fishCenter110608
Now that the hoopla surrounding the inauguration of Barack Obama has finally, finally died down, it's time for the President to focus on trying to keep some of the promises he made to the American people.
Of course, not all of us were so easily persuaded by President Obama's glittery prose and sparkling plans for tomorrow, but nonetheless, he managed to convince enough poor souls as to make it into the Oval Office. I don't envy him; once it's clear that he can't physically do some of the things voters believed he could actually achieve (like paying off their mortgage...um, hello?), he will have plenty of upset and disillusioned folks demanding he keep his word, even when they have taken those promises out of context.
Good luck, Mr. President.
Having taken off my right-wing T-shirt for just a few moments, I will admit it would be wonderful if Obama could in fact accomplish half of the platforms he campaigned on. I would like to focus just for a few minutes on Obama's lofty education goals and international diplomacy policy for the United States during his four-year term. On his Web site, barackobama.com, Obama outlines several points he wants to address as Chief Executive. With regards to education, Obama wants to rectify the dropout crisis in high schools, emphasize the importance of math and science and support college credit initiatives, such as AP classes for students preparing for college.
When it comes to foreign policy, Obama is adamant that United States diplomats expand our presence throughout the world, talk with leaders whom we may not like, and seek new partnerships with countries we haven't given a lot of time to, such as those in Latin America and Asia.
I would propose that Obama is going to fail in the long term in his plan to have American diplomats reach out and interact positively with other countries because his part of the plan for education reform is flawed. Stay with me here.
Obama desires a push for more emphasis on math and science. Does he mention the social sciences? Where is the push for political science, philosophy, and history? Obama seemingly wants to educate an entire generation with the majority of their teachings centered on math and science. I'm not denying that math and science are important because they do in fact provide much of the basis for the concrete physical world we live in.
But does a diplomat to the Dominican Republic need a heavy concentration in math? Wouldn't he be better served by having a full working knowledge of the United States' history of relations with the Dominican Republic?
Just take a look at yourself or your roommates perhaps. How much of world history do you really know? Unless you are a history major, you likely haven't studied much history since graduating high school, and my guess is you didn't learn much of anything about the United States and its relationship to countries outside of Europe. Are any of us ready to be good citizens of the world without knowledge of events such as the U.S.' attempt to annex the Dominican Republic or the U.S. backing of the brutal government regime during the civil war in El Salvador?
Our generation has not been raised with a thorough knowledge of modern world history, especially when that history shows the United States in an unflattering light or when the history concerns countries we've traditionally viewed as less important. We are poised to enter the global world with half the story, and President Obama seems intent to raise another generation on even lesser amounts of historical knowledge.
History is often said to offer insights into past mistakes and help prevent similar situations from reoccurring, and if Obama wants to truly increase the power of American diplomacy and the well-being of foreign relations, he would be wise to reconsider what is being taught in our nation's public schools.
Leave a comment 8 Comments Write a letter to the editor
All letters to the editor must include a name, e-mail, daytime phone number and affiliation to Virginia Tech. Affiliation includes: year and major for students; position and department for faculty and staff; current city for alumni and parents.
It is amazing to me that the CT actually published an article that treats Obama this way. This person actually contradicted what many of you call our savior. Keep wearing your Obama/Biden shirts around campus and I will continue to laugh at you.
Reply to this Top
"Of course, not all of us were so easily persuaded by President Obama's glittery prose and sparkling plans for tomorrow, but nonetheless, he managed to convince enough poor souls as to make it into the Oval Office." I think that you should avoid insulting a large majority of the population of the united states if you want your opinion to be taken seriously.
Reply to this Top
Also the reason he's focusing on science and technology is because if the US wants to have a rats ass of a chance to stay competitive with China and India in the coming decades, we better replace all those gash darned engineers that are now retiring at a faster rate than new ones are graduating. Want cheaper power for your house? Lower transportation costs? Help reduce global warming? Ain't gonna be an American company that does it if trends continue.
Reply to this Top
Anyway, this comment is getting too long and I have actual homework I should be doing, so I'll wrap it up. No, a delegate to the Dominican Republic does not need a heavy concentration with math. Fortunately we don't choose diplomats from a pool of high school graduates. The people who fulfill these roles go to college and get specialized educations. Obama's education reform has nothing to do with them. Math and science are more important than the liberal arts for the vast majority of Americans, and I say this as an English major. There are a limited number of positions for diplomats and such, and we will have no trouble filling them. And like I said, worldly education is important. But we don't need every student to know details about the United States' interactions with the Dominican Republic. What America needs is to regain the advantage in the scientific fields, and Obama's plan is a great step in that direction. If you just read the headline and the last paragraph though, it’s a pretty good article.
Reply to this Top
As for the author's treatment of Obama's "lofty education goals..." well, I think she's missing the point. Certainly a more worldly education would benefit American students, but I don't think that an increased emphasis on math and science would somehow exclude such a possibility. Obama doesn't mention the social sciences, that's true. But claiming "Obama seemingly wants to educate an entire generation with the majority of their teachings centered on math and science" is either a lie or a gross misinterpretation of the facts. While I'm glad that the author admits the importance of math and science, I feel that they do a little more than "provide much of the basis for the concrete physical world we live in." I didn't take physics in high school so that gravity could begin to affect me. Math and science education do more than inform students about the world we live in. Engineers, scientists, doctors...all of them need education in science and math.
Reply to this Top
What's amazing to me is that the CT actually published an article that is this intellectually dishonest (I hope it's that, and not just run of the mill ignorance). On second thought that isn't so amazing. But seriously, this article is just...bizarre. Let's start with the headline, which insists "Obama should honor change platform." Fair enough, save for the fact that the article proceeds to caution Obama against accomplishing his platforms as laid out by his campaign. The crux of the article, that Obama's plans for education and foreign policy somehow contradict one another, is absurd. It's pretty well known that American children are lagging behind those from many other countries in math and science. This is a crisis, no doubt, considering that much of America's strength has come, historically, through technological prowess. This problem grows worse when you recognize that some of the countries whose children are beating ours are in fact the countries we will be competing with in the future.
Reply to this Top
It seems today that no matter what Conservatives say they are always wrong. Damn Liberals try to make themselves the victim at all costs, and I agree with the author when she says the "poor souls" that elected the man. These people didn't have a clue what he stood for because all they care about is when their next government check is coming in the mail. If you want to talk about how to fix the deficit maybe we should look at welfare and medicaid fraud first.
Reply to this Top
Who is playing the victim? As for the "poor souls," are they the same as the liberal Hollywood elite who got him elected? Oh wait maybe they're the ones who run the liberal media who got him elected. Or maybe they all voted for him because he's black, in which case I'm sure black people will be relieved to hear they are now the majority. Or maybe, just maybe, people were tired of policies being pumped out by men who were apparently intent on running the country into the ground. The same people who've managed to run the country's debt up and completely eradicate the idea of a budget surplus, all while spending half of the countries money on the military... No that's ridiculous, it was definitely the Poor Black Hollywood Media Elites and their damned welfare checks.
Reply to this Top