Decline of the once prestigious American education
2 Comment By Amrita Sheokand | October 13, 2009
The toxic economy has taken a toll on most aspects of our lives—real estate, banks, retail industry, research and the one with the most lasting damage- education.
In a recent op-ed for The New York Times, Paul Krugman sketches out a bleak future for generations of Americans to come primarily because stimulus dollars were not well allocated for education.
He reminds us that universal basic education in America in the 19th century lead to America’s economic rise.
“Then, as other nations followed suit, the “high school revolution” of the early 20th century took us to a whole new level. And in the years after World War II, America established a commanding position in higher education."
Krugman points out that in recent decades government spending has begun to be seen as a waste of taxpayer dollars. This has lead to a gradual neglect of funding for public education.
But since the beginning of the financial downturn last fall the decline of education in this country has accelerated. This is already being reflected in the global image of America as the land of higher college education, says Krugman.
“That image used to correspond to reality. But these days young Americans are considerably less likely than young people in many other countries to graduate from college. In fact, we have a college graduation rate that’s slightly below the average across all advanced economies,” says the columnist.
He believes that even in a struggling economy, education should not be affected.
“Markets may be troubled, but that’s no reason to stop teaching our children. Yet that’s exactly what we’re doing,” he laments.
But education is in the hands of local and state governments, which themselves are in dismal conditions.
“Adequate federal aid could have made a big difference. But while some aid has been provided, it has made up only a fraction of the shortfall. In part, that’s because back in February centrist senators insisted on stripping much of that aid from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a k a the stimulus bill,” according to Krugman.
Undoing the mistakes made in February could reverse the situation, says Krugman. Also, to realize how important education is for the progress of this nation.
Do you see a solution to this problem?
Do you see obvious signs of decline in the American education system or do you think with the recovery of the economy the prestige attached to college education in the U.S. will return?
Comments
Thank you for your comment, Bill. I agree, the government indulges in so much waste spending but finds reasons to deny money to schools and colleges. So American kids are not entirely to blame if they seem more interested in football and baseball.
Posted by Amrita Sheokand on October 27, 2009Krugman points out that in recent decades government spending has begun to be seen as a waste of taxpayer dollars. This has lead to a gradual neglect of funding for public education.
NO I call $200 doallar oreo cookie becuase delegates had to have perfect round filled cream cookies - or $500 dollar hammers and so forth is the reason why Americans with low wage, high taxes, bad roads, bad schools and more hate bad government waste...
http://money-and-kids.blogspot.com
Plus, lets not forget Americas kids would rather be rich playing football, basketball, or youtube stars than go to college ... sad...
Posted by bill sturgent on October 20, 2009