Our nation has successfully defeated militant threats, humanitarian crises, and reinforced American hegemony in the face of evil. However, there is a domestic issue that not only poses a threat to this nation that we’ve never encountered before but perhaps has been present since the founding of our nation. The grave threat I am referring to is the lack of educational efficacy in this nation. Many of America’s first ladies have constructed their policy initiatives for increasing our educational systems; the most prominent of first ladies in education being Eleanor Roosevelt, Barbara Bush, and Nancy Reagan. For a nation to witness the success of its citizens, the educational foundation must be established and enforced. More impoverished countries in the world suffer from a serious dilemma, a lack of educational resources.
Unfortunately, in some nations, education is used as a weapon of division and a method of teaching the next generation to view their heritage as shameful. Therefore, I would like to present the following information and recommendations with the hopes this issue will be addressed and amended appropriately, otherwise the future of this nation, and the fight of our ancestors will mean nothing. The world is moving fast, and it is moving strategically. To preserve our union and educate our offspring on how to properly contribute to the success of our nation, we must reform our educational standards and revisit the drawing board.
Background Information
Just recently, the school board of San Francisco removed the name of former President Abraham Lincoln from one of the high schools because President Lincoln “negatively” impacted the Native American population. Not only has the leftist agenda gone so far as to remove one of the most successful American presidents, but they have also turned against their own. Dianne Feinstein’s name will be struck off the elementary school named after her because she “supposedly” ordered a Confederate battle flag to fly at the city hall of San Francisco. This hatred of America’s past will engulf the nation into division and misinformation. The result of such a scenario begs the question, how much time does America have left to chart its course and evade the treacherous waters of error, contempt, and rancor? Referring back to the instrumental women aforementioned, Mrs. Roosevelt was dedicated to the initiative of education. She realized that education was the key to fighting racial bigotry, polarization, and a lack of civic duty and responsibility — in terms of economic prosperity and family support.
Education is the grease to the American machine. Today, we are focusing on slavery and other negative moments in history and consequently, we therefore focus on the “oppression” aspect in our history. While this topic should be acknowledged, forcing the issue into the faces of the next generation and teaching them about racial sensitivity will only exacerbate our current issues. Focusing on STEM education is also a precarious contention because other areas of education will suffer. We need a balanced education system with the right amount of STEM, civics, and historical education. Political correctness, championed by the Obama administration, will force people to focus on racial inequality instead of a unified community. A lack of civics education will force individuals to lose faith in their government and the Constitution, polarize political issues and sensitive topics, and demolish the pride of American accomplishment.
Supporting Arguments
The United States is currently experiencing, or at the very least, on the verge of experiencing major education inflation. Like the inflation witnessed in the United States during the Great Depression, we are falling victim to the same level of potential destruction our forefathers encountered after the Roaring Twenties. The American college education system is over-inflated. Students are having to get at least a bachelor’s degree at an accredited college campus to get a basic job. Since the job availability rate is not increasing proportionally to the rate of people graduating and entering the workforce, the growing need for higher education than previous generations must be achieved to provide for one’s self. In the 1980s, high school diplomas could take an individual far into a career. Today, people need two degrees, namely a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, to provide a living and beat people in the workforce for jobs.
The United States not only has an increasing native citizen population, but an increasing immigrant population, both legal and illegal. Since we do not deny children the opportunity for education, illegal children or even children “tied” to illegal parents, take the seats and resources of children which are natural-born citizens, i.e., the individuals we are sworn to represent. An increase in education increases the income gap in America, but the gap does not split even. There is no income gap between gender, but between occupations. The elites possess the ability to go on in their educational pursuits, while those who cannot stay in their caste.
Conservatively Recommended Course of Action
That being said, I would fully support and recommend reinvesting in our trade schools. Students leaving high school or adults seeking further education can choose trade schools for required skills in the workforce. Trade school institutions have great and affordable skill acquisition courses for individuals who cannot afford 4-year colleges. These trade skill jobs have great starting salaries. The United States infrastructure also needs to receive repairs and future construction, which would allow for a skilled workforce to work in these trade jobs and serve this country very well. There is an over-emphasis on laboratory jobs, desk jobs, and other sedentary jobs. The tradesperson can work outdoors to improve the conditions of our infrastructure and work in careers that are continuing to be needed as the years go by.
We can use trade schools to lift the lower class out of poverty and to close the income gap. For those who are more audacious, there are plenty of opportunities for precarious employment that are provided by trade school. A tax break for individuals who own small businesses and perform trade jobs should be enacted as an incentive to create an upward flow of interest and job availability. An increasingly educated population would desire open markets, outside of an overbearing government, and thereby increase free trade agreements and international relations.
School choice is a concept that both political parties should back for the furtherment of our education system. More categorical grants for targeted funding in impoverished school districts can curb the negative situation of mismanagement of inner-city schools. The blame can easily shift to a “lack of funding,” but shifting to the root of the problem, haphazard mismanagement, remains in terms of school district monetary spending. The school boards suffer from corruption and “establishment” faculty members who are out of touch with modern educational trends. The United States is a business, and a business needs to effectively train the next generation to take over and succeed in global affairs, and this starts with taking a balanced approach to our education system.
