by Jie Chen
In the 2012 election, education
reform was left out. Starting anew in 2013, these are three issues for us
to watch out concerning education:
1. Reform for Teacher Evaluations & Common Standards in Schools
Although George W. Bush’s No Child
Left Behind had many fans when it first passed, the policy hasn’t made any
substantial improvement so far. But the nation’s students are waiting in line. The
most obvious problem, as President Obama has pointed out, is that under the
provisions of the Bush-era NCLB law, four out of five schools could be tagged
as failures, which in fact are not failing. Obama has urged Congress to work out
a solution on how to measure student progress and labeling schools that fall
short. He also added measuring creativity and critical thinking along with math
and reading skills, and rewarding good teachers while being stricter with bad
ones, which caused teachers’ unions a big lot of fits.
2. Immigration Reform: Dream Act
The controversial Dream Act still
needs a finer answer that answers the problem that anti-illegal immigration
advocates raised. They renamed it the Nightmare Act for the worry that it would
increase the amount of illegal aliens. The anti-Dreamers thinks the Dream Act
would reward undocumented immigrants and encourage continued illegal
immigration, which would takes education spots away from American students.
Undocumented youth who seek American futures are now in the hands of the
Congress and the Dream Act is a good idea.
3. Making College More Affordable
Almost 20% of US households have
outstanding educational loans.
Those who are in debt owe more than ever before. Hot issue like economy
seems to capture people’s attention more than other issues, but the Consumer
Financial Protection Bureau has argued that a growing level of student debt is
holding back the overall economic recovery. One observer claims that student debt is preventing new
graduates from buying homes, which plays no good role in the recovery of
housing market and the U.S. economy.
(BTW, the college application
process has cost me more than expected financially. Who can afford to apply for
15 colleges with application fees and fees for sending standardized scores?)
Hopefully in the New Year,
Congress and the president will put in more efforts and push forward education
reforms to benefit more students in the nation. Education is a long-run
investment and it is the thing that will put America in a more competitive
position.
