Adults Returning to Education

Adult education gives high quality education for adults to improve their standard in the society, and it can be continued at any stage of their life. It helps people graduate with the help of nation's various adult education centers and programs. It ensures people to compete in a better way in this competitive society.
There are lots of reasons for adults to return to education after some time. Adult education can help people who wish to continue their education, people who look for a career change, or people who just wish to enhance their knowledge. Adults returning to education programs offer you plenty of choices and features to study. Many new programs and various educational departments guide you with providing high quality education in an interactive manner. It offers basic knowledge regarding computer literacy, numerical ability, and correctional education. Moreover, it allows people in developing different employment opportunities. This can be done by returning to education with various adult education programs which are available in different states.
Many educational providers invite adults to return to education after a formal break. Educational centers like Adults Who Are Returning to Education (AWARE), Center for Adults Returning to Education (CARE) are few amongst the adult education continuing centers that are doing a fine job. Adults who return to education would have had different backgrounds that led to their interruption from continuing education. Instructors in these educational centers are well trained to improve their education level according to their ability. Careful adjustments are given for older students during the learning process. There are various adult education centers and programs in which adults can continue their interrupted education.
There are many foundations throughout the nation that help adults return to education with some major features. They offer many scholarships for the adults who return to education. Adult student technical college scholarships, minority/female technical scholarships, and UW-Marinette scholarships are few of the scholarships for adults who return to education in few of the states. One can continue his/her interrupted education at any stage through these educational centers for adults and many other foundations.

Education, Learning and Thinking: What Does It All Mean?

