Inner Dialogue

As you get older you start school. You begin in elementary school and work your way up. Lately I've been noticing all these plans for "better education", but nothing is happening to make these plans work. Many kids don't get a good education, and many make a poor choice in dropping out after high school. There are also plans to stop this, but none really work. These are problems that the leaders of our nation need to expand on. The future of this great land we call home rests in the hands of the kids that play in your front yard and it is the current adults’ duty to make sure that those hands never weaken.

My Dream for America is to make some of these plans work. What good will the youth of tomorrow be, if they aren't properly educated? It's not enough that kids learn math and vocabulary words. They also need to learn how to learn, solve problems, and how to think creatively to be useful members of our knowledge-based economy. Are the schools of today teaching the youth how to learn, or how to memorize facts and pass standardized tests? It is better in the long run to develop a deep understanding of something than it is to memorize a fact, forget it, then have to memorize again.

Another thing is that we need to be spending less money on wars and things of that sort, and more on the youth's education. With all this money going to the wars, there is less and less money to spend on the youth. After school programs are being shut down, teachers are losing jobs, and many more disasters. Is this the proper way to give the children of our community an education? If you’re having trouble, the answer is no. That is no way to accomplish my dream.

There are some positive signs of progress. One sign is the introduction of technology into the school system. Students of all ages respond better today to computers and electronics, than pencil and paper. It is also important for teachers to learn how to use new technology. In order for the youth to learn new things they will need a guide. We can always look forward to a better tomorrow if the youth and the adults of this great nation can work together to make it greater.