The value of education in our country is sickening. I recently had a couple debates with friends and family members about this topic and thought I'd share my thoughts.
Our country was based on the fact that you can reach your dreams by being an American citizen. A free, unsuppressed, educated person that can do anything you put your mind to. Well our government has let us down on a number of things in my life time.... education being at the top of the list. Why are we one of the wealthiest countries in the world, yet one of the only to have to pay for education? Money, land, health and businesses are all things that can be taken away from you in the blink of an eye...... But no one can ever take away your education. Yet when we look at the priorities of our government, spending and implementation, how are they listed?...
1.Health care
2.Economy
3.War
We bailed out thousands of businesses with billions of dollars, we spend millions of dollars a DAY on a war, and we spend countless hours trying to put the pieces of our crumbling economy back together..... Whats missing on that list? Has anyone heard one word about the education crisis in our country? Because don't get it twisted, we have an education crisis.
Our kids are being dumbed down in an attempt to teach them things to past a standardized tests (i.e. FCAT) so that the schools don't miss out on federal funding. What about practical skills? Life skills? Why is teaching kids Algebra or Chemistry more important than teaching how to balance a check book or why eating fruits and vegetables are better than eating a BigMac? A lot of the problems in our country are a direct cause of this very issue..... If people were educated on credit, compound interest and how money works, then they would have known they can't afford a $250k house with an ARM at 5 1/2% with $0 down when they make $35k a year. If young people were educated on synthetic food, calorie intake and what sugar does to your body, then we wouldn't have an obesity epidemic on our hands that kills over 400,000 people a year... second only to smoking!
Why does every country in the world have free education except America? Why doesn't our country mandate more vocational schools along with public schools? All people aren't meant to go to college, I get that...the world needs ditch diggers. But I firmly believe that if a person has the drive and dedication to better their life, the last thing that should stop them is money. If you don't want to go to college and you want to be a mechanic or carpenter, great... we need plumbers too. You should have the option to go to vocational school and learn that trade instead of cramming chemistry down your throat..... But again, if you want to be a Doctor or Lawyer or own your own business.... you should be able to attain your goals and not have to worry about learning how to pass a test in the 4th, 7th and 10th grade so your school can receive money. You should be learning Anatomy, History and Economics.... things that will prepare you for college. Why do other countries make it mandatory to learn a second, third or fourth language, but not America? Did the people in the education system not believe the many, MANY studies on learning secondary languages in early education forces you to use other parts in your brain and actually make you smarter? I guess so, because I took my 2 years of spanglish and got a diploma like everyone else I know.
If we don't make a drastic change in our education system our kids will end up fat, broke drones that work in factories building other countries products because our labor is cheaper than labor in their own country.