"Compared to what we ought to be, we are only half awake." - William James
Why Think?
Thinking takes place on at least three levels: autonomic, reactive and deliberative. Each involves a specific process that the brain goes through to effect targeted and desired outcomes. While the first two are done without conscious effort, deliberative thinking cannot be done without it. Any one who has tried knows how demanding and draining it can be. It's a process that many of us have a hard time staying in long enough to produce anything different from what we think we already know. Often, at the beginning of the process of deliberative thinking, we shut it down by saying to ourselves, "I already know that!" This causes the mind to close and interest to wane. When this happens any curiosity we may have regarding the truth about ourselves and the universe does not stimulate us sufficiently to use our minds in the necessary ways to obtain it.
In the context of the work environment, sometimes the work we do doesn't require us to think in order to perform our daily tasks. We are instructed (trained) how to perform our responsibilities and are judged simply by how well we do them. Nothing beyond doing our jobs is requested of us.
Sometimes the work we do requires us not to think in order to do it well. We're told that we're not paid to think, just to do our jobs the way we are told to do them. Anything beyond that is unwelcome input. Consequently, many people do not use their ability to think in ways that move them into greater realms of opportunity, creativity and productivity. If it's not going to get us anything except a reprimand or a pink slip, why try to think more than we need to?
What about the places where we're supposed to learn how to think and the benefits of regularly doing so? Even though most educational systems make noble attempts to instruct students in the ways of thinking well the daily routine and mechanics of teaching eventually overwhelms the best intentions of educators and administrators alike. Students exit from "the system" with some valuable information but not a very clear understanding of how to knit it all together into a meaningful whole that has beneficial ramifications for both the students and the societies in which they live.
Most of what we do on a daily basis doesn't involve much in the way of our brainpower. Routine and habit are shortcuts to action without thinking. They're what you do when you're not thinking about what you're doing. So, why think?
The Purpose of Thinking
The Seventeenth Century French Philosopher, Rene Descartes began his exhaustive investigation into the meaning of life with what to him was the only undeniable fact of life: the human ability to think. The Cartesian method of philosophical inquiry was revolutionary because it was the first to use shared concrete, everyday experiences of life, like thinking, to construct an understanding of the meaning and significance of human existence. Descartes' dictum, "Cogito, ergo sum," (I think, therefore, I am) was a whole new way of thinking about life by grounding it in thought.
If Descartes is correct that because I can think I therefore exist as a human being, then the question arises, "if I know that I am, is this the same as knowing who I am?" The answer is no. Just because I know I exist doesn't mean that I know much about myself. Your ability to think gives evidence that you "are." The task of actually thinking is to learn "who you are" and how you can "be the Self" you were born to be.
Meander, a Fourth Century BC Greek philosopher, said that the basis of civilization was for citizens to "know themselves," and that this meant, "to get acquainted with what you know and what you can do." He assumes that all human beings have within them, by virtue of their being alive, knowledge born of their unique manifestation of life. In the Eighteenth Century AD, the English poet, philosopher and lexicographer, Dr. Samuel Johnson, would perfectly summarize this philosophy of knowledge when he wrote, "human beings need to be reminded more than they need to be taught." The activity of thinking reminds you of what you innately know but have forgotten. Thinking is the process by which you uncover your Self and its potential and by which you discover creative ways to apply what you already know to being your Self within the context of your community of life. When you spend time thinking, you afford yourself the opportunity to get acquainted with your innate knowledge and with what you can do with that self-knowledge.
The Problem of Education
The primary purpose of employing your ability to think, therefore, is not merely to exist but to exist in a specific, unique way. How this is done depends on how the individual is taught to think. The German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), one of the foremost thinkers of the Enlightenment, remarked, "science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life." He described his approach to education as organizing life when he said, "the science I teach is how one might occupy his proper place in the universe." He was undoubtedly aware of the ancient teaching of Confusius: "Do not worry about holding high position; worry rather about playing your proper role."
The best teachers I had throughout my formal education and beyond were those who not just caused me to think but who helped me to learn the purpose of thinking. Thinking was not done merely to arrive at solutions to problems and answers to questions but was to be done to "know myself" and to learn how to be myself in the world as a unique presence. Knowing myself through thinking leads to acting as that unique Self and not as a mimic of any other even though some, if not all of my actions might be similar to others' in appearance and outcomes.
John Ruskin, a Nineteenth Century English social critic, said, "Education does not mean teaching people to know what they do not know; it means teaching them to behave as they do not behave." A good education teaches you how to use your ability to think so that you can behave in the ways that emanate from your uniqueness as a person and that consequently lead to your being a success as that person. Thinking shapes, directs and expands the capacity to behave in the particular ways that lead to personal accomplishment and significance.
In modern times, especially in Western education models, students are seen as proverbial "empty vessels" sitting at the feet of "fuller," older, wiser, learned professional educators who empty their knowledge into those empty heads thereby filling them with what somebody else knows. During the socialization process of teaching children how to exist in a particular culture, the system of education serves to provide the psychological structures for social homogenization by imparting the "wisdom of the ages," knowledge handed down from previous generations and that is deemed that everyone should know. This most certainly is a vital function of education. However, when this approach becomes the primary emphasis of education, as it most often appears to be in academic institutions throughout the West, it translates into teaching students what, not how to think.
