Education in the United States is going down the tubes and has been for some time. A large percentage of Americans with poor education grow up functionally illiterate, virtually unable to communicate or get a decent job. This is inexcusable for the richest country in the world. If we continue to give education a backseat role, we will decline seriously as a nation and as a society.
The biggest problem with education in America is that only people with money can afford a decent education. Since education is a basic need, it should be affordable to everyone. I believe the government should subsidize all public elementary school and high school education and that absolute national standards of proficiency in basic areas, i.e. English, history, math, and science, should be set and enforced. Grade school teaching should also be subsidized by the government, schools with adequate facilities should be built and maintained, and teachers should be paid more. This will require Americans to pay more taxes, but this is an investment in our future, so it is well worth it.
Violence and bullying are also serious problems with our school system. Schools need to be made safe for students, who shouldn’t have to worry about surviving and can function in an environment free of torment and ridicule. Teachers and principals need to come down much harder on bullies. I know this because I was bullied quite a bit in elementary school, and for the most part, my teachers did very little to punish the perpetrators.
I hope we as a nation can begin to see the importance in education and to make it a priority again – otherwise, we’ll definitely have to pay a huge price not so far down the road!