Why an Education Can Benefit You

Getting an education can prepare you not only for a career, but also to have a more rich and active life. You can benefit greatly from pursing a degree program, whether it is a certificate program, associate degree, bachelor degree or higher.

One advantage of getting an education is the well-rounded nature that it will your life. The core curriculum taught at schools covers a range of topics, including civics, biology, history, foreign languages, literature, math and English. These give you a better base upon which to build your own perceptions about society and your role in it. You can now more easily pursue an online degree, which can be done in the comfort of your own home.

Your core classes are complemented with the more specific ones that match your major area of choice. These are often intermingled with the core classes as you advance. You can graduate with a general studies degree, which takes you across the curriculum into a variety of subject areas. This is a good choice for those who are unsure of the career path that they want to take.

When you have a higher education under your belt, you can more actively take part in society and enjoy culture at a whole new level. The arts, literature and other areas will have a deeper and richer meaning due to your greater understanding of them. It also makes you more competitive on the job market, which is something that you definitely want to take advantage of.

 

Vote Local

Red, white, and blue come out every summer to accompany the hotdogs and fireworks of the Fourth of July. They wave on the front-porch flags of Memorial Day and accompany many car bumpers down the road every day. But, the colors of the United States seem to be most visible every four years in the period immediately leading up to the presidential election. These elections have grown into publicity campaigns of enormous proportions and they’re very effective in hyping up the American public. The presidential election is the hot season of American politics, if there is one. It encourages more people to vote and stirs up opinions in those who may not have felt them so strongly before. While the presidential election is wildly important, it is imperative to remember that it is not the sole manifestation of governmental involvement. Even when the reds, whites, and blues take a step out of the limelight, politics carry on. State and local politics are just as important to your daily life. They are likely far more recognizable as well. If there are potholes speckling your street, or a strong city park system, those things don’t fall on the shoulders of the president. Their origins are a lot closer to home. Local politicians are generally more tuned-in to the problems of a community because they usually live within close proximity. In turn, a personal understanding makes them more capable of solving these problems. These are the politicians who handle the municipal issues that affect the daily lives of the people within their jurisdictions. Their election, though attended by significantly less fanfare than a presidential election, is important too. So, even when the passionate politics of the national level elections have taken a break for a few years, it’s important to remember to stay involved. A single vote counts for a lot more in a smaller community, whether it’s in your state, county, or city.

Protest Music

Music is intrinsically bound in emotion. It would have no power, no beauty, and no relevance if it were not able to strike a chord, so to speak, with its audience. Effective music is that music that stirs people’s feelings for better or for worse. It can pick them up or pull them down, excite them or depress them, but good music always plays upon people’s emotions.

One of the first acts of the American Government was to ratify the Bill of Rights. Among other things, the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights protects free speech in the United States. Pair this right with the impassioned power of music and a very strong tool emerges: the protest song.

Protest music has been a part of American culture since very early on. Spirituals sung by the slaves were a form of protest music, the Civil War showed its share of protest music, and so on. But, the most well known form of protest music today is probably the music of the folk revival. Musicians like Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger brought a genre back to the forefront and gave it new life as opposition song, as the music of a movement. There are American tunes glorifying the working class, there are songs about the futility of war, there is music that sings to the power of the people in this country. Protest music can be found covering just about any topic that captures the sentiments of the people.

So much more than a simple genre, protest music in the United States is a tool that gives people voice. It transcends genre, showing up as soul, folk, punk, and rock n’ roll, to name a few. It waves the flag of the First Amendment and often speaks against the very powers that provide that right. However, it can also be a constructive form of criticism, lending strength to the opinions of groups that may otherwise be difficult to hear.

A Self-checking System

In an enormous country like the United States it’s easy to think of the government with a sense of disconnect. You are just one person, and though you do have a say, it can seem like an impossibly small tool with which to fix a massive and complex machine like the federal government. It can be all too easy to think that the government has limitless power and that the people are subject to their whims. Luckily, this is not the case. People run the government and the founders of this nation had the foresight to build a series of checks and balances into the system. This means that the voters are not solely responsible for policing the government, but that the government has been created to police itself.

By separating the power in the nation, the founders hoped to create a country where no single tyrannical power could possibly rise up. No one branch of government was given enough power to make rash moves, or singular decisions. Each branch has some power over another, and so they must work in tandem for any great action to be taken. The Executive Branch has, as the name implies, executive power over the acts of Congress (Legislative Branch). The Executive (the President) can also veto any bill passed by the Congress. Congress, to counter this, can override a veto with a two-thirds majority. They also have the power to impeach a president. The third branch, the Judicial Branch, consists of the Supreme Court. They have the task of interpreting the US Constitution and deciding whether the laws passed by Congress comply with the it.

So, while this is only a quick run down of the limitations set up in the US government, it can be reassuring to remember that there are limitations, and that they are extensive. These not only help spread power, but also create a culture of deliberation in politics by slowing the process down.

Voting for more School Reform?

“Our children, and our country, need and deserve the best.” Secretary Arne Duncan comments after the release of the Program for International Student Assessment 2009 results, which compare and contrast average 15 year old students around the world in achievement.

American students are average to below average in reading, science, and math compared to other nations. The answer it seems is more school reform with more rigorous academic standards, higher performance standards for teachers, and turning around low performing schools. This is all part of Obama’s existing Race to the Top Assessment Program, which invites those in education to the challenge of producing an array of students that graduate college and enter into the global economy.

States are individually responsible for the outcome of all of the areas that politicians seek reform. How can we do this? Dunan’s response is a challenge to local governments to change areas that will increase performance rates and negate the schools that have been under review for more than a few years with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2000.

Change is imperative in the education system within the United States. It might seem daunting to think more change is coming, especially for teachers and administrators who face existing challenges with their students, or parents who have struggling learners in their home, this change is coming.
The first step that has initiated this progress is with The Recovery Act, which has about 100 billion dollars aligned for education reform, in addition to schools being invited to apply for other government funds available that will help reform and change for today’s youth. Can money help change this growing problem? Let’s hope so.

Mr. Duncan comments, “The United States has a long way to go before it lives up to the American dream and the promise of education as the great equalizer.”

Education is essential for our country to grow. Can we achieve this reform with success?