chicagodads

A friend asked, in regards to an article she was to do for Relevant Magazine , “If you could pick one thing, what do you hope the Obama administration does for the moral good of the country? “

Unfortunately I was too late to meet the deadline. However, Relevant’s loss is ChicagoDad’s gain:

My hope is that the Obama administration would communicate to the American people how the growing disparity in education between those who have and those who do not is undemocratic and dangerous for the American economy. My hope is that President Obama can demonstrate that until we see that we are replacing broken schools with overcrowded prisons because we are not treating all of our children fairly, we all lose out. That until we retain the dignity of the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Ed decision in deed as well as word, we all lose out. That until brown, black, rural and poor children can get the same early start on education and come to kindergarten prepared to learn in a stable and welcoming environment as more privileged children, we all lose out.

*Atelier Teee, “Abandoned School” via Flickr .

Because our economy is not the same now as it was fifty years ago, when large segments of the population could go into service or manufacturing with little prior experience or learning and still create jobs and money, we need to creatively address our problems with a fully-educated and prepared workforce. Because our economy will not be the same in twenty years, we cannot afford to address the widening education gap between the haves and the have-nots now, before our democracy becomes a true oligarchy.

These are my hopes for the moral good of the country. My prayer is that President-elect Obama and his team will consider the long-term needs of this country and of our citizens.

Please read the other (and thankfully shorter, less flatulent and less convoluted) responses here .

I would love to hear your responses, though, in the comments section.

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