Advantages and disadvantages of funding foundation education

Advantages and disadvantages of funding foundation education

Introduction

On 1st March 2010, President Obama announced the introduction of comprehensive strategies in order to reduce the rate of dropouts in foundation schools and prepare them for college and professional life. This initative came at a time when America stands on the verge of a dropout crisis with an alarming 7,000 students dropping out of school on evey single school day (Orfield, 2004). This means that the total number of students that drop out of school every year add up to a staggering 1.2 million students. The economic repercussions related to the dropout crisis are significant, costing the American nation nearly $320 billion in potential earnings on an annual basis. Among the proposed changes that the Obama administration has made is increased funding of foundation schools in order to reduce the number of school dropouts (Orfield, 2004). But is America really going to benefit from increased funding for foundation education? And, will the number of dropouts from American schools actually become less as a result of this funding? This paper answers these two critical question by analyzing the potential benefits and drawbacks of funding for foundation education.

Discussion

The education primary also known as foundation education, basic education, is what ensures proper literacy, i.e. that teaches reading, writing, arithmetic and some basic cultural concepts considered essential. Its purpose is to provide all students with a common training that makes possible the development of individual capacities motor, balancing personal relationships and social action with the acquisition of the basic cultural learning related above (Anderson & Randall, 1999). It is the first step in secondary and higher education. In most countries it is a mandatory stage and is taught in schools or colleges. Children start primary education should coincide with the calendar year in which they turn six years and usually end at twelve.

In America, the increasing number of school drouputs is a pressing that demands urgent attention on the part of the government. Among all the developed and industrialized nations of the world, America is the only one that has such an alarming school dropout rate. This is a cause of serious concern for the Americans as the absence of sound foundational education leads to a greater population of uneducated workforce to take up white collar jobs (Anderson & Randall, 1999). As a result, there is a lack of good career opportunities for this working class and this considerably lowers their living standard, and having a significant effect on the economy. Hence, it is the job of the government to ensure that American children receive good foundation so that they are able to get better job opportunities and make a bigger contribution to the national economy (Orfield, 2004). However, is government funding really the answer to America's woes of school dropouts? The following are the pros and cons of increasing funding for foundation education.

Advantages of government funding of foundation education

Government-based funding can offer a myriad of benefits to foundation ...