Dear Future President:

I am a Junior at St. Thomas More high school who is concerned about the future of this great nation. While there are many issues that need to be addressed during your four-year term, none are more important than the education of our children, the future of our country. By insuring that our children get an effective education, our country will be better informed, better skilled, and will make better decisions. The current education system in the U.S. is flawed and hurting the future of our country. As the president you must reform our system into one that is preparing students for the 21st century problems that they will be facing in the world today.

The education system put in place today is not preparing children for the 21st century jobs that they will hold when they graduate. While high schools provide academies that train students in certain trades, these academies are outdated and not preparing students for the computer based world that we live in. This needs to change. With our world becoming more and more technology based, we simply have less and less need for plumbers and welders and more of a need for people building robots that can do these jobs for us. By training students on the fundamentals of computers as well as enlightening them on what computers are capable of, we can build a country based on technology. Our schools need to be more technology based in order to prepare students for the workforce that they will one day contribute to. Our schools need to be teaching students the skills they will need in the real world. At the school I attend, every student has a tablet that the majority of the schoolwork is done on. This provides an unparalleled educational experience that provides a more efficient learning environment, educates students on how to properly use computers, and helps students learn how to problem solve. Our workforce lives in the future, shouldn’t our schools as well?

Often, in the world we live in today, students are dropping out of school to pursue other lines of work like many trailblazers that came before them. This poses the argument that school isn’t necessary to be successful in life. While, in rare cases, education can prove to be unnecessary, this only happens to an extremely small percentage of people. In a recent study done by Georgetown, by 2020, 65% of jobs will require a bachelor’s degree or at least some higher education beyond high school. Employee’s need to be educated. Companies are looking for people skilled in their field and college is the only true way someone can become talented in his or her line of work. Many of the people that have dropped out of high school and become successful are doing things and inventing products never before seen. As the President, you need to lessen the high school dropout rate to provide for a more skillful future workforce. With a more skillful workforce, the U.S will be able to provide countless goods and services to other countries which, in turn, creates a better and stronger United States.

Another issue with our education system is that students are able to choose the school they want to attend. In Louisiana, a student is not allowed to choose the school they want to go to unless they are accepted into a certain academy at that high school, but a law in Florida now allows students to attend any school they want. Students should not be able to make this choice due to the fact that they are simply not mature enough to decide. While a few kids will actually consider their education and pick the school that will best provide that for them, most students will simply choose the school that all of their friends attend. This causes problems with overpopulation which then causes a problem with the education the student receives. Schools are limited to a certain population for a reason. If there are too many students at one school, the children will not be able to receive the individualized learning they need to succeed in life. As president, you need to keep schools balanced and restrict schools of choice.

The education system in the United States is flawed and needs to be changed. By bringing these changes to the table, not only will our schools be improved, but the future of our country as well. By educating our countries youth to be contributing members of society, we are securing a strong future for America. Your duty as our president is to ensure the future of this great country that we live in, and it all starts with the education of the future of our country.

Sincerely,

Tyler A. 

Bibliography

Bergeron, David, and Carmel Martin. "Strengthening Our Economy through Education for All." How Valuable is a College Degree?, edited by Noel Merino, Greenhaven Press, 2016. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&currPage=&scanId=&query=&prodId=OVIC&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&mode=view&catId=&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010971206&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=&source=Bookmark&u=lafa43079&jsid=8c28f4223a60ac1e8ca81cedbf760fb2. Accessed 14 Nov. 2016.

"Is College Education worth It?" Pro-Con.org, 27 Oct. 2016, college-education.procon.org/. Accessed 10 Nov. 2016.

Owen, Stephanie, and Isabel Sawhill. "A College Degree Is Not a Smart Investment for Everyone." How Valuable is a College Degree?, edited by Noel Merino, Greenhaven Press, 2016. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&currPage=&dviSelectedPage=&scanId=&query=&prodId=OVIC&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&mode=view&catId=&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010971204&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=&source=Bookmark&u=lafa43079&jsid=0813730e08899707a812111ae4e3f7ba. Accessed 11 Nov. 2016.