Dear Mr. or Madam President

Education is a fairly large problem in this country. Programs have been made to fix the education system. Some focused on accountability and consequences like the no child left behind act and race to the top that rewards local administration focusing on the students and helping them succeed. While these programs were helpful there is still more to do. I believe that raising the standard of teachers in this country will have a huge effect on the United States public education.

This is a difficult problem to solve and I think that there are a lot of problems in the education system, but I think broad policies can seem too daunting or overwhelming to begin and if started can easily be interpreted in a way that was not intended. Small specific legislation is less likely to be put off for later or misconstrued. In my opinion, improving the teachers is one of the most important and viable solutions. At this moment, from what I have seen, is that teaching is a job people use as a safety if they cannot find a job in the field they would have liked to. Professor Pam Grossman of Stanford University writes in a New York Times article “When times are flush, those considering teaching have to defend what seems to be a poor return on a college investment. But when times get tough, teaching begins to look like a sensible career option.” Now that I have outlined the problem I propose that we pass legislation for government funding specifically intended for drastic increases in pay for teachers and possibly eliminate tenure. My thinking is that if the teacher is paid more there will be a lot more people seeking teacher jobs thus increasing competition which will bring forward only the best, most qualified teachers. Revoking tenure will make teachers always trying to be the best they can be. Hope Harrod is a teacher in Washington D.C and she receives just under one hundred thousand dollars a year. In a conversation with NPR, she said: "I feel like I'm very much in a system that's honoring me in a way that other systems don't honor other teachers."

According to the US Census department, 14.8% of people in the United States are in poverty; that's around 46.7 million people. A viable solution out of poverty is education and with a good high school education, it becomes easier to get into college and thus, out of poverty. Financial aid and scholarships are relatively easy to acquire and high schools can provide counselors that help with a path and the application process. According to NPR, schools in areas of low-income families receive significantly less money due to the low nature of income taxes in that district. I'm not saying there are not some amazing teachers, but with more funding, those schools could get teachers that know how to empathize and help students learn and grow into logical problem solvers. Children will have an easier time applying themselves and learning if they respect and empathise with their authority. If we have a higher standard for educators kids will be more likely to listen, grow, and succeed to the point of raising their socioeconomic status.

For the most part, America is one of the most influential countries whether it is out of respect or competition, we tend to incite change. If we had an overall culture of logical thinking, intelligence, creativity, and prosperity, people would follow. The world isn't flawed in its entirety but a lot of its problems could be solved with education and logical thinking such as health, poverty, hunger, etc. I'm not boasting that my idea will solve hunger and poverty nor will this program will drastically change the world in a matter of days but over time if we consistently pass legislation like this we can change our culture and decrease poverty.

I know there are issues with where the money would come from and whether or not a project of this magnitude would be successful but based on the information I have, I think that this would be valuable to the country. Overall I don't expect poverty to be solved and the schools to be perfect, but with slowly rolled out programs like this could really help people in a rough situation and move the world in a more logical and intelligent direction.

Sincerely,

Samuel Kearney