President Obama's First Education Policy Speech

This past Tuesday, President Obama gave a speech at the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on education and discussed his vision for the education system. Of the points that he made, the ones that stood out for me were: 1) merit pay for teachers,  2) better data collection, 3) higher standards, 4) longer school day/year, 5) more support to early childhood education, and 6) better assessments. The President noted that America's student achievement has not been as successful as that of other countries and noted South Korea as an example. Because of the lag in educational achievement, America is at a disadvantage in the world's economy.



Transcript

The plan to invest in K-12 education will ensure that we have the workforce needed to ensure the future of the United States.  Obama stated that he wanted to raise standards in education because "by 2016, four out of every ten new jobs will require at least some advanced education or training." In order for the United States to be a competitor in the global marketplace, it is essential for our schools to do better, for our graduation rates to be increased, and for schools to have qualified teachers in all subjects.

Obama made an interesting point about the programs in which Hispanics are enrolled.

Some children are enrolled in mediocre programs. And some are wasting away their most formative years in bad programs. That includes the one-fourth of all children who are Hispanic, and who will drive America's workforce of tomorrow, but who are less likely to have been enrolled in an early childhood education program than anyone else.

I think that this was a very important point. Hispanics are the fastest growing population in the United States; however, the proportion of Hispanics in higher education does not equal that of college age Hispanics. Hispanic upward social mobility is not increasing as fast as it should. This is not just a problem that faces Hispanics. African Americans and Native Americans are not receiving the proportionate number of degrees in higher education. In order for the United States to succeed in the international market, education policies and programs need to target these populations.

President Obama's First Education Policy Speech