How to Fix Congress

• Would you provide our students with an environment that’s safe and conducive to learning?
• Would you add more teachers and make class sizes smaller?
• Would you get every child involved in music, theater, sports, and other academic and social clubs?
• Would you offer free college or would you first get our students ready for college, or at least ready for a trade?
• Would you shift the focus away from free college for the time being and focus more strongly on improving conditions in our primary and secondary education schools?

Would you provide our students with an environment that’s safe and conducive to learning?
The future of America lies in properly educating our youth, and to do so, we need to provide them with a proper learning environment. We need to get rid of the drugs and the violence in all of our schools, and put a stop to disruptive behavior. No student should have to go to school in fear for their safety. When politicians talk about getting rid of every gun in America, it makes us feel more safe, but it’s not realistic. Unfortunately, violence in our schools can only be stopped by educating our students on the danger of bullying, and by putting more resource officers and more security systems in place.

I like the theory that no child should be left behind, but disruptive students greatly impact the learning process. It’s time we go back to what actually worked when I went to school. Unruly students need to be removed from our public learning institutions. We need to place them in schools that are much better equipped to deal with their special needs. We need to provide counseling and integrate them back into our standard institutions only when they are ready; only when they are no longer disruptive to those who truly want to learn. Private schools definitely don’t allow disruptive behavior. Maybe it’s time we model our public schools after our private schools.

It seems unbelievable that in the 21st century, we have nice modern schools in some areas with multi-million dollar athletic fields, while many of our inner city schools still have no air conditioning. This is shameful. No wonder our inner cities are turning into slums. We need to greatly improve the conditions in every one of our public schools.

Our kids also need to be well nourished. Instead of spending money on free college, we should spend the money on providing a free nutritious breakfast and lunch to all our students. The key word is nutritious. Get rid of soda, juices, pizza, candy, chips (everything with empty calories). If taxpayers are providing the money for the meals, let’s fight obesity while we’re at it; at least while our kids are at school. If we’re successful, it will save us a lot of money on healthcare in the future.

We should also consider providing pre-school starting at four years of age, maybe even at the age of three. This would give our kids a head-start and allow their parents to get back into the workforce earlier.

Would you add more teachers and make class sizes smaller?
Our educators also need more help in the classrooms. What if, after a strict background check, we place thousands upon thousands of unemployed individuals in our classrooms as teacher’s aides? We’re already paying them to sit home and do nothing. Why not have them help our teachers? This would allow our educators to provide one-on-one help to those students who might not be progressing quite as fast as the others.

We should also consider introducing mandatory classes that teach about life in general. Class topics would not only be about anti-bullying and suicide prevention, but also public speaking, relationships, how to get a job, how to balance a checkbook, how to balance a budget, how to avoid credit card debt, etc. Maybe we could have our members of Congress attend the classes on how to balance a budget and how to avoid debt.

National statistics show that 40-60% of all high school graduates are not ready for college.

The more knowledge we acquire, the better life we tend to have, or at least the more stuff we’re able to buy. If we had the money and weren’t $27 trillion in debt, it would be great to provide a free college education to every American citizen. I think that before we consider spending our hard-earned taxpayer dollars on free college for everyone, we should first get everyone ready for college, and we should make sure we have jobs waiting for them when they graduate!

We need to reform our labor program, bring our jobs back from overseas, and dig ourselves out of debt before we think about free college. National statistics show that 40-60% of all high school graduates are not ready for college. If we have an over-abundance of taxpayer money to spend on education, how about we spend that money more wisely? How about we use Common Sense and not waste it by simply giving everyone free college? How about we focus on spending the money on preschool, elementary, and secondary education, especially in our impoverished inner cities (the areas with the most crime)? How about we get everyone ready for college, or at least, ready to enter a trade?

Would you get every child involved in music, theater, sports, and other academic and social clubs?
The early years are the formative years and set the direction that a child will take. When a child grows into adulthood, they will either be part of the solution or part of the problem. At times we focus too much on academics and not enough on wholesome social team-building, which comes from sports and the arts.

If we want our kids to avoid falling in with the wrong people, getting into a local street gang, ending up in the system, or dead, it’s simple. Let’s get them into a gang that loves music, a gang that loves to dance, a gang that loves acting and the theater, or a gang of sports enthusiasts. Let’s expand the arts in our school systems!

