Open-Letter to the President

Dear Mr. President,

Our country is currently experiencing one of the worst economic recessions in history. This type of event would make one question the foundations of a country that is traditionally one of the economic superpowers of the world. It would be a mistake not to investigate the effectiveness of America’s educational system as ultimately education dictates the success of a nation.

I believe, as you do, that drastic measures should be taken to overhaul the United State’s education system and keep America competitive with other nations. Actually, competition is just what we need within our schools.

It has always been the American spirit to fight till the end and never give up but somehow this has been eliminated within the school system. Our schools are hurting from the lack of competition that is brought about by the apathy a teacher exhibits in a typical 8 to 5 job. Just like in any workplace, the employees need to be challenged to reach a goal with rewards for those who succeed.

Finding an opening for a teaching position is not difficult and that presents a problem, not from a shortage of teachers standpoint but rather from a competition perspective. For teachers, knowing that there is always a job opening in some other school provides a sense of security or comfort, sometimes undeserved. It is necessary that the government creates a competitive environment in which teachers are rewarded and even punished for their performance.

The idea of a voucher system has been presented before and I believe this would be the most effective method of increasing the effectiveness of our schools and teachers. A voucher system would allow parents to choose the school their child attends and have the money allotted for that student to go towards that school. This would undoubtedly create a competitive environment as schools would battle to be the most successful and enroll the best students.

This voucher system would hold the teachers and the school administration accountable for their actions. Just like the citizens of America should hold you responsible for the actions you take as president, the government should hold the education system responsible for their actions, almost like a check and balances system. No longer would there be immediate teacher openings, especially at the better schools, eventually leading to some form of stability within the school system.

This system would benefit those students who are disadvantaged and would otherwise have to attend a poor school in their area. Qualified students would be able to attend a better public school that is not full of other poor students, but of a diverse student body that would not be discriminated against financially. How could such a system hurt the education of our students? At the very least, students would simply attend schools other than those in their area. It is absolutely worth giving this proposal a shot.

In Ohio, it has been proven the voucher system increases the effectiveness of our schools. A research conducted by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice has revealed that of the 17 school systems participating in some form of a voucher system, 16 showed the voucher system improved their schools while only 1 school system showed no improvement. It was further noted in the study that the school system which showed no improvement was actually designed to discriminate against competition. The foundation is so confident in the results that “researchers predict the enhancements will result in a one-standard-deviation improvement in the academic performance of public schools three to four years into the program.” Clearly, there is some benefit to increased competition.

There are two major hurdles to starting a voucher system, however, and they come in the form of congressional lobbyists and teacher unions. Throughout you’re campaign, you promised the American people that there would be a “new Washington” free of lobbyist influence. These two groups are negatively impacting the education system by lobbying congressmen to vote ‘Nay’ on any form of a student voucher bill. It is necessary to push these influences out of Washington for the educational system to have any chance. Please deliver on your promises, they are why an overwhelming amount of citizens have voted for you.

Mr. President, you campaigned on the premise of change and change is what the American people desperately in the area of education. Reform is necessary especially during these turbulent economic times our great country is facing. Please uphold the promises you have made to the American people and at the very least, take a moment to consider this proposal. These times call for drastic but smart measures.

A concerned citizen,

Kyle Smith
Chapel Hill, NC




Works Cited

Barack Obama Already Breaking Election Promise. Warner T. Houston. 8 Nov. 2008. Current.1 Mar. 2009 .

Education: How Do We Get the Results We Want? David Mathews. 1 Mar. 2009. National Issues Forums, Dayton, Ohio. 1 Mar.2009.

Get Schooled. Laura Diamond. 29 Jan. 2008. Atlanta Journal Constitution, Atlanta, GA. 1 Mar. 2009 .

The Heartland Institute: Free Market Solutions. Aricka Flowers. 1 Nov. 2008. The Heartland Institute, Chicago, IL. 1 Mar. 2009 .