While everyone is feeling the strain of tighter budgets, in the government goes to public education to fill in the deficient. The first question is why is education the first budget to be cut? One is because education does not technically produce anything tangible. Another reason is the so-called idea that education is a privilege, not a right while education is technically a privilege, every student deserves an opportunity to attend school and many of our students will not receive that opportunity unless financial aid is given.
Students who want to go to school will find a way to make it happen, even with thousands of dollars in debt trailing behind them. Why punish the students that will finish their education and make this country great? Every state has some form of financial aid for local students while the aid does not cover all the tuition, this significant portion allows students to focus on their studies and finish school early. Students that have to take on part or full-time jobs will not always be able to finish up their education in four years.
Not all our students are college athletes and can earn full rides to school through sports, but they are intelligent and if given the opportunity, they can give more than just entertainment for four years; they can cure diseases, change the way we communicate, and work to improve living conditions all over the world. How can they do this if only a few are given the opportunity to attend?
At the high school level, educational standards are higher than ever and budgets keep being slashed. Teachers perform everyday miracles making do with less or buying supplies needed to education their students with their own meager paychecks. Yet, teachers are not given the proper materials or technology because of budget restraints. Even through all this, our students rise to the occasion. Even though public education is technically free, many of our students have spent thousands of their own dollars trying to fulfill the requirements of financial aid consider the cost of tutors, AP tests, and ACT retakes. Think of the additional books students have purchased to enhance their education. High school costs our students money and time and to take away their reward or hold it hostage is just fraudulent.
Packing classrooms, cutting teachers, taking away financial aid; how is this helping society? The only people who will pull us out of this financial mess are our young people and how are they going to help society without an education? The wealthy have a way to pay for college, what about our students from low-income families or even our middle-class families? The wealthy are not the only families with intelligent students, who a driven to better themselves and society.
If the government is in so much trouble, why aren’t politicians paychecks being cut? The founding fathers never intended “politician” to be a career choice. Just last year, politicians in Louisiana voted to give themselves a raise. If we are in this much trouble, is it right for politicians to receive a raise when we cannot afford to send our students to college with financial aid they have earned? Have politicians earned the respect of the American people to deserve a raise?
While it is true, not all students want to attend college, 100% of our students deserve an opportunity to go. The opportunity gap between the wealthy and the poor can only be closed with proper financial aid and equal opportunities and when the government is taking away opportunities something has to be said and done.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, “In 2013, median earnings for full-time year-round working young adults ages 25–34 with a bachelor’s degree were $48,500, while the median was $23,900 for those without a high school diploma or its equivalent, $30,000 for those with a high school diploma or its equivalent, and $37,500 for those with an associate’s degree. In other words, young adults with a bachelor’s degree earned more than twice as much as those without a high school diploma or its equivalent (103 percent more) and 62 percent more than young adult high school graduates. Additionally, in 2013 median earnings for young adults with a master’s or higher degree were $59,600, some 23 percent more than the median for young adults with a bachelor’s degree” (source).
With financial aid now, our student will be able to live without financial aid later. While some financial aid is being wasted, it is not right to take it all if it from the students who will not abuse it. The idea that everyone should be punished for the wrong doings of a few is one of the first lessons in educational leadership. Put restrictions on the financial aid. Stipulated that students must maintain a certain GPA and take a certain number of classes a semester and if these requirements are not met, the “financial aid” turns into a loan.
It is quite possible that the government does not want an educated populations. Without proper education, people are easier to control and mislead. It is easier to strike fear into the hearts of people who frankly, do not understand their rights or have the financial means to provide for themselves without the help of the government. Dangling financial aid in front of students that truly need it and have earned is wrong.
