President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address' Future Education Policy Proposals

On Tuesday February 12, President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address of his second term in office. This speech primarily concentrated certain issues such as gun control and education. Obama said, “Every dollar we invest in high-quality early education can save more than seven dollars later on—by boosting graduation rates, reducing teen pregnancy, even reducing violent crime.” This displays how essential education is to our nation and transitively the necessity for a strong the public education system. Investment in education, according to Obama, is a precursor to economic stability and thus he proposed a universal preschool. His push to expand pre-kindergarten initiatives attempts to address underprivileged students right from the start, however, he provided no specifics for this particular program.

He discussed the other range of this spectrum as well, college students. Obama introduced a legislative idea of making college more affordable, but circumvented a solution by proposing to choose a university “where you can get the most bang for your educational buck.” Not that this is a novel idea, but it has been on the bucket lists of many State of the Union addresses and campaign speeches with little direct action. Beyond the cost of higher education, Obama said he wanted to change the high school curriculum to better prepare graduates for the current job market, specifically in regards to technology savvy. This translates to increased focus in four subject areas: science, technology, engineering and math. This illustrates the inherent connection between education and readiness for the job market, which should occur “at the earliest possible age” according to his speech. Obama also hopes that these education policies will strengthen the middle class, one of his major campaign platforms.

The speech did a good job at outlining issues within the public education system, but his administration will need to put forth more concrete policies before feasibility can be determined and change can be implemented.