Wednesday 29 February 2012

President Obama is correct on post secondary education

While we do not agree with most of President Obama's stances on domestic issues, we — along with many of the country's governors — stand by the president's view that every student should have the opportunity to attend some type of post-secondary education ... even if it is for a year.

Furthermore, Mr. Obama called on the nation's governors on Monday to spend their money on job training and education and not to slice funding. Even Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, one of his staunchest critics, said she supports his message.

Unfortunately, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum takes issue with the president, calling him a snob for suggesting that every student should attend college.

“I understand why he wants you to go to college,” Mr. Santorum barked. “He wants to make you in his image.”

On the contrary … the president specifically said on numerous occasions every American should be able to pursue some type of education for at least a year whether that education is at a university, community college (for those towns and cities lucky enough to have them and thier programs) or a trade school. Even those young men and women who join the military continuously receive education and are encouraged to further themselves with the various programs to pay for post-secondary costs.

Ironically, would Mr. Santorum be upset to learn, therefore, that Kennametal, which has its headquarters in his home state of Pennsylvania and a plant here in Fallon, encourages its employees to further themselves through post-secondary education? Did the former senator from the Keystone State not discover that when he toured the facility during his campaign stop in Nevada at the beginning of the month?

According to a Kennametal spokeswoman, the global company “supports funding and scholarships to secondary and post-secondary educational organizations that support skills and training in areas of manufacturing through the Kennametal Foundation. Specifically in Nevada, Kennametal supports scholarships to Western Nevada College.”

Perhaps, Mr. Santorum would rather see Kennametal hire an uneducated workforce and struggle for survival with a team of mules.

This is one time Mr. Santorum is out of touch with the rest of America when national poll after poll suggests that more than 90 percent of Americans consider post-secondary education as important to very important. The Nevada Association of Counties also went on record during its annual convention in Fallon that post-secondary education is important to the state's future.

Recently, we can see how vital post-secondary education is — especially in Fallon — when scores of people are expressing their anger and frustration with the Western Nevada College central administration in Carson City, the Board of Regents and the Legislature for gutting out many of the core and occupational programs at the Fallon and Douglas campuses.

Education is the cornerstone for our country to move forward in today's global economy, and nothing is more important than Americans furthering themselves with some form of post-secondary studies. This is a lesson for not only Mr. Santorum but also others in Nevada who control higher education.

Editorials are written by the LVN Editorial Board and appear on Wednesdays.

http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/article/20120228/NEWS/120229904/1019&ParentProfile=1048

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