A RECIPE FOR THE FUTURE

I find it odd that the half of the national budget that gets spent on the general public dispenses 40% to the elderly and 10% to the youth, and in tough economic times we find it wise to make deep cuts to the key structures and agencies responsible for the development of that 10%.


What makes people think that we can achieve a high level of sustainability if we steal from an already under funded future.


Now I understand that a lot of these key structures and agencies (education more specifically) become increasingly irrelevant with each passing day. That as the pace of growth and progress exceed educations ability to adapt and facilitate real learning things need to change.


If that's your argument to pull back funding to our high schools and higher education systems I sympathize, but what changes are being planned and hatched? My personal belief is that legislators and other influencing forces tend to think that less education breeds more consumers which stands to bring some level of relief to a mounting deficit.


The current discussions on the topic seem to center around better teachers as the win all solution; and though it might make for interesting conversation it fails to address the root of the problem. If we say that college is the new high school we have to make it every bit as accessible. College needs to be an expectation not a luxury and set up as such. That means requirements need to be lowered to simply proving your capable of graduating high school. With the spike in the number of people attending college the price of tuition suddenly drops. Allowing for more graduates to focus on pushing the edge of innovation and less on paying back debt. Masters and Doctorate programs can then be fleshed out and some level beyond such titles could be designed.


Yet another option would be to take full advantage of the one thing that is universally ubiquitous and free (yes I'm talking about the internet) as the primary point of interaction for students and learning. I may get a lot of heat from critics for this one, and to them I say show me the proof that it isn't just as affective as the current means of educating. I mean at some point we have to recognize that one is not better than the other merely different and with the growing number of people spending enormous amounts of time connected we have to meet them where they choose to congregate. The advantages in cost and flexibility in my opinion far exceed the negative and realistically can't be ignored any longer.


I guess at the end of the day I'm just surprised at the lack of creativity and courage.