State of the Union Address

By now it's obvious who our president is; Barack Obama, the first black president of the United States. He hasn't had too long to put anything into action, but he has had plenty of time to tell us, in his speeches, the plans in which he wishes to follow through. In his State of the Union Address, I found a good amount of what he said was directed towards my age group. "And dropping out of high school is no longer an option," Obama said, "It's not just quitting on yourself, it's quitting on your country, and this country needs and values the talents of every American." His goals are to make college costs more affordable, lower the drop-out rate, put more people through college, and shape us into better people for the future so we can have a better life than earlier generations.

Completing college is the ultimate achievement for every American. We have been told and taught our entire lives that to be as successful as we can, we must complete college. It's not a lie that the highest paying jobs require people to have a certain degree, certificate, or certain education level. If this is fact, what is the reason we are not attending post high school education? The biggest factor that crosses an upper-classman's mind when applying for college is the cost. A lot of times, students who go to college attend a different college than they dreamed not because they weren't accepted, but because the price at the school they wanted to attend is higher than at the other school they could attend. Depending on the person, you either take what you can get, or lose it all, and this is sometimes where things go wrong. Students think they'll take a semester or two off to earn some money then get caught up in other things and never get around to going back to school. According to Obama, if we get to college, the federal government will help pay for it, but what is he going to do to ensure this? How do I know, as a high school senior, that I will be financially supported? Obama saying what he wants to do with money, and actually doing it are two different things. Don't we want him to explain his plan to us and show us how it's going to work, or just talk?

It is a strong proposition to move on to college when it's more affordable, but what about getting out of high school first? How many jobs and how much money can a person actually make if they don't graduate high school? It won't be much. If the highest paying jobs are generally given to the most educated people, doesn't it only make sense for the lowest paying jobs to be given to the most uneducated people? It's a great thing that Obama declares dropping out is no longer an option, because if it weren't an option, our country would have no choice but to be more competitive with the economy, education, and business. It was said in his State of the Union Address that it is important to have more educated people to mend our economy. So, why don't we listen to this positive advice and have more teachers get involved in student's lives and more parents help? Colorado is a lucky state; there are high schools all over in Colorado that do not have the negligence of others across the country. Take advantage of that Colorado! Your teachers will help you if you ask, and all of out schools have counselors for personal problems. Be a graduate, make more money to have a better life, and show the world that the United States isn't dead.

Obama isn't a bad man; his dreams and goals are reasonable, and they do not ask too much of the American people. Free education shouldn't be taken advantage of when there are countries in the world where the citizens would do anything to get educated, to learn. Obama wants simple things for the Unites State, but getting those simple things are hard. Is his dream of educating the majority of Americans too much? Is his dream of helping students through college too much? Is his dream of using education to fix the economy too much? Our president's dreams aren't too big, but our dreams aren't big enough, and we need to help our country because we won't quit on our country.