The only place to get news about U.S. education on local TV is Channel 13.
Education builds a society. It equips the nation with the ability to make informed, rational decisions, both life-changing and meaningful. Without it, a nation can barely communicate. Without it, a nation is easily divided.
When the media push certain issues, those issues can surface with an outstanding following. Where there is demand, there must be supply, and this is how the nation utilizes the media. If a media source can look at its readers and say, “They really want to know more about this,” it will give its readers everything it can on the subject.
But media sources don’t.
Education doesn’t seem to hold as much weight as a Lakers game or Kim Kardashian in the news. Politics and war seem to matter the most. Yet we couldn’t understand these concepts without a decent education, and, without some basic critical thinking skills, we wouldn’t know how to solve those problems.
There’s room on the page for some coverage on education. National newspapers and magazines could spare some inches to write more about it.
The education in this country is behind where it should be, considering the resources and opportunities it has.
If legislation like No Child Left Behind states that schools may only receive funding if they are testing their students and objectify the desire to give every student a fair chance, this means something wasn’t right before.
As a nation, do we accept this reality and dutifully track its sustainment, failure or success closely, knowing that something needs to be done?
The only popular news sites that have a dedicated education section are the Huffington Post and The New York Times. If searched on Google, about three websites pop up with nothing but dedicated education coverage — out of the wealth of news sources out there. People simply want to hear and read about what’s important to them, and it’s understandable.
However … staying informed about important issues is a duty.
If we are going to school to invest in our future, we are caring about our welfare, our health and our ease of life. It is a duty to uphold standards and to be more than a shrug and a “whatever” away from success.
Bring the subject of education from the bottom of priorities of common news reporting. Reading about and expressing opinions on the matter gives more citizens the chance to not be “left behind.”