The late 19th early 20th Century English philosopher, mathematician, and writer, Bertrand Russell, was no fan of formal educational systems and said so when he commented that education was "one of the chief obstacles to intelligence and freedom of thought" and that "men are born ignorant, not stupid. They are made stupid by education." He would agree that much of what passes for education is nothing more than the simple transmission by others of what they believe is important for students to be taught which often has nothing to do with the learners. His comment suggests that he saw the main purpose of contemporary formal education to be to mold children and young adults into an image that conformed to and reflected the prevailing culture. Education was the process by which people became like each other instead of becoming their unique Selves.
Russell would concur that content often lacks context, meaning that teaching frequently doesn't involve instructing students how to determine the veracity, viability, worthiness and usefulness of what is learned. It winds up being mere "data dumping" with little, if any attempt to help students "connect the dots" among the enormous array of data being offered from multiple sources and perspectives. Ben Hecht (1893-1964), an American author and dramatist, described the significance of context well: "Trying to determine what is going on in the world by reading newspapers is like trying to tell the time by watching the second hand of a clock." The education process is filled with billions of "seconds" and pieces of information that, all being emphasized as important to know, serve more to cloud than clarify the meaning of time and what happens within it. It emphasizes the threads not the tapestry, the parts not the whole.
John Locke (1632-1704), the British philosopher and medical researcher, wrote, "till a man can judge whether they be truths or not, his understanding is but little improved, and thus men of much reading, though greatly learned, but may be little knowing." If thinking is taught to be the process by which the thinker is able to accurately discern right from wrong, truth from falsity, authenticity from disingenuineness, then merely learning new information is not the way this can be done. Locke intimates how we can learn to 'judge whether they be truths or not' when he penned, "reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours."
Reading is an indispensable method of education. However, as Albert Einstein observed, "reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking." Sir Arthur Helps (1813-1875), English writer and dean of the Monarch's advisory council, agreed with such sentiment when he wrote, "reading is sometimes an ingenious device for avoiding thought." So reading, an essential means of education, can be a detriment to creative thinking. (I hope this is not the case as you read this article!).
The problem is that formal education offers no heuristic that students might use to organize and focus their thinking about everything they learn or to help them discover how to practically apply what they learn to the adventure of living. How often did I scurry between classes in college going from biology to philosophy, physics to religious studies, psychology to sociology knowing the content of the courses but without understanding how they all might be mutually corroborative and collaborative in providing a comprehensive foundation for innovative thinking about how to better live and enjoy my life? It took at least a couple of decades for me to even begin to appreciate the intrinsic symbiosis of the volumes of knowledge I had acquired throughout my higher education experience. Today, a couple of decades later still, my thinking is consumed with and consummated by discovering the interconnections among the pieces of information I have floating around in my head as I attempt to purposefully link the data dots into the big picture of my personal reality. This is more than mere "data mining," it is "data melding." It is this principle of information integration that should, but often does not, guide all educational endeavors.
Commenting on the rapid profusion of information throughout the early Twentieth Century, the American poet, e e cummings, paraphrasing a verse from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,' put it succinctly when he wrote, "data, data everywhere but not a thought to think." Without the context, the "big picture," the organizing principles of how to coordinate and use what we know, whatever we know will only take us away from ourselves by pointing to all that is outside us as the means of finding ourselves and the purpose of our lives. Our proper place in the universe is obscured and eludes us because we've not been provided, or have not diligently pursued the proper context within which all of what we know can be brought together to make our lives sensible and centered.
We cannot occupy a place we have not recognized as ours alone to occupy. Nor can we properly occupy that unique place until we have properly prepared ourselves with authentic, honest, abiding self-knowledge. Formal education, by providing massive amounts of asynchronous, external information, unwittingly becomes the chief cause of the obfuscation and "cluttering up" of the Self. Self-knowledge gets lost amidst the din of seemingly competing voices and ideas. Consequently, the Self becomes disjointed, disharmonious and disquieted for it has not found its proper place in the universe. It becomes as a prism refracting the various inputs it receives into even more detailed yet diffused bits of data.
Being overwhelmed with the prospect of learning what we believe we need to know and then applying it appropriately, many of us simply give up trying to think in the ways we could. Ironically, we have been educated out of thinking. Ayn Rand said it perfectly, "man's basic vice, the source of all his evils, is the act of unfocusing his mind, the suspension of his consciousness, which is not blindness, but the refusal to see, not ignorance, but the refusal to know."
Can education be directed to actually help human beings find their proper place in the universe? How can we connect the dots of our variegated and vast knowledge? How can we make it all assimilate into a common core of comprehension? Is it possible to turn the education process from an ego-driven "give and take" (where one ego gives information and other egos esteem themselves on how much they can take and then give back on exams) into a nobler endeavor that edifies by elucidating the humanity with which we must live for the brief while we are alive?
The paradigm that will help us bring it all together and coordinate our fragmented knowledge into clear understanding is the one that guided great civilizations of the past: know yourself first. The constituent elements of knowledge coalesce into a unified whole only after you get acquainted with your innate knowledge about yourself. Then all subsequent information that you acquire will gather to weave the larger tapestry of your unique presence within space and time. Only then will your education experience be as a crucible into which discontinuous data is poured but out of which holistic, useful and beneficial knowledge emerges.
In Part Two of this article you'll learn about the purpose of knowledge and education, where thoughts come from and the best way to think.

