mcfarlane heard cries of "Why us? "when she announced the changes. Her response: "Because it's the right thing to do. "Renee Bojanowski is a college bound junior and honors student at Roosevelt. She says the grousing(e%)notwithstanding, the need for a new attitude is beginning to sink in among members of the student body. When a university admissions director met with seniors recently and told them that they will 1) ____need more than a diploma to 2)____for the vast majority of 3)___jobs, and showed them wage-rate charts, she reports, "it woke a lot of people up because it made them see that if they don't get more education, they will earn a lot less money." For teachers whose lesson plans already are bloated with required content, it will be a challenge to cover the 4)_____academic concepts the state is mandating along with the new graduation requirements. Chemistry teacher Tim Graham 5)____the new content mandates in science and math will only exacerbate tensions between depth and breadth with which teachers must grapple. "Our state proficiency test scores show that were bringing our kids along in terms of learning to think 6)_____he says. "Were wondering if we can continue to do that while covering the broader spectrum of skills required by the new rules. "Schools could lobby the state to let them count the math and science concepts covered in such technical classes as architectural drawing which is 90% geometry, Graham contends, and metals technology which requires students to understand how 7)_____levels of carbon content change the way steel reacts to being heated and cooled, for instance, to meet the new guidelines. But that may be a long shot because 8)______many vocational-technical teachers aren't state-certified as applied math and science instructors, according to Graham. "The issue will have to be dealt with 9)______he says, "or we're going to have a hard time. "Despite such challenges, Graham agrees with his principal that the stricter mandates are appropriate. "Its going to be a fight 10)______and we might see the dropout rate climb a bit, "he predicts. "But this is about having our students ready for where they want to go in life, with the ability to work in teams, reach conclusions, make connections, think logically and solve problems, because those are the essential skills for the workplace now."