Former Coach Tim Walz gave the Democratic Convention a pep talk. How did he introduce himself? I'm Steve Innscape with Leyla Faddle, and this is Up First from NPR News. In a brief campaign, Vice President Harris brought her party new energy and money and a clear lead in polling averages. Tonight, she addresses the convention and the country. So how does she describe what she would do if elected?
And a new survey of Gen Z finds that lots of teens don't feel challenged and don't think they're being prepared for the future. The big gap and optimism between kids planning to go to college and those who are not. Stay with us, we'll give you the news you need to start your day. This message comes from NPR sponsor, Lands End Outfitters. You've worked hard to build your brand. So why settle for one size fits all clothing? Lands End Outfitters creates a peril, your employees truly want to wear.
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Well, his speech was part rally and cry for Vice President Harris and part introduction. He's an Army National Guard veteran, turned teacher and high school football coach, turned politician, but the coach role is the one he leaned into. You know, as he spoke, the crowd chanted and held up signs that said, Coach Walls. He also ticked through many of the same issues that we hear Harris talk about, but he added his own midwestern flair.
In Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and the personal choices they make. And even if we wouldn't make those same choices for ourselves, we've got a golden rule, mind your own damn business. And there he's talking about protecting reproductive rights, a major issue for Democratic voters. Yeah, and we heard a lot about neighborliness last night. Now, before he was governor, Walls was a congressman. He won as a Democrat in a part of Minnesota that was deeply red, flipped a Republican seat.
What about him appeals to voters beyond the Democratic base? Well, Walls gives off a different vibe that might appeal to folks outside of Democrats orbit. You know, he's a camo wearing gun owner who's into dad rock and above all, you know, he's leaning into his midwestern roots. And that's exactly where Democrats hope he can excel, you know, in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, those blue wall states that Harris needs in order to win the White House.
And we heard some of that message in his speech. This is the part, clip and save it and send it to your undecided relatives, so they know if your middle class family or a family trying to get into the middle class, Kamala Harris is going to cut your taxes. Now, there were some heavy hitters on stage last night, former President Bill Clinton, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. There's also surprise appearance from Oprah Winfrey. What was that like? I mean, it was Oprah.
I mean, I was in the audience and the crowd went wild when she walked in. Please welcome Oprah Winfrey. In her speech, she really called for unity. When a house is on fire, we don't ask about the homeowners race or religion. We don't wonder who their partner is or how they vote it. No, we just try to do the best we can to save them. And, you know, Laila Oprah's no stranger to talking politics. She endorsed former President Barack Obama in 2007 and she kept backing Democrats since then.
And this is her first appearance at the DNC. Well, a lot of the night was about celebrating the Harris Walls ticket. It also had some really serious moments. Tell us more about that. Yeah, earlier in the evening, we heard from the parents of Hirsch Goldberg, Poland, a young American being held hostage by Hamas and Gaza. It was a really emotional moment and the crowd was noticeably moved.
But there was also controversy because leaders of the National Uncomitted Movement who have delegates at the convention had been pushing for a Palestinian-American to have a speaking spot as well to also highlight what's happening to the people in Gaza. And that request was denied. This is a group that has urged Democrats to support a ceasefire in the war and have called for a U.S. arms embargo on Israel. And this hits at a problem for Democrats.
You know, they need Arab-American Muslim and progressive voters in order to win. But these are the same voters most turned off by the U.S. policy on the war. That's NPR's Elena Moore. Thank you. Vice President Harris makes her bid to unify the Democrats' coalition tonight. She delivers her convention speech. Her short campaign has allowed Harris to reach this point while saying, much less than most candidates have about how she would govern. So where does she take the party now?
NPR White House correspondent D. Peshiverum has been covering Harris and joins us from Chicago. Hi, D. Puh. Hey, morning. So we know a little bit about her economic plans, but not much else. Will Vice President Harris lay out a vision tonight? I mean, I think the important point to make here is that this is still the Vice President, right? And she's been number two to President Biden for the last four years. So his policy agenda has been her policy agenda too.
And they've been locked up in all these major issues to selection, like border security, the economy, reproductive rights, and even foreign policy, like the war in Gaza. But what Harris now has the ability to do is she runs her own presidential campaign. I'll be at a very short one is to navigate some of this with a little more authority and to frame it the way she wants, to use the language she wants.
And Harris being a younger candidate than Biden and bringing all this energy and money that the party didn't have just two months ago. She's been able to try and frame this election as a choice about the future and what a Harris presidency could build rather than what Trump offers. She has a phrase that crowds have now been chanting at rallies and at the DNC this week in Chicago, which is, you know, we're not going back. But none of that is very specific. I mean, how come?
Yeah, just last week in a speech from North Carolina, Harris talked about her agenda on lowering costs, the cost of groceries and prescription drugs and housing, giving people who are trying to own a home credits to help them, expanding the child tax credit, helping families with newborn babies. These kinds of things are top issues for Harris. And there has been interest and questions about what Harris's foreign policy or criminal justice policy would look like.
