Education | David Chan

Why You Should Care About Education in America

The issue of education in America is one that we should all care deeply about. I recently weighed in on the Obama education speech and reflected on how America is losing its competitive edge due to our lack of prioritizing education. There is plenty of data to support that the U.S. lags behind many countries with respect to how many days kids are in school. Studies within the U.S. suggest that an increase in school days would increase the chances that our children will learn more.

In a recent article published by the Associated Press Education Secretary Arne Duncan states “Our school calendar is based upon the agrarian economy and not too many of our kids are working the fields today.” The point that I think she makes is that the U.S. today has moved further toward a services based economy. This requires that our education system adapt to a curriculum that puts kids in school longer and provides more studies around math and science.

President Obama insists that education in America must evolve in order to keep our nation competitive with other world economies. In 2007, according to the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, 28 out of 49 countries were open at least 190 days for instruction in the eighth grade, with some open as long as 230+ days. On average, U.S. schools were open only 180 days.

Education in America is not an option that we can afford to leave to the next generation to solve. The next generation of leaders is right behind us and we are crippling them with budget cuts and, to some extent, apathy.

Some charter schools in the U.S. have been progressively moving toward longer school days. An example that was given included the Kipp network of 82 charter schools. Their students attend 3 hours more school than the typical public school. This has translated into higher test scores than the district average.

Clearly we must recognize that more days / hours in school will require more funding. The big debate, of course, will be “at what expense?” I would submit that education in America is far more significant than waging a war in which we can never hope to win. The Trillion dollars we’ve spent fighting the Iraq and Afghanistan wars could easily have funded a well-rounded education system, wouldn’t you say?

Our nations leaders, both Democrats and Republicans, must recognize that a sea change has already occurred around the world. Our leadership role in everything from creativity, innovation and ingenuity has shifted to countries that have invested in education.

According to a 2008 NPR report, record numbers of teachers will be retiring, especially at the high school level. The report stated “The number of teachers expected to leave the field is double what it was 12 years ago.” I’m sure that many of the retirements come on the heels of compensation disparity, as well as “early retirement” because of budget issues.

Education in America and the school system is what I call our last “trusted source.” Where else in America do we entrust our children’s safety, well-being and future than in the hands of the teachers? If we don’t fix our education system in this generation, there won’t be a legacy to leave behind.

Read more articles from David Chan.

Barack Obama Racism and Our Country’s Future

The issue of Barack Obama racism hits a nerve that threatens to derail the most basic tenets of why our forefathers came to this country. Lest we all forget, we are all immigrants to the United States, except for the indigenous Native Americans. How can we preach leadership and democracy to other countries, when we have such bigotry and disrespect for our own leaders and regular citizens?

As an American-born Chinese, I grew up during a time when people used to describe us as “Chinks” or “Slanty-eyes.” I got angry at these derogatory remarks until I realized that maybe these people just didn’t know any better. Perhaps they came from a part of the country where there wasn’t very much cultural diversity. Or, maybe, they were just afraid of other cultures that they knew little about.

But, guess what? I grew up in this country. I’m pretty much as American pie as everyone else who has lived here for any length of time. I just happen to also know how to order Chinese food, as well as Italian, Hungarian, Thai and, yes, steak and potatoes.

The thing that irks me the most, though, about the Barack Obama racism is that there are some well-heeled people stirring up the pot who should know better. One famous talk show host recently suggested that Mr. Obama is somehow causing racism throughout the country. He tried to label it “Obama’s America.”

How can any intelligent person possibly link an un-related school bus beating with Barack Obama racism? The only logical conclusion that most people have come to is that this talk show host is looking to create controversy for his own financial gain. After all, controversy does seem to sell and it certainly seems to be the tactic of today’s hyper-tensioned country.

I’m not sure when America lost its “innocence.” But, I can remember the days when Camelot died … when JFK, Bobby Kennedy and, yes, even Ronald Reagan passed through our lives. While there was controversy during their times, at least there was general civility and respect amongst their colleagues and civilians.

Who would ever have thought that a “jackass” would stand up in front of congress and call the President of the United States a liar? This is not kindergarten folks! What kind of example are we passing on to our children, let alone to the leaders of the “free world?”

The Barack Obama racism issue is not a Red State vs. Blue State issue. It is an all state issue. At a time of unprecedented unemployment, health care inequity and education disparity, how can we allow our country to digress into this shameless act of self-destruction?

Ex-President Carter may or not be right that some people do not believe that an African AMERICAN could possibly be capable of leading our great nation. But, if a person with a Political Science degree from Columbia University and a Magna Cum Laude law degree from Harvard can’t lead this country, who can? The talk show host with NO degree?