Current Events
Jacob Nord
March 2, 2009
Obama’s Remarks on Education receive Mixed Reviews
12:53
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/on-education/2009/02/26/obamas-remarks-on-education-get-mixed-reviews.html
In one of Obama’s most recent speeches, Obama told congress that he wants by the year 2020 America to have the largest number of college graduates in the world, thus making us the most educated population among the nations of the world. Obama also stated that federal support would help ease the financial burden among college students and preschoolers helping them attain their educational goals. He also wishes to see good teacher performance rewarded and the number of charter schools to expand.
While I am pleased to hear that we finally have a President in office that is willing to make a call for more people to attend an institution of higher learning, I fear that this will only perpetuate the problem of credential inflation and increase the stranglehold on the American public. I am convinced now that the best way to transform our population into an educated population is not to deregulate schools like Obama wishes to, but to accelerate the learning and improve the quality of learning in primary and secondary schools. There needs to be more funding for accelerated programs and public schools as well as making sure to accommodate students with learning disabilities. While higher education is an important part of our countries well being, it is more important for us to improve early education and to teach the right kind of skills, such as encouragement of philosophical thinking and independent learning.
3 comments:
In my opinion it is a great progress that Obama wants to improve the US education system. ALthought there is a big number of serious problems in America that need to be solved, such as the trumbling economy, the other problems should not be overseen. Children are the future, therefore one cannot put to much effort to improve the education system and provide them the chance to make the world a bit better ;-)
I don't know what to think about this one. I'm glad you posted it though. And I agree with you on the credetual inflation. I wonder if he wants to improve schools because they need it, or because he wants to paint a pretty picture of the U.S to the rest of the world. Sure we can have the most graduates and the best grades on all the tests, but if we also have the highest unemployment, the highest crime, the high anything-that-can't-be-good, then the education really doesn't do any good.
I think that this is a good move. While times are tough now, there should be a continued push to get more Americans educated better. A better education can also often mean more job opportunities in a wider selection of fields. I think increasing education levels goes hand in hand with economic growth.
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