America has a seriously flawed education system. I feel inadequate discussing this, not because there are so many others more steeped in the problem than I, and not because I have no education as an educator. The inadequacy results from the knowledge that it is impossible to construct a system that the greedy won't soon overcome. Nevertheless neither does that mean that silence is an acceptable course of action.
America's questionable political practices, questionable economic policies and questionable moral standards can be traced to one endeavor: the pursuit of money. America is billed as the land of opportunity. Indeed, America attracted and was built by immigrants who came here for a better life. Or, more bluntly (and probably more honestly), to make money. America is the one country where your worth in society is gauged by how wealthy you are. I am not denigrating immigrants for, obviously, I would be denigrating us all. Nor am I denigrating wealth. I believe that most wealthy people have worked hard for their wealth and deserve the benefits. I do not, however, believe that their wealth should be a gauge of their stature nor should it afford them those benefits which should be dispersed equally throughout society.
I don't believe that our education system is as much at fault for its poor showing as it is a victim of wealthy influence. Among 15-year-olds we are currently ranked 14th in reading literacy, 25th in math, and 17th in science. The American solution, of course, is to throw more money at the problem and there are programs being implemented that show some promise. But money cannot buy motivation. Motivation is bought by purpose. Most kids are aware, at a very young age, that regardless of what they achieve in their K-12 education, it won't afford them a university education (unless, of course, they're world-class athletes - another problem with our education system). Were they to excel and qualify for a university appointment, the majority wouldn't have the finances, or wouldn't be selected because they were educated in a culturally depressed area. So we've created a system where children from wealthy families will receive a university education, whether or not it's earned and children from less affluent families do not receive a university education despite the possibility they are better qualified. There is little evidence to counter the argument that there is a good old boy network at the top of our society determining its direction.
What would happen if this weren't true? What would happen if some inner city kid, or some rural kid in a graduating class of 26 knew that if he or she worked hard, that if they demonstrated the desire and the ability, they would be guaranteed a university education? What if the school kids of America knew that their university education wouldn't depend on how much their father donated to the university, but only on the student's demonstrated ability? I say it would dramatically change the motivation levels for students, change our social fabric in the long run, and change our future. I also say it can be done.
We've spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 847 BILLION dollars on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, to date. The UN says that half of that would provide basic education, housing, sanitation, water and food to every child in the world. And yet we can't provide undergraduate education for students in America?
By the time a student graduates from high school the system knows everything about them - their grade point, what classes they took to get that grade point, strengths and weaknesses, social skills, interests, probably who they had for girlfriends or boyfriends. We also know, every year, how many university freshmen seats will open every year. It is difficult to understand why, in such an enlightened environment, we can't match the top students with the appropriate universities. It is also difficult to understand how when we can outspend the next twenty-six countries in defense, we can't afford to provide a university education for the best and brightest we have. The future of our country is at stake. Our society is stagnating. We desperately need the bright people we are losing.