Ken Wallace, M. Div., CSL has been in the organizational development field since 1973. He is a seasoned consultant, speaker and executive coach with extensive business experience in multiple industries who provides practical organizational direction and support for business leaders. A professional member of the National Speakers Association since 1989, he is also a member of the International Federation for Professional Speaking and holds the Certified Seminar Leader (CSL) professional designation awarded by the American Seminar Leaders Association.
Ken is one of only eight certified Business Systems Coaches worldwide for General Motors.

Online Education Degree

Are you kind of person who likes to work with children? Are you loves to giving training and teaching to young people? Are you a good communicator especially with children? If you answered yes to the questions above, then online education degree will help you to gain the skills and enhanced you knowledge in education field. Hence, help you to advance your career working in education fields.
The booming education and health sector offers many jobs that involve working with children and youths. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the education and health sector is going to grow by 30.6 percent between now and 2014-faster than any other industries. Seeing the encouraging growth in education section, earn an online education degree will bring you to a brighter future.
In order start or advance your career in education related fields, you need to look for a related online degrees; there are many prestigious online colleges and universities offer degree in education and teaching. Among the featured online universities which offer various online education degree programs include:

• Capella University Master of Science in Education focus on area in elementary classroom teaching, secondary classroom teaching, advanced instruction in mathematics, advanced instruction in science, teacher leadership, and virtual school teaching. Master of Science in Education with concentration in Curriculum and Instruction is a specialized master degree offers to those licensed K12 teachers who looking to gain key competencies through theoretical study and collaboration with seasoned practitioners. You will acquire tools and techniques to help your district design instructional models and assessments that focus on increasing student achievement. Master of Science in Education with concentration in Leadership in Educational Administration, offer to those K12 teachers who are looking for education career advancement in school administration.
• Walden University Online master education degrees offered by Walden University include area in education leadership, Grades K-6 Elementary Reading & Mathematics, Grades 6-8 and K-5 mathematics which provide you with the key skills and knowledge to success in educational field.

• University of Phoenix University of Phoenix's education master degrees are mainly focus on education leadership and administration, education technology specialized in computer education.

If you are interested in early childhood education, then you should look for online education programs offer by Lehigh Valley College, Sullivan University, Rasmussen College, Hesser College. Since the introduction of concept "Education Start from Age 0"; the childhood education and child care management related careers are in a booming trend. Students who graduate with a childhood education degree usually go to work immediately after graduation due to high demand in this field.If you are gaga for education, opportunities for meaningful and well-paid work abound. Some other career possibilities include: Child Psychiatrist, Children Youth and Family Counselor, Doula, Pediatric Rehabilitation Counselor, and Play Therapist.
In short, the statistics show that the education section is in the booming trend and educational experts are always in demand. Online education degrees will prepare you with the necessary skills and get you success in this highly demand job marketplace.

Today's Buzzword

Students world over are whole-heartedly accepting online education. The advantages of online education have made it the popular mode of education among the students of all age groups in all parts of the world. This growing popularity of online education has led to the emergence of a large number of educational institutions offering online education for a wide range of subjects. The growth of educational institutions offering relearning facilities has been significantly high in the US, Europe and the developed nations of the world.
Online Education- Changing Perception
In the past people perceived online education as an unserious and unscrupulous way of laying hands of a fast degree and getting good grades without much effort and hard work. People also had doubts about the reputation of education institutes offering online education. However, the times have changes significantly and today the majority of educational institutions offering online education are well established. Most of the world's leading education institutions have commenced online programs, which vindicate the validity of online education. Most of the online courses offer in-depth learning to the students in their respective educational modules.
Factors Contributing To The Growth of Online Education
Online education is becoming popular because most of the educational institutions offering online courses ensure qualitative learning. Talented professors and subject matter experts are at the helm of affairs at almost all accredited universities and colleges offering online courses and online degree programs. The students can be assured of good results in such courses.
Here are some factors that have contributed to the fast paced growth of online education:
· Flexible schedule
The biggest advantage of online education is that the students can do effective utilization of their time, which is the most precious resource. People participating in online education have the freedom of maintaining a flexible schedule, which helps them tremendously and it has come as a boon for the people who are working and want to continue their education.
· Student-Centered Learning
The students in online education have an advantage because they are in charge of their learning experience. The students can prioritize their schedule and complete the assignments as per their comfort levels and convenience. This is possible because the teachers in online mode of education are not teaching you all the time. As an online student, you have the liberty to select the mode of learning.
· Fair Playing Field
Online education is growing in popularity because it offers a level playing field to all the students. When you are learning online, your performance is the only criterion that affects the decision-making and your gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, and other considerations do not cloud the decision making process. This is one of the major factors contributing to the growth of online education.
All these advantages of online education may prompt you to join e learning. However, before you take the plunge and enroll in an online course, please make sure that you are familiar with the methodology of online education.