But so far what she's put out is not like a detailed agenda that Republicans have put forward, but why hasn't she laid all that out? Well, look partly a matter of time, right? This is a very truncated presidential campaign. And we could see more policy as the weeks go on. But partly this is a strategy, Leila. I mean, according to Doug Sosnecke, he was a former advisor to former President Bill Clinton. If you're laying out too much specifics, it does give the other side something to shoot at.
And Sosnecke told me that the most successful candidates, you know, connect with voters emotionally rather than intellectually. It's more important that Harris lays out to voters who she is and the values she stands for. So these broader visions for the country that Harris has been talking about. He says makes more sense from a political strategy perspective rather than laying out policy papers. Right. Although voters may want to know exactly what her policies are.
In terms of her speech tonight, then, what are you expecting to hear from her? I mean, keep in mind this is, you know, still a presidential campaign. And Harris is very new to the country and to a lot of voters. So a lot of this is going to be biographical, explaining who she is, her story. And she'll be talking about her time as a prosecutor. The criminals she took on in California. And there's also going to be elements of patriotism here.
And of course, that contrast to Donald Trump and PR's Deepa Sherrum. Thank you. Thank you. Don't know about your household, but my kids are getting ready to return to school. And a new survey finds that many teenagers do not feel challenged in school. They worry they're not being prepared for the future. And PR's Cory Turner has been looking at the results. Cory, good morning. Good morning, Steve. Which group of kids are we talking about?
We are talking about Gen Z. So these are teens and young adults between 12 and 27. Although I am just going to focus on those who are now in middle and high school. So this survey is part of a relatively new project from Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation. And two quick disclosures here, Steve. Walton is a funder of NPR. And I have a Gen Z here in my house who I love very much. Same. So we got skin and skin. But where we go? Call it straight. Go ahead.
The big headline from me from this survey is that Gen Z teens are feeling less engaged by school. Nearly every measure of school engagement on this survey declined this year compared to last year. For example, big drop in how many students say they recently learned something interesting at school. Now obviously, kids are not always going to love school. But a 10 point drop in one year among the same kids, that's worrying.
Something happened according to this survey that makes them feel they're getting less out of the experience. What's behind that? Well, it's not entirely clear. One thing that caught my eye though is a big engagement divide between teens who say they plan to go to college and those who don't. So of those planning to go to college, which is about half of Gen Z teens, the overwhelming majority say they have a great future ahead. They're optimistic.
But more than 410 Gen Z students say they don't have college plans and they are a lot less optimistic. Now obviously there are a bunch of reasons for this gap, but it is not because you have to go to college to feel good about the future. Although there is a kind of path that feels clear to many people of going to college and getting a good job. Maybe a little less so in the other way, but what are the reasons behind the optimism gap?
Well, I think part of the problem here, Steve, is schools aren't doing a good job laying out that path. You know, the students who say they don't want to go to college say their K-12 schools aren't helping them imagine the lives they do want. For example, only about 40% of non-college-bound Gen Z years say they feel challenged in class in a good way.
There are also less likely than college-bound teens to say there's an adult at school who makes them feel excited about the future or even encourages them to pursue their dreams. Part of the problem these teens say is school staff spend a lot of time talking about college, but not alternatives. Here's Zach Kronowski. He's a senior education researcher at Gallup.
Even the kids who are like, I don't want to go to college. What are they hearing the most about college? We're not talking them about apprenticeships, internships, starting a business, entrepreneurial aspirations, jobs that don't require a college degree. Now, Steve, in school's defense, I should say this mismatch was largely born out of good intentions, wanting kids to believe college can be for anyone.
Yeah, and this is part of a big national discussion. People emphasize that your life is much better. You make more money over time if you have a college degree. But do educators need to change their message for the large number of Americans who just aren't going to go to college? I mean, I will say there has been a lot more talk in recent years about what's called career and technical education.
It was a big priority under President Trump, under President Biden. I should also say Minnesota Goethemer Tim Walls, vice president Harris' running mate. Last year, eliminated the need for a college diploma for three quarters of his state's government jobs. Still, this survey makes clear, lots of teens want to dream big just without college and schools need to do better by them. NPR education correspondent Corey Turner, thanks for the insights, Corey. You're welcome, Steve.
And good luck to the kid. And that's up first for Thursday, August 22nd. I'm Layla Falden. And I'm Steve Innscape tonight. Check out NPR's live special coverage from the Democratic Convention in Chicago. Scott Detro and the NPR politics podcast team tick off. Scott Detro. I don't know. He might tick you off. I don't know. He might tick you off. Something might tick you off in the coverage. But in any case, they are going to kick off our coverage at nine o'clock Eastern time, six o'clock Pacific.
You can watch live in the NPR app or just go to npr.org or YouTube. And you can always listen on your local NPR station. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Christian Dave Calamer, Roberta Rampton, Adriana Gayardo, Janeo Williams and Alice Wolplie. Yesterday's episode was edited by Padma Rama, who we forgot to mention, although we mentioned the others. Yeah, that's true. Today's episode was produced by Ziyad Butch, Nia Dumas and Nina Krovinsky.
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