President Barack Obama touched on a variety of issues-- energy, jobs, technology, climate change and the middle class-- in his State of the Union address on Tuesday. Yahoo News asked voters to respond to his speech. Here's one perspective.
COMMENTARY | I'm involved in many parts of the education spectrum. My daughter will be entering preschool next year. I'm in college right now, getting my graduate degree. And I come from a family of educators; my mother is a teacher and my grandmother was a teacher's aide, and I'm studying to be a special education teacher.
I think Obama did a good job of emphasizing the importance of a quality education to the health of our nation. He spoke of how a better education system can keep jobs in America and ultimately help improve the economy. Children truly are a country's biggest resource; raise and educate them well, and you have a solid foundation for a successful next generation.
Part of education reform in this country is to make sure teachers have good job prospects and adequate salaries, thus improving job performance, and this is one issue I felt was lacking in the State of the Union address. Throughout my schooling, I have had the experience of working with dozens of teachers in schools all over New York City. I have seen the high levels of commitment to students... teachers who spend hours of their time and hundreds of their own dollars to make sure their students have the resources necessary to succeed, and I feel they need recognition as well as help.
I do feel Obama did an adequate job of discussing education reform; however, it could have been rounded out by a few words on improving things for teachers as well.
