What does education mean to you? Let’s turn our attention to solving one of the nation’s most important problems, education. Education is one of the most important, if the not the most important foundation that needs to be instilled in today’s children. The fact is that it’s every parents dream to see their children choose and eventually accomplish a higher level of education. Are we being surpassed by other countries, are they quickly becoming the world’s leading authority and provider of higher education?

Its clear that we have a need of higher education. We are in an economy that is based on education, we have doctors, lawyers, engineers, scientists and the list goes on. If we can’t hire the workers with the training and skills we require, major companies will find it necessary to move to those countries where the talent resides. To simply state the position simply as possible, we must hire the best work force in the world to stay competitive. We are outsourcing our needs because we don’t have the level of expertise that is required to maintain our own economy.

The need to outsource is only considered as a last resort because we can’t keep up with the rest of the world. Many times we don’t have much of a choice; we need raw materials and advanced technology to compete and that only comes with an advanced education.

So, how do we maintain our education and not sacrifice our economy? First we must develop self discipline and give out teachers the tools needed so they can make a positive impact. We must do more to ensure teachers have the training to teach the subjects they’re presenting with a deeper understanding of the curriculum. The fact remains “the U.S. has the lowest high school graduation rate in the world”. If we are going to compete in a knowledge based economy we must devote more resources to our teachers. Teachers must reflect an increased focus on science and math to better prepare students and allow them to compete on a global based level.

While other countries are graduating scientists and engineers at an impressive rate our students are straying away from these fields. We have many students that are looking for a quick fix. They are not willing to put in the time and effort to really understand the curriculum. I witnessed this first hand when I was in high school and college. Many students that did their homework the night before, no research or real effort was put into their work. I remember many students that had a great memory and were able to retain just enough to get by.

Understanding is the key to success in anything you do, if we complete our work without a thorough understanding; we will not be prepared for higher “University” based education.
Our education level will play a major role, on whether or not our future will succeed in today’s competitive marketplace. If performance and test scores are declining, who needs to step in and take charge? Should it be our parents, our schools, our government, or a combination? The debate and dilemma will continue, until this growing problem is addressed.

By: Dr. Paul Singh Sran