Education and National Security Education Is Essential

Education and National Security Education is essential for the advancement of our nation as well as our children. A good education gives children the ability to succeed physically, intellectually, and emotionally. The American nation has been labeled as having a threat to national security because of the education system failing to provide the needed learning and skills to know how to protect the nation. The condition of America's education system has become a major issue concerned with the security of the nation and citizens.

There are several core factors causing the education system to fail (Kache, 2012). There is a lack of emphasis on civics for students to learn theoretical and practical aspects of society. The emphasis of civil law, civil code, and the role of the government, as well as the citizen's responsibilities are not enough for national security. Failure to teach foreign language hinders the communication between members of global society. Lack of proficiency in reading, math, and science hinders needed skills. There are major differences between the standards and opportunities between states.

There is poor academic performance compared to international counterparts that causes an unbalanced score card compared to other nations. School systems are laden with bureaucracy and inefficiencies. Too many politics in the education system has deprived the teaching standards of students. The education system has failed in attracting, training, and compensating good valued teachers. A mismatch between student preparation and jobs has left students unprepared for available positions.

The American Dream has been placed out of reach for many due to the gap between educated and uneducated students and is causing a division in the nation. The international education rankings from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has given American the following scores; reading 500, math 487, and science 502 (Duncan, 2011). Considering these scores go up to 1,000, America is far below the needed standards in education compared to other countries. Without building the standards of education, the future of America is put at greater risk as times goes on.

National security threats will increase where other countries are more educated than American children. Failures in America's education system poses threats to national security with economic growth and competitiveness, U.S. public safety, intellectual property, U.S. Global awareness, and U.S. unity and cohesion (Kache, 2012). National security is linked to human capital. The education system is what builds the strength of the human capital. If human capital is weakened by the education system, the national security will be weakened as well.

The education system is not preparing students for the global workforce. The global workforce is what builds the American economy, as well as teaches the interactions of working with other countries for the global economy. The Country Safety Defense Department statistic shows that 75% of American youth do not qualify for the armed forces because of the lack of a high school diploma, physical factors, such as obesity and criminal records, and 30% do not pass the aptitude tests (Kache, 2012).

Obesity and criminal records are not necessarily the fault of the education system, but the lack of a diploma and not being able to pass aptitude tests show inefficiencies in the system. The lack of technologically qualified students to address cyber threats also shows inefficiencies. If youth do not have the appropriate education that trains and prepares them, it will affect the country with deeper security issues as the generations go by. "Only New Zealand, Spain, Turkey, and Mexico have lower high school completion rates" (Reagan, 2010).

Federal control continues to threaten the creativity and productivity of schools. One answer to the problem that is proposed is to remove the bureaucracy, equip schools with the financial resources they need, as well as the trust and authority to focus on the education process (Reagan, 2010). Removing the bureaucracy will give the educational system the breathing room needed to concentrate on what is needed to better prepare youth for available jobs.

The more control the government has, the less the education system will be able to meet the goals of national security and youth being able to experience the American Dream. Other recommendations are to build on the strengths in innovation, creativity, and competition (Duncan, 2011). There is a need to implement educational expectancies in subjects that are vital to protecting national security by urging states to expand the Common Core State Standards. Structural changes need to be done to provide students with good choices.

Schools should not be allowed to lock disadvantaged students into failing schools without proper options to overcome it. A national security readiness audit needs to be launched to hold schools and policy makers accountable for the results and raising public awareness.