Its Time for Change

There are numerous changes that need to be made to the public education system in order to promote future success for our country. To illustrate, teachers and parents need to be far more strict and attentive when dealing with students. Educators in the classroom should discipline the students in a manner that does not discourage or frighten their students. At home, the parents need to closely monitor their child’s progress in school and not simply trust or assume that their son or daughter is doing well. Money in education is another factor that needs to be addressed. The money public schools say they need in order to help the students is simply not true. In an article titled “Do Public Schools Really Need More Money” author Donna Gundle-Krieg states that public schools do not need more money to successfully educate students, but rather more dedicated teachers who care about their students and feel as if “it’s their calling” to be educators. A school does not need a fancy swimming pool or an all weather track to help their students excel. This emphasis on bringing more money into the public school systems ultimately funds a school’s new swimming pool, wrestling room, and or track. Furthermore, in a Q&A, Peter Thiel brings up a very good point when he says “I think we have to shift the schools from being run for the benefit for the teachers and towards the benefit of students trying to be educated”. In public school systems today, a student is tightly bound to the curriculum that is provided by the state. This form of educating students fails to promote the individuality of each students mind and rather shapes the knowledge of every individual into a specific mold. Each student is basically taught in similar fashion and has the relatively similar knowledge as 2,000 other individuals. In order to create a world full of diverse minds and free thinkers, the government must take action and to begin the process of creating a system of schooling that revolves around the students.          

"Do Public Schools Really Need More Money?" Examiner.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2012.

"Big Think." What Is the Government's Role in Public Education? N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2012.

Obama Vs. Romney: Speeches at RNC & DNC

 Distinct differences could be clearly seen throughout both candidates' speeches. In his speech, Romney continuously detailed the negative aspects of Obama's future plans for the country and previous presidential decisions. As he went further into his speech Romney explained how he planned to create 12 million jobs and become a far more energy independent country. The Republican candidate also addressed how Russia was our number one enemy and not Iraq, which poses questions about his position on the troops stationed in the middle east. Throughout his speech, Romney spoke about creating a successful and bright future for America, but did little to explain what he would do in order to make this happen.

In his speech, Obama spoke to the people about his strong passion for education and the opportunities (ex. The Dream Act) that he would give to any American in search for a brighter future. He plans to set higher educational standards now in order to create smarter and more effective individuals in the future  The president also addressed the issue of renewable energy and explained to the people that research for more effect modes of clean energy was essential for the creation of new jobs and as a way to control global warming. Furthermore, Obama went on to say that his opponent was lacking in the foreign policy skills that are crucial for successful relationships between countries, specially in times of war.  

Mitt Romney's Wordcloud

Word Cloud for Obama

Democrats VS. Republicans on environmental issues

Democrats: Obama and his administration is focused on establishing green jobs, conserving public lands, and reducing carbon emissions in order to take control of the climate change and better the Environment. Obama is currently the leader in tackling climate change due to numerous reasons. He has created over 3.1 million green jobs as of May of 2012 and increased fuel economy standards for automobiles. This allows for lower costs at the gas station and higher priced vehicles. Obama has invested large amounts of money in green energy sources such as wind power and electric transportation which will greatly benefit both the economy and environment. However, the democrats have also ignored plans to make health standards for smog stricter and failed to end subsidies to oil industries.

Republicans: Romney and his administration have taken a less environmentally friendly position. Beneficially, Romney promotes agricultural jobs as a way to lower pollution. However, he and his administration also focus on exploiting fossil fuels in fragile places such as Alaska and the Arctic wildlife refuge, which becomes a serious issue in the long run. He proposes to take carbon dioxide, one of the most serious green house gases, off the Clean Air Act. Romney also plans to build the Keystone Pipeline as a way to transport oil from Canada to Texas, as soon as becomes president. Although economically beneficial, this pipeline will contribute to a faster depletion of fossil fuels and have external costs to organisms that surround it. In conclusion, Romney’s future actions towards the environment will significantly damage our already delicate environment. This year has been a record breaking year in which July was recorded as the hottest month of the year and the Arctic sea ice has melted to a record low during the summer.    

http://www.barackobama.com/record/environment/

"Obama and Romney on Energy, Environmental Issues." Fox News. FOX News Network, 17 Apr. 2012. Web. 05 Sept. 2012. 

Interviewing people for the 2012 election allowed me to see that many individuals are unaware of the current political events. For example, almost half of of the people I interviewed between the ages of 17 and 20 did not know that the unemployed received benefits at all. A few of my friends that were interviewed were unaware of the religions of the candidates, which made it difficult to answer one of the questions without my assistance. Although numerous responses that were given were very uneducated, many provided an interesting point of view. 8 out of the 9 high school students interviewed believed that gay marriage is perfectly fine and should not be a major issue. This is a more accepting perspective than those of past generations. Also 9 out of 10 people thought that the military budget should not be reduced and 8 of 10 believed that the economy is the biggest issue in America right now. For the most part, individuals between the ages of 17 and 20 agreed on the same questions. This provides a rough sketch of how future individuals will observe the different issues in our country.