Federalism

In the article, Obama: Education key to economic success, it discusses how Obama thinks that Republicans will cut the spending used for education. He specifically told his audience, which happened to be in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that they needed to think about education when they planned to vote. The president said that in order for the young people to be successful in the future, they needed to be educated. While speaking, Obama learned quickly that education was not a top priority for the citizens, which is not something he can control.

A high school class wrote to President Obama talking about education. They were concerned about the reward for their “good work” in the classroom. The class’s thoughts were that even if they do get good grades that it would not help the fact that there are not many hobs available for them. Obama has tried to save jobs for teachers and is working on making it easier for students to attend college. He is doing this by “closing tax loopholes.” Obama said that making change is hard and the Republicans are risking the “hope and change” the young longed for in the 2008 election.

This article greatly deals with federalism. It is mainly about education and President Obama’s opinion on what needs to be done. Technically, Obama and the rest of the federal government have little say over what happens in the education in the states. It is a right granted to the states to decide their standards and regulations dealing with education. However, the federal government has control over the amount of money granted to the states for education purposes. The recent Race to the Top competition awarded nine states and the District of Columbia with money to use toward education. The states that won are Massachusetts, New York, Hawaii, Florida, Rhode Island, District of Columbia, Maryland, Georgia, North Carolina, and Ohio. Race to the Top is a way the federal government influences the states to get what they want done.

Education is something that needs a lot of work. There should be a national test given at the beginning of ninth grade and at the end of twelfth grade to ensure that students are learning. States should also all require the same standards. This would guarantee that all students are taught the same material. I think education should be controlled more by the federal government. Doing this would be good for the whole country in the long run.


Obama: Education key to economic success