EDUCATION - AT THE BACK OF THE BUS

I recall our near panic attitude as we approached the countdown of 1999. Rightly so because of the myriad of valid technological concerns! However, did we really miss the big picture? I think so! I posit that what we saw at the end of the 20th century was the emerging of a new thrust – the shaping of a truly global economy! To demonstrate – the first decade of the 21st century brought an unthinkable dilemma, collapse of the financial markets and a phenomenon called social networking: a vast personal communication tool operating borderless. If my premise is on target that is the shaping of a truly global economy, then we in America are facing a major problem of unknown proportion. It’s called education.

Historically, education played a major factor in our success as a free country, yet we see most recently a purpose planned assault on education throughout America. Poorly paid teachers, overcrowded classrooms, diminished expectations, reduced budgets, unfit facilities, and the list goes on and on. Short-term thinking elected officials find cutting educational budgets easier than making the hard decisions to correct our financial situations.

Are you as perplexed as I am? If education is important to us as a free society, why has its priority diminished? Are we creating a country, which will not be able to compete with the rest of the global community? As an adjunct university instructor I am overly concerned with the inability of students to analyze, engage in critical thinking and even demonstrate basic knowledge.