Online Education

Time management is the key to success in today's fast paced world. How one manages his or her time determines the success quotient and this is the reason why online education id gaining immense popularity. Since online education offers unmatched flexibility and the students and learners can manage time in line with their other priorities, it is becoming a very popular mode of education in almost all parts of the world. The growing popularity of online education has resulted in the establishment of several online educational institutions offering online degree courses and other learning opportunities.
Some people harbored the misconception that the advantages of online education are restricted only for those students and learners who had an established record of past accomplishments. This also led to the belief that online education helps only those who have access to modern means of communication as computer and Internet. However, as the awareness about various modes of online education is increasing the misconceptions related to online education are giving way to more acceptability to online education and training.
Changing perception
It is a talk of the past when people considered online mode of education as a quick way of obtaining a degree or getting good grades. In the past, the reputed educational institutions were not offering online education. However, with the increasing popularity of online education, the majority of institutions offering online courses are well-established institutes and they have a rich experience to provide such education. It is worth mentioning, that a large number of world's leading educational institutions are offering online education courses on a wide range of subjects.
Growth drivers
Today, most of the accredited online education courses have talented teachers and professors of repute in their respective specialization. This ensures qualitative learning. The students signing up with online education courses, can be assured of guaranteed results. Moreover, online education is more interesting and more competitive when compared to the traditional teaching methodologies.
Employers' viewpoint
Undoubtedly, many employers were and some of them are still having doubts about the value of online education. However, with change in perception and emerging popularity, a large number of employers have realized their worth. Now the employers consider the online degrees from accredited and well-established online educational institutes of repute. Moreover, the increasing number of people who enroll for online education has changed the employers' perception and now they readily consider the benefits of online education.
Some research reports point out that technology oriented industries such as, communication, computers, media and marketing have started to accept the candidates having online degree courses from accredited and reputed institutions.

Methodologies of Online Education

There were many myths and misconceived notions about online education until recent past. Some people believed that online learning is a good option only for students who have a good track record. It was also believed that only those students having access to computers and modern means of communication would benefit from online education. However, with time such notions are giving way to an open acceptance where people have started accepting online education as a viable alterative for conventional education.
Not all online education options have a similar methodology and approach. There are various modes of online education available and it would be better if you have an understanding of different methodologies in use by online education providers so that you can select the course with the methodology that suits you the best. Here we are discussing the learning methodologies for online education:
Online Education Methodologies- Different Options
Live: This methodology is also known as synchronous mode of learning. In this mode of online education, there is instant communication between the students and teachers and at times even among different students. Herein all the participants get access to information simultaneously. Virtual classroom using the facility of video or audio conferencing and real-time chat are some examples of this mode of online education.
This learning methodology has its advantages and disadvantages. This mode is more akin to the conventional education except for the fact that the students don't have to travel to the classrooms. The biggest advantage of synchronous method of online education is that it allows instant feedback for the student's performance and allows active interaction among the students and teachers. Thus the students can get the training and education that is tailored suit their needs. Moreover, live education also facilitates the setting up of learning communities and groups for a better interaction among the learners.
This method has the disadvantage that the students cannot plan their schedule and they are bound by the pre-set schedule.
Asynchronous: Asynchronous mode of online education is popularly termed as store and forward education. In this method, the communication between the student and teacher is not instant. Self-paced courses are the examples of asynchronous online education where the students communicate with the teachers and amongst themselves by exchanging emails and posting messages on online bulletin boards and discussing groups. This is the more popular mode of online education because it offers more convenience and flexibility to the students and they can decide the pace and schedule for their education and training.
Despite of the advantages, this mode of online education has its disadvantages too. The students in this mode of learning, lack discipline and motivation and generally tend to develop a lackluster attitude towards education.
The mixed mode of learning in online education combines the advantages of both the modes and it is a combination of personal lectures or face-to-face interaction learning through online activities.
Now that you have a better understanding of different methodologies of online education, you can pick up the right one for you and enhance your skills.

