In a recent speech at the Education Writers Association 60th Anniversary Celebration, Governor Schwarzenegger had a few things to say about education. In his typical style, he expressed the importance of education to the future of the United States. I’m glad that someone in government understands the importance of this issue and the problem with how little attention is placed upon education.
When he was talking about the presidential candidates, how important it is for them to address the issue—yesterday I was sitting up there at the Reagan Library. Not one single question out of an hour and a half of debate, not one single question was asked about education. Think about that for a second.
In 20 years, it will matter very little what happened in Iraq, but it will be of extreme importance how we educated students today. After all, the students in schools today will be running the world of tomorrow. If our education system continues in the manner it has for the last decade, then I shudder to think how our students will run that world. If we do not create strong leaders for tomorrow, there is no way that the U.S. can continue to be a global leader.
Interesting post on Governor Schwarzenegger, I think it helps that he is someone who is from outside of the United States educational system (primary educational system, I believe he attented university in the United States). As someone still in high-school in one of the most afluent public-highschools in the country, I can attest to the almost comical way in which students can slack off, even in the AP and honors courses. Part of the problem is that even in the best schools, there is no insentive to get great grades, where as in China and the rest of Asia scholastic excelence is something of extreme importance.
As someone who wants to be a leader in the future world, I believe that our nation is in desperate need of a major academic overhaul. Not only are our high-schools falling behind, but so are our colleges. It is rediculous that secondary education tuition has increased at five times the rate of inflation, it is almost criminal that for every one hundred students in the United States who attend college, eighty of them will graduate with fifty thousand dollars worth of debt.
Our system needs reform, from primary school to the most esteemed graduate universities in the nation.
I’m glad to see that you agree we need reform in our education system. As someone from one of the most affluent districts, you have a very different perspective than me (a student in a small rural district). Still, we can agree that our education system needs change - wherever you may live. Hopefully, we can keep the conversation flowing and direct more people’s attention towards the important issue of our education system. If the United States wants to continue in a position as a world superpower, we need to dramatically reform our education system on a national basis.