Our country needs an "Educational Marshall Plan"

[SoCalDem]

We need a concerted effort, one that would last at least 15 years....starting YESTERDAY..

ALL kids in the US should have easy and affordable access to college.. There are empty buildings all over America, that could be used as classrooms.There are teachers everywhere who have been laid off too..

Some things that need to be taught, might also be best taught by the ones who have DONE them. There are probably many "downsized, outsourced, early-retired" people who know a lot about business , and could morph into mentor-teachers.

The youth of our country is adrift.. Only the very rich kids can PLAN on college. It's not a surprise that a kid with B's & C's "gets discouraged".. We have turned college into a CONTEST..Families of modest means usually find out that they make "too much" to qualify for substantial financial aid, and withoout it, their child cannot go to college..

The days of the part time job during college, to make ends meet, are long gone too.. Lots of kids have to work full time and even then have to borrow tens of thousands of dollars.. A degree that used to be attainable in 4 years, now can take 5 or 6..and at the end of the "long hard slog", they are rewarded with loan repayments of 30-40K in loans..

We said we wanted to go to the moon, but we did not just sit back and wait... our scientists got busy and made it happen..

Now we "say" that we value education, but we are sitting back and watching the "good" jobs go overseas.. As long as the bosses can claim that they "cannot find qualified employees here", they have a ready-made excuse to outsource..

We need to get busy and let kids know EARLY, that THEY CAN GO TO COLLEGE.. Kids know at an early age that their family does not have much money.... If a kid "knows" his family cannot afford it anyway, it's easy to see how they might be discouraged, and goof off..

Every kid who graduates with a B or better average, should have post high school education guaranteed.. Not every kid will want college, but they should be given extra education in whatever field they desire.. The world does need mechanics and plumbers, and electricians, and beauticians..

EVERY kid can learn, and every kid deserves a chance.. We are shortchanging them, and locking them into a low class life.. Can we really complain when they get into mischief and become a drag on society, if we offer them nothing better than McJobs?

[ulysses]

1. let's put this back up top.

Well put, SoCal. :hi:

[SoCalDem]

2. one self-serving kick

:)