The Writing is on the Oil Well

American education has to become more competitive yesterday.As published in Discover Magazine, January 2006:

The performance of U.S. students in middle and high schools on international math and science exams is below the average of 38 other countries. Even advanced American math and physics students score near dead last among students in 20 tested countries, the panel reported. Since 1990 the number of bachelor's degrees in engineering has declined 8 percent; in mathematics, 20 percent. While 32 percent of U.S. students graduate with degrees in science and engineering, the figure in China is 59 percent.

With the American economy so dependent on oil and oil related products it is absolutely imperative that America stop lagging behind in education and take the lead once again.

With countries in the Middle East like Qatar having vast oil and natural gas deposits making a huge effort today to start the transition of their economy from an oil based one to a knowledge based economy should be a significant warning sign to the United States. These people have some of the largest oil reserves in the world and they are aggressively planning for an economy not based on oil.

As was stated in April 7, 2006 issue of the journal Science "This small Persian Gulf emirate is preparing for life after oil and gas by pouring wealth into education and research"

For example:

In Education City in Qatar the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute has helped Qatar to make tremendous changes in the country's educational institutions. And Qatar Science and Technology Park will be an incubator where private companies can partner with government agencies and academic institutions, developing research into commercial applications and driving Qatar and the region toward a diversified, knowledge-based economy.

What American Institutions are participating?

Prominent signs indicate the presence of educational heavyweights, including Weill Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, and Texas A&M.

It is also noted in the journal Science that "Qatar's primary and secondary schools, which have begun to dispense with traditional rote learning, Al-Hajari reports, replacing it with curricula designed to stimulate creative and independent thinking. And it extends to Qatar University, which was founded in 1977 and is independent of Education City."

Why should we as Americans worry about Qatar?

The fact is that America is ranked 39th world wide in math and science education. Consider that Texas was just ranked, as a state, 24th in a country that was just placed as 39th.

Countries like Qatar, Singapore, China & India are readily getting some of the best researchers that have been educated and trained in America to relocate to their countries.

For example the Journal Science Reports that:

Texas A&M is setting up joint research with the oil industry and studies related to clean air, while Weill Cornell will concentrate on biomedical projects relevant to local health problems. (Diabetes Research) To accelerate the process, (Qatar) plans to bring interested scientists from Weill Cornell's New York base and recruit postdocs. For his part, (Qatar) hopes to lure back expatriate Arab scientists currently flourishing in the West. "Many diaspora researchers are interested in going back if the infrastructure is there," says Hassan. To capitalize on the research, the Qatar Foundation is building the Qatar Science and Technology Park right next door to Education City.Already, big players in industrial R&D, including GE, Microsoft, and ExxonMobil, have signed up and are waiting to move in.

What is happening? Foreigners are coming to America and getting education and training and then exporting that knowledge and experience out of the country.
American researchers and educators are leaving America to be able to do the research that they are either denied or do not have funding for in the United States.
The drain is affecting the quality of education and research in America.
America is losing it's competitive edge in a global economy in the area of research to product development.
The quality of educational facilities in the United States is falling below that of the competitive countries, as are the salaries and benefits which lure our leading researchers away.

These well funded research facilities are in countries that do not hold back development and research in controversial areas like Stem Cell Research. In fact they encourage it and fund it. These countries are leaving the United States behind and will reap the financial rewards and the health benefits of such research before the United States. They will generate jobs and wealth. The Unite States will just lose.

