Donald K. Allen for President

Education

The future of the United States, or any country for that matter, will hinge on the education of our children. We must focus our communities on giving our children the best education possible in the world today. This begins at home, with parents encouraging children to excel in school and helping them every way they can. Many fathers are more interested in who’s playing second base on their favorite team than how their kids are doing in school. Our teachers earn an incredibly low wage, but sports figures bring down millions. If sports are so important, tell me who was the top gladiator in ancient Rome (no, it wasn’t Spartacus!)? Junior knows the batting average of a hundred players, but not his multiplication tables. A lot of good that will do him. If this country can blow billions of dollars every year on professional sports, shouldn’t we be putting that money toward education? Professional sports are entertainment. It’s temporary. An education is forever, and it will pay your children back one hundredfold. Sports will only pay him back when he’s 50 and arthritis hits him early.

During my first month in office I will initiate a nation-wide survey of K-12 teachers seeking suggestions on ways to improve elementary education.  Questions will include, “Would you privatize all schools?”, “Should we abandon ‘No Child Left Behind’?”, and, “How would you improve learning scores in English, math, and the sciences?”  Other questions might be, “Should second languages be required?”, “How important are sports programs in school?”, “Will nutrition and exercise courses help prevent overweight issues?”, and “Should school terms be year-around?”

Once completed, the survey will be used to totally renovate the K-12 education system in our country to meet the goals of maximum intellectual accomplishment.  Our current system is broken, and we are graduating marginally literate and competent students with little hope of acquiring more than service jobs.  This must be reversed and we will eventually be a nation providing expertise to the world on a user-fee basis.

This is a program that I would institute to allow everyone in this country the opportunity to go to college.

United States of America Opportunity Scholarship

1. Any U.S. citizen with a C or better high school average may apply.
2. Must be accepted to a college of their choice.
3. Must provide cost of tuition for the first term of college themselves.
4. Upon completion of the first term, again with a C or better average, that term’s tuition will be reimbursed. 
5. Each term will follow this procedure of reimbursement until graduation, when the final term is reimbursed.
6. Graduate school study will follow the same procedures until an advanced degree is accomplished.
7. Students may continue through PhD level.