Would you offer free college or would you first get our students ready for college or a trade?
Keep in mind, once we offered free health insurance, the insurance companies started jacking up our premiums every year. If we offer free tuition, the universities will follow suit and jack up the cost of tuition each and every year too. Also note that even if taxpayers had the money to provide free tuition, those individuals who choose to live on campus would still need to pay for room and board, which is quite expensive.

If and when we have enough money to consider giving away free college, we should at least be selective as to who we give it to. We should only give free tuition to those whose families can’t afford it, and we should tack on one other condition. Since we desperately need more educators, more police, more doctors and nurses, and more firefighters, we should only give free college tuition to those who choose to serve; those who want to get a degree and serve in law enforcement, serve in the medical field, in firefighting, or in education. To have their tuition paid, they must maintain passing grades and after graduation, they must serve/work at least six years in one of the above designated fields. If they do not meet the above conditions, they would have to reimburse the taxpayers for the tuition we invested in them.

Here’s what I feel would be a better approach to educating our society. In today’s world, you don’t need to attend a college campus to gain knowledge. We live in the 21st century! There are more economical ways to educate our citizens. The cost to provide an online college education would be a drop in the bucket compared to the cost to provide an on-campus college education. Why not make all college courses available on the internet?

Set up a government website simply called, U.S. College. Seek out and hire the smartest, brightest, and the best professors. Set up simulated classrooms and videotape their seminars. Negotiate a fair price (a price that we the American taxpayers are willing to pay) and purchase the exclusive rights to use the videos. Then upload the seminars to U.S. College. Also, negotiate a fair price with the authors/publishers of all college textbooks, and purchase the exclusive rights to make their textbooks available for free pdf download from the U.S. College website.

Students would be required to take their final exams online at local libraries, high schools, community colleges, etc. for a modest fee. Educators and staff would check IDs, monitor the tests, and sign off on the results. Our public libraries could serve as study centers for those who do not have access to the internet at home or at work. We could eventually offer the same service for master’s degrees, and even PhDs. We should also consider making classes available online for all types of vocational training. Doesn’t this make Common Sense?

While we’re at it, let’s consider bringing the Pledge of Allegiance back to our schools. It’s time we remember what our country stands for and honor all those who serve. We’re a free nation and anyone who doesn’t want to participate while others stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance should not be required to do so. They should, however, be required to show respect and sit quietly (and no kneeling). Hopefully, in time, we can all once again unite as Americans in support of our great country and in support of all who serve and protect.

I agree wholeheartedly with the separation of church and state, but God isn’t affiliated with any specific church. The fact that we can’t say the Pledge of Allegiance in our schools because it has God’s name in it is crazy. Why do the 97% of us who believe in some sort of God have to give up our rights, so as not to offend the atheists (who make up less than 3% of the U.S. population)? What’s next? Are we going to take In God We Trust off our currency?

I’m not overly religious, but I don’t see why giving thanks to or honoring an entity of good should be considered wrong or offensive. We don’t force people with different beliefs to come to America, nor do we force them to worship the way we worship, but we should expect them to respect our beliefs and our way of life. After all, America was build on the belief in God, and to the best of my knowledge, we are still a God-loving country.

Here’s something else to really think about. I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying that nothing in life is free. Have you every wondered why politicians talk so much about free college tuition, forgiving college loans, and raising the minimum wage instead of talking about how they’re actually going to fix problems? Here’s why! The group they’re catering to are 18-22 years of age and can now vote. Most of these young Americans haven’t really entered the workforce yet, and most have absolutely no clue as to what they’re signing on for; no clue of the price they’re going to pay for all of this free stuff. All they know is that getting free stuff sounds great!

They have no idea that the politicians are simply trying to buy their votes. When they enter the workforce and become American taxpayers, their perspective is going to change drastically. They too (like the rest of us) will be paying for Congress’s irresponsible entitlement spending for the next 30-40 years. They’ll be paying their fair share of the $27 trillion debt that Congress has racked up by giving away free stuff for votes ($900 billion - $1 Trillion a year for the next 30-40 years). Surprise!

On a somewhat positive note, they can have it paid off by the time they reach retirement age; that is, if Congress stops their irresponsible and unrealistic spending immediately and doesn’t run up the debt any higher.