Why Education is Paramount

        Education is a major issue within the United States. It is an issue that must be highly regarded and valued. The U.S. Department of Education has released research done by PISA, Programme for International Student Assessment, in 2009 which states that the United States “ranks 17th in reading literacy, 31st in mathematics literacy and 23rd in science literacy”. For the resources and opportunities that the United States provides, the level of education should be congruent to other issues of interest in which the United States is often a frontrunner internationally. 

This issue of education rose in popularity with the population boom during the Industrial Revolution, according to http://www.reinventedsolutions.com/als-blog/2010/9/23/has-education-reform-become-our-generations-slavery-issue.html, who then argued that the educational system then became too big to adapt to the innovative world around it. This has continued to today, where the education being provided to students does not often equip them for jobs and life after graduation. http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2012/05/07/8-reasons-college-has-become-a-key-political-issue/ states that “American college aren’t producing workers for the most in-demand sectors”. However, policy-makers have not always been focused specifically around higher education, it has risen in importance in the last century. Serena Golden argues in her interview with Christopher Loss that the federal government did not partner with education until the twentieth century, which was marked by economic crisis, mass social movements, and cataclysmic wars. Ever since this twentieth century surge, the issue of education has continued to come to the forefront of politics, leading to current strikes, including the 2012 Chicago School Strike. This has lead to education as a dominant issue in the 2012 Presidential Election. 

Education is pivotal for the future of a nation. This is a subject which affects each individual, their children, and many generations to come. Through education, the US will be able to strengthen economics, learn how to avoid repeating mistakes of the past, and understand how to best interact in international affairs.  Because education is pertinent to everyone, it is an issue that must be faced. It has the potential to help eradicate major national issues. Because of this, it provides each individual opportunities greater than they would have had otherwise. This then leads to a stronger workforce, as well as greater potential for research and advancement. As technology grows in value, there is an increase in need for advancement, which is only possible through the knowledge provided by education. The ability to be a leader in the world of technology would afford Americans political prestige, military expertise, as well as knowledge of equality and what individual rights should be sustained. While education benefits an entire nation, it enhances possibilities for the individual as well. With the aid of education, people are able to understand and form safe and healthy habits for a lifetime. According to Harvard Graduate School of Education News, “each year of schooling in developing countries is thought to raise individuals’ earning power, which is closely linked to productivity, by about 10 percent. Children and youth with the skills, competencies, and sensibilities to proactively and critically engage globalization’s new grammar will have huge advantages over those without them.”  If other countries had access to the same level of education that Americans, or especially the Chinese who rank first in Mathematics, Science, and Reading, many of the world’s major problems would be able to be diminished, if not wholly eradicated. 

Both political parties view education as important and have strong positions regarding it. Both value it for the opportunities it creates. While their opinions differ in regards to best-equipping the educational system their position is the same - education is the key to national growth. The Democratic Party emphasizes making college more affordable by cutting down student loans. Furthermore, they support a repeal of the "No Child Left Behind Act” and better support and incentives for good teachers. The Democratic Party's website posits these ideals and overall promotes increasing standards of education and reforms within the system.

Republicans also believe that change must occur within the educational system. Mitt Romney especially promotes fewer teachers with better benefits and pay. Republicans as a whole believe education should be a state mandated program, without much input from the federal government as a whole. Additionally, the Republican Party is pro "No Child Left Behind", believing that is a good way to assess students and tweak programs as a result. http://2012.republican-candidates.org/Education-issue.php is a good source for understanding what candidates believe, emphasizing less involvement from the federal government.