If I had 15 minutes to talk to President Barrack Obama, I would most likely talk to him about Education in the U.S. For the past ten years, giving students the best education has been a hassle. Every year we have teachers losing their jobs, schools closing down, kids dropping out of school. This is a big problem. These students are the future (and the now!), we can’t afford to be losing potential billionaires and engineers. When I reflect on myself and my peers and fellow classmates, I don’t see teenagers or kids, but Doctors, and Engineers, and police officers. The sad thing is, also when I look at my peers and fellow classmates, I know at least ¼ of them will not make it through high school or college. Coming from one of the toughest neighborhoods in New York, even the country, I know how common it is to see kids flunk out of school, join gangs, not getting the best education, even get killed. I wish it was not true but that’s all we can do, as Brooklynites and New Yorkers, wishing it was not true.
After telling President Obama my position and thoughts on education in America, I would then ask him what will he do about it, and what he is currently doing about it. We all recently heard that in New York alone, they are planning( if they have not already) to cut off 15,000 teaching positions. The way I look at it, that’s 15 thousand classes of an average of 30 students. So I estimate, that’s 450,000 students that will lose their education, or most likely, get a lower education. That’s a pretty big problem! The crazy thing is that it is only in New York. Statistics say that only 40.6 percent of the 8.3 million New Yorkers actually work or have a job. In addition to this very big number, do we really want to add 15,000 more?
To view photos of the mission trip to South Africa, please go to: http://angelrockproject.com/arp/pr/angel_buzz_jfc2.asp
Journey for Change: Empowering Youth Through Global Service uplifts the lives of inner-city youth through global travel, volunteerism and advocacy work. More information on the program can be found at www.angelrockproject.com.