In an article from February 24, 2006 in the Journal Science:

"At an elite science high school in Dallas, Texas, President George W. Bush told the assembled students that the United States "needs a workforce strong in engineering and science and physics" to remain the world's top economic power. His words would seem to bode well for precollege activities funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the only federal agency with an explicit mission to improve science and math education. But 3 days later, the president unveiled a 2007 budget request that would cut--for the third straight year--a 4-year-old program at NSF aimed at doing exactly that." "If the (Education and Human Resources) EHR budget stays flat, there's no hope of accomplishing what corporate America says is needed to improve the U.S. workforce,"

In his Sate of the union Address on January 31, 2006 President Bush Stated:

"And to keep America competitive, one commitment is necessary above all: We must continue to lead the world in human talent and creativity. Our greatest advantage in the world has always been our educated, hardworking, ambitious people -- and we're going to keep that edge. Tonight I announce an American Competitiveness Initiative, to encourage innovation throughout our economy, and to give our nation's children a firm grounding in math and science."

However, on February 27, 2006 President Bush comes out and announces his plans for the budget: (Washington Post By Mike Allen and Peter Baker 02/07/06)

"President Bush plans to unveil a $2.5 trillion budget today eliminating dozens of politically sensitive domestic programs, including funding for education, environmental protection and business development, while proposing significant increases for the military and international spending, according to White House documents."

These problems that are highlighted above are at the heart of the problem.

Now get into the "No child Left Behind" program which has altered public education and forced it into a rote learning model by demanding testing performance at the sacrifice of building critical thinking skills.

According to Wikipedia Rote Learning is defined as: a learning technique which avoids grasping the inner complexities and inferences of the subject that is being learned and instead focuses on memorizing the material so that it can be recalled by the learner exactly the way it was read or heard. In other words, it also means learning just for the test.

For a Texas school to achieve the academic acceptable rating (the lowest passing standard)

According to the TEA's own 2005 Accountability Manual:

Schools must have passing rates of:

50% percent in Reading Tests

50% in Writing Tests

50% in Social Studies

35% percent in Math tests

25% percent in Science tests

The aspects of learning that involved critical thinking and questioning what is being taught are dieing on the vine so that we reflect an acceptable passing rating as defined by the TAKS test standards for Texas.

I find it horrifying that such low standards are required of students to pass the TAKS test in order to get an academically acceptable rating for the entire school.

No single student would be allowed to pass a single test with a 60%, 40% or 35% grade. The Government is telling us Schools are getting better and more schools are meeting the acceptable rating than they were two years ago. The only reason that is true is because they have lowered the standard and created loop holes that specifically allow for test scores of minorities to be excluded in the reporting.

Our schools are being forced onto a path of intentional failure by placing the appearance of demands and accountability without funding. The current administration in Washington and our representatives across the United States all talk about how important education is but their actions of undermining those initiatives by cutting the money out of education only speak to their real agenda of forcing public education to fail so that they can privatize education.

This agenda is being achieved at the sacrifice of this generation of children that are in school today. The damage that is being done will take decades to repair. Our economy will suffer and the quality of life for your children might actually be less than yours for the first time in American history.

As a nation we need to stop wasting time with foolish projects like School Vouchers and we need to stop spending money and resources on trying to get intelligent design into science classes. These distractions only drain valuable resources and time from the educational system while exasperating the problems at the expense of the education of our children. We need to fix the problems - not create new ones.

We need:

To hold elected officials accountable for sacrificing education.

Better pay for teachers.

More Teachers.

Better resources for education.

Properly fund "No child Left behind"

Modify "No Child Left Behind" to promote critical thinking.

Abandon the method of Rote Learning.

Increase funding for "Head Start".

More involvement of higher learning institutions through the entire educational life of a child.

To spend more money on students per year than we do on prison inmates. ($13,000 per prisoner vs. $6,000 per student)

Stimulate more research in higher education.

Open up Stem Cell research and other programs to lure the leading minds.

Restore incentives to bring the brightest and most talented researchers to America.

To be number 1 in education world wide.

For Texas to lead the United States in education as well.