America’s declining education and its impact on society

What does education mean to you? Let us turn our attention to the solution of one of the most important problems of the nation, education. Education is one of the most important foundations, if not the most important, that needs to be instilled in children today. The fact is that it is every parent’s dream to see their children choose and eventually achieve a higher level of education. Are we being overtaken by other countries, are they fast becoming the world’s leading authority and provider of higher education?

It is clear that we have a need for higher education. We are in an economy that is based on education, we have doctors, lawyers, engineers, scientists and the list goes on. If we can’t recruit workers with the training and skills we need, large companies will need to relocate to countries where talent resides. To put the job as simply as possible, we must hire the best workforce in the world to remain competitive. We are outsourcing our needs because we do not have the level of expertise that is required to maintain our own economy.

The need to outsource is only considered as a last resort because we can’t keep up with the rest of the world. Many times we do not have many options; we need raw materials and advanced technology to compete and that only comes with advanced education.

So how do we maintain our education and not sacrifice our economy? We must first develop self-discipline and give teachers the necessary tools so that they can have a positive impact. We must do more to ensure that teachers have the training to teach the subjects they present with a deeper understanding of the curriculum. The fact remains that “America has the lowest high school graduation rate in the world.” If we are going to compete in a knowledge-based economy we must dedicate more resources to our teachers. Teachers need to reflect a greater focus on science and math to better prepare students to allow them to compete globally.

While other countries are graduating scientists and engineers at an impressive rate, our students are moving away from these fields. We have many students looking for a quick fix. They are not willing to put in the time and effort to really understand the curriculum. I witnessed this first hand when I was in high school and college. Many students who did their homework the night before did not put any real research or effort into their work. I remember many students who had great memories and were able to retain enough to get by.

Understanding is the key to success in whatever you do, if we complete our work without deep understanding; we will not be prepared for a “University” based higher education.

Our level of education will play a big role in whether or not our future will be successful in today’s competitive marketplace. If performance and test scores are declining, who should step in and take charge? Should it be our parents, our schools, our government, or a combination? The debate and dilemma will continue until this growing problem is addressed.