A Nation Stumbles: Education Doesn't Have To | Teen Ink

A Nation Stumbles: Education Doesn't Have To

October 17, 2010
By GreenBallerina GOLD, Pelham, Alabama
GreenBallerina GOLD, Pelham, Alabama
11 articles 2 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;All glory comes from daring to begin. &quot; <br /> Ware, Eugene F.<br /> <br /> &quot;Don&#039;t worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia.&quot; ~Charles Schulz


“It’s not hard to see why rich countries excel in education—or why educated countries prosper.” (Newsweek, Aug. 23 & 30, 2010, pg 36)

During the crisis of the recession, Congress has focused on health-care, job employment, and bailing out big corporation, but it seems education has been placed on the back-agenda of the recovery process. Education is probably the key to the restoring of the economical system and the credit of the US. Colleges’ endowments shrunk during the fall of the economy, so they cut programs and limit scholarship opportunities to balance out the budgets. Congress, however, does not seem to be jumping to their rescue.

As an upcoming college freshman, I believe the government and Congress should focus on providing money for college instead of bailing out big corporations and crocked organizations. Society needs to better equip the future generation. These people are the future business owners and politicians. A better education will prepare us for the state of the nation.

Learning problem solving and creativity is the fundamentals of the educational system. Science and Math are problem solving skills, logic, and trail-and-error. Fine Arts instill creativity, individuality, and culture within us. If the future generation is lacking in these basics, then the economy and the free enterprise, which our great nation is based upon, will collapse upon itself.

As a graduating high school senior, attending college has been a dream of me in my quest for a degree in Dance Therapy. But I learned quickly colleges are not cheap. Though college tuition has risen every year, annual scholarships opportunities have disappear; scholarships that were depended on. Recreational scholarships and academic scholarships are losing funding and are being cut. Financial aid is probably out of the question for a daughter whose dad holds two jobs at UAB campus and a mom who holds a position at Regions Department in Riverchase. My father always stressed the importance of money due to the fact that I have a twin and an older sister.

Though the situation seems unbeatable by a small group of citizens, we can all start small by encouraging local businesses that sponsor scholarships to possibly cut in other areas instead of education. Your opinion means much to the structure of the community.
One voice ignites a thousand.



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This article has 2 comments.


on Oct. 22 2010 at 6:40 am
GreenBallerina GOLD, Pelham, Alabama
11 articles 2 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;All glory comes from daring to begin. &quot; <br /> Ware, Eugene F.<br /> <br /> &quot;Don&#039;t worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia.&quot; ~Charles Schulz

if our country spends the most money per pupil then why are we not in the top 10 most educated countries. Besides i'm taking about scholorships and how colleges have dropped programs. I could have gone to an instate school but they last year dropped the dance program and now i have to pay twice as much to go to a school out of state.

on Oct. 22 2010 at 2:21 am
Treefiddy BRONZE, Tarzana, California
1 article 0 photos 158 comments

This country spends more money on education per pupil than any other country in the world. It is obvious that more money isn't going to solve the problem of the failing public education system. What we need to do is defederalize education and offer school vouchers. The big teachers unions, including the NEA, are bankrupting this country and furnishing pension plans and salaries double of what the average person in the private sector makes. The whole talking point that we havn't spent enough money on education is a lie perpetuated by these thuggish union organizations, which also have adamantly opposed school vouchers. With school vouchers, parents would be able to send their child to the private school of their choosing, creating a market environment where teachers and school would have to compete for customers. Today, public school is basically a monopoly; if a parent wishes to send their child to private school, they must basically pay twice for their child's education because of the taxes imposed for the public school system.

The unions have made it virtually impossible to fire bad teachers. With the cost of appeals and procedure, it costs about $100,000 to fire a bad teacher. Instead of firing bad teachers, they simply move them down to more faulty schools, with students who need competent teachers most. The practice has been called "dance of the lemons". More money and more power to the unions will not fix our faulty education system.