Part 4
“Jackie Bray is a single mom from North Carolina who was laid off from her job as a mechanic. Then Siemens opened a gas turbine factory in Charlotte, and formed a partnership with Central Piedmont Community College. The company helped the college design courses in laser and robotics training. It paid Jackie's tuition, then hired her to help operate their plant.
I want every American looking for work to have the same opportunity as Jackie did. Join me in a national commitment to train two million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a job. My Administration has already lined up more companies that want to help. Model partnerships between businesses like Siemens and community colleges in places like Charlotte, Orlando, and Louisville are up and running. Now you need to give more community colleges the resources they need to become community career centers - places that teach people skills that local businesses are looking for right now, from data management to high-tech manufacturing.
And I want to cut through the maze of confusing training programs, so that from now on, people like Jackie have one program, one website, and one place to go for all the information and help they need. It's time to turn our unemployment system into a reemployment system that puts people to work.”
You know, all of this sounds good but there is just one tiny problem with what Obama is saying here, every American already has the same opportunity that this woman named Jackie had. That is the way the free market works. If a business wants someone bad enough because they demonstrated that they have something special to bring to that business, then they will go out of their way to hire those individuals and train them. We don’t need the Government for that. If Obama wants to help out the smaller businesses that may struggle to afford training people like this then I say fine, but larger companies like Siemens can already afford to do this without government assistance, oh and while I am at it… don’t attach a bunch of strings because then none of the businesses that could use the money would be willing to because it would not be worth it.
As for the training programs being different, that is because different states require different things. This boils down to a state issue and the Federal Government needs to keep their hands out of it. The states reserve the right to set these regulations because of the different circumstances in each state.
“These reforms will help people get jobs that are open today. But to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow, our commitment to skills and education has to start earlier.
For less than one percent of what our Nation spends on education each year, we've convinced nearly every State in the country to raise their standards for teaching and learning - the first time that's happened in a generation.”
Actually, what he is calling raising standards is in truth lowering them. The reason I say this is class rooms now can only move as fast as the slowest student in them and we have done away with the special education programs that were reserved for the slower and more challenged students in an effort to make them feel better about themselves. If we want to raise the standards we need to reinstitute the special education programs so that those students that need it will be able to get the education they need while the students that do not require that level of special attention can get the education they need. With the current system we are holding our brightest students back and they are suffering for it.
“But challenges remain. And we know how to solve them.”
Yes we do, vote Obama out and get rid of the Department of Education. Turn the education system back over to the states.
“At a time when other countries are doubling down on education, tight budgets have forced States to lay off thousands of teachers. We know a good teacher can increase the lifetime income of a classroom by over $250,000. A great teacher can offer an escape from poverty to the child who dreams beyond his circumstance. Every person in this chamber can point to a teacher who changed the trajectory of their lives. Most teachers work tirelessly, with modest pay, sometimes digging into their own pocket for school supplies - just to make a difference.
Teachers matter. So instead of bashing them, or defending the status quo, let's offer schools a deal. Give them the resources to keep good teachers on the job, and reward the best ones. In return, grant schools flexibility: To teach with creativity and passion; to stop teaching to the test; and to replace teachers who just aren't helping kids learn.”
Once again I have to say, if Obama really means what he said than you need to turn the education system back over to the states. Also in order to do what he claims he wants then we seriously need to look at tenure and reform it. Tenure is one of the reasons that we have teachers that should not be teaching in our schools and the sooner they can be held responsible the sooner thing will be able to improve. Traditionally, the Dems are against tenure reform because that puts the teachers that try to indoctrinate student toward the liberal agenda at risk.
“We also know that when students aren't allowed to walk away from their education, more of them walk the stage to get their diploma. So tonight, I call on every State to require that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn eighteen.”
I have to disagree with this. Every student that drops out does it for their own reasons. Some do it because they know they won’t graduate and that allows them to enter the work force earlier to get valuable experience, others drop out so that they can get their GED and move on to college. There are numerous reasons that students drop out of high school, some good some bad. This call to change the way that students can drop out is not a good one because he does not want circumstances taken into consideration.
“When kids do graduate, the most daunting challenge can be the cost of college. At a time when Americans owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt, this Congress needs to stop the interest rates on student loans from doubling in July. Extend the tuition tax credit we started that saves middle-class families thousands of dollars. And give more young people the chance to earn their way through college by doubling the number of work-study jobs in the next five years.”
All of this I actually agree with the President on.
“Of course, it's not enough for us to increase student aid. We can't just keep subsidizing skyrocketing tuition; we'll run out of money. States also need to do their part, by making higher education a higher priority in their budgets. And colleges and universities have to do their part by working to keep costs down. Recently, I spoke with a group of college presidents who've done just that. Some schools re-design courses to help students finish more quickly. Some use better technology. The point is, it's possible. So let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can't be a luxury - it's an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.”
And then Obama drops the ball here. The states do their part; the main thing that is driving tuition costs up is the fact that the Federal Government restricts what can be taught at each university and college. This makes some schools worth more than others and since those schools are worth more, they charge more because they have to pay more to the professors that they have to hire. If the universities and colleges were allowed to teach any programs they desired instead of having to conform to what the Government dictates (which they do because they don’t want a lot of competition between universities and colleges on the programs that are taught.
Can these schools do more to lower costs? Yes they can and they should, but threatening to take funding away from them if they don’t comply with your will is just wrong. If this were to happen the more tuitions costs would just go up that much more to make up for what the Government won’t cover. Higher education is a luxury despite what the President says. There are plenty of programs out there to help people who cannot afford to pay for it on their own, but the recipient has to earn the right to get that money. If you can’t afford it and don’t have the drive to do what it takes to get the student loans, scholarships or grants to help you pay for it then you don’t need it. Everyone has a fair chance at getting a higher education, they just have to want it, but they are not entitled to it.
Also, think of it like this, if everyone went to college and graduated then the value of that education would drop drastically because the job market would be flooded and then you would have a bunch of highly educated people who could not get the jobs that they have been educating themselves for over the course of the last 2 to 4 years (assuming they stop with their bachelor’s degree). Most of these people would refuse to do any “lesser” jobs because they would think it was beneath them, after all, who wants to flip burgers when you have a degree in engineering of physics? Just saying.
“Let's also remember that hundreds of thousands of talented, hardworking students in this country face another challenge: The fact that they aren't yet American citizens. Many were brought here as small children, are American through and through, yet they live every day with the threat of deportation. Others came more recently, to study business and science and engineering, but as soon as they get their degree, we send them home to invent new products and create new jobs somewhere else.
That doesn't make sense.”
Yes it does. If they want to stay in the US they can apply for citizenship like any other LEGAL citizen that has immigrated has done. As for the children, I hate to say that they should be punished for the crimes of their parents but, at least they can still be with their family once they all are sent back to where they came from. If the parents demonstrate that they have no respect for American laws, and then they should be punished, unfortunately the children are affected too, but the parents should have thought about that before they broke the law. American children suffer everyday as they are shipped off to foster homes because their parents broke the law, children that are here illegally should not be given any special treatment. Sure it isn’t their fault, but they are their parent’s responsibility. If their parents bring them then they should leave with them. If they want to come back then they should have to do like everyone else and go about it the legal way. Cases of people seeking asylum are different and should be treated differently. But we are not currently talking about people seeking asylum in the US.
If the foreigners that come to the US for whatever reason want to stay then they should have the respect for the nation that they wish to live in and strive for citizenship the proper way.
More in part 5.
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