My parents’ generation could live comfortably with just a high school diploma; however, my generation and generations to follow will not have this luxury.  If our children want to live the comfortable, middle-class lifestyle that most of us enjoyed, they will need more education.

Parents, teachers, business leaders and the entire community should work toward preparing the next generation for the changes in our economy.  Policy-makers, from school board officials to the governor to members of Congress, also need to recognize the changing needs and work to make education better.

Although I strongly believe in local control of education, the federal government also has an important role.  After all, the federal taxes we pay aren’t supposed to just disappear into Washington, D.C., never to be seen again.  The government provides us important services in exchange for our taxes, such as roads, national defense and education.  Our federal government oversees important programs such as Head Start and college student loans.

The federal government also provides block grants to assist in teacher training, technical and vocational education, wiring classrooms to the Internet and educating students with special needs.  With that said however, the federal government can improve its involvement in education.

We should definitely lessen the bureaucracy and make sure education dollars go to the classrooms, not get lost in the shuffle.  In short, the federal government should help local communities improve their educational systems, not hinder the process with bureaucracy and red tape.  

As a federal policy-maker, I felt it was critical to see classrooms and schools in my district, particularly ones that are affected by the federal government, before I make decisions affecting those programs.  I traveled from one end of my district to the other for a week and toured high schools, junior high schools, universities, technical schools, Head Start programs and school-to-career programs.  Listening to parents, students, teachers and administrators provided me great insight into how the federal government can be more helpful.

Auburn High School was one of the most impressive schools I toured.  Freshman students must begin development of a plan for their high school years and beyond.  Students are encouraged to explore their options and take classes that will help them find a job later.
 

For example, I visited an anatomy and physiology class, which was filled with future doctors, physical therapists an sports doctors.  I also saw an auto mechanics program that trains students in sate-of-the-art computer technology.

The teachers at Auburn High School told me that their curriculum provides focus to a student’s education and shows the student that what they do today is the foundation for a career tomorrow.  Auburn High School is making education relevant to a student; the teachers are showing the students how their studies can be used beyond high school.

These kind of programs, often called school-to-career, have come under some criticism by people who want education to focus on “the basics.”  I understand this criticism, because I think the number one problem with education for the last 20 years is a lack of focus on the basics.  Society has tried to turn our teachers into parents, and make them deal with problems at home and other values and moral issues that are beyond the scope of their job.

I’ve learned that this is frustrating for both teachers and parents.  Teachers feel like they have enough to do just teaching reading, writing, math and basic school subjects.  Parents are frustrated because most of them are doing their job of parenting, and they don’t want teachers taking over their job instead of teaching.

So the criticism of school-to-work programs is not without cause, but I think we should take a closer look at the programs and realize that school-to-work not only teachers the basics, but it shows students how to apply their education to a future career.

Students don’t need to decide their career path at age 13.  But we do need to get them thinking about what the will do after the 12th grade.  We should help them open doors to their future and show them the vast possibilities.