My Trip to National Public Radio

    This past Thursday, September 2 2010, I had two incredible simultaneous experiences.  Not only was I able to take a visit to the National Public Radio studio in Washington, I also got to meet the current Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.  I went as a representative of Maryland HOBY, and went with fellow HOBY MD representatives Amanda Streeter, Erin Deng, and Tommy Finton.  I also got to meet the host of Talk of the Nation Neal Conan.  We were not the only ones in attendance however, as there were other HOBY representatives from Virginia, as well as students from various Washington D.C. schools.  We were asked to participate because the producers of NPR wanted to have a "student question session", where students both in the studio and on air got to ask the Secretary various questions about his policies and goals, as well as general questions about the different aspects of education.  It was a rather memorable experience, and not only because I got to say "one million" on the radio.  More on that later.
     When I went, I honestly wasn't expecting to have a good time.  I thought it might be kind of boring, and a waste of time to drive all the way to D.C. so that I might be on the radio.  HOBY had taught me to be open to new experiences and I went open-minded but nonetheless felt it was probably a waste of time.  Boy was I wrong.  I had a wonderful time.  Not only did I get to get an inside look at how a radio broadcast is pulled off, I also got to meet an important government figure, the secretary of Education.  I also got to hear an interesting and different perspective on the future of American education, from the man who is in charge of it.  His words are largely the reason I enjoyed myself that day.

    I am now a big fan of Secretary Arne Duncan.  Just look at my Facebook page.  I had no idea who he was before, but now I think he is a great intellectual leader, and one who I have the utmost confidence in for reforming our broken educational system.  Very few of his answers seemed like "B.S.", and in fact seemed honest and well-thought out.  I agreed with most everything he said, and I thought that some of his ideas were ingenious and brilliant.
    For those of you that didn't get the opportunity to listen to the live broadcast, which is probably all of the people that read this blog, here's the podcast http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=3&islist=true&id=5&d=09-02-2010.  It's titled "Student's Quiz Sec. Arne Duncan".
     Arne Duncan's words really struck a chord with me.  As one who is currently enrolled in a rather diverse public high school, education is very important to me.  Secretary Duncan made it seem like he cared.  He cares about kids, and wants every single child in America to get a quality education.  This, for me, is the most important thing he said, because it showed that he really and truly cares about America's kids.
     Naturally, in a discussion about education, much was said about No Child Left Behind.  I, personally, am not a fan of No Child Left Behind because I think it lowers standards for students and teaches kids to a "test" instead of teaching them what they need to know.  He talked frequently about No Child Left Behind, and how it needs to be reformed.  He wants schools to be judged based on more then just test scores, but on things such as attendance, sports, and arts programs.  He wants a more comprehensive analysis, instead of a limited one.

    He spoke about teachers, and how the views of teachers differ all over the world.  In the U.S., teachers aren't held in a very bright limelight, and aren't paid very high in comparison with other professions.  In South Korea, teachers are referred to as "nation-builders", and are highly regarded among all professions.  In a certain European country, only 1 in 10 people who want to be teachers are allowed to be teachers.  What a difference to the way teachers are regarded in America.  One of Secretary Duncan's suggestions that I really liked was his idea to combat teacher shortages.  There is a shortage of Math and Science teachers compared to History and English teachers.  He suggested that Math and Science teachers should be paid more then English and History teachers, in order to recruit more qualified teachers.  This is a rather controversial idea and opposition has been voiced by, naturally, English and History teachers.  However, I think his idea makes perfect sense and is an ingenious solution.  In a capitalist economy, when you have a low demand for a product, you lower the price, to make it more attractive to consumers.  I believe this same principle applies to the workplace.  In order to hire more Math and Science teachers, why not raise the salaries of these positions in order to attract more people?  It just seemed like common sense to me, and I think that is a reflection of Arne Duncan's approach to leadership and education.  Taking a straightforward and natural approach to education, instead of something forced and foreign.  Arne Duncan's thoughts, opinions, and policies really impressed me, and it has really given me hope for the future of American education.

    In spite of this, the highlight of my excursion to NPR was definitely being on the radio.  Now before I overhype myself let me just say, I only say two words.  I didn't ask him a question or anything impressive like that, I just answered a simple question he asked.  Actually, I answered two questions, but you couldn't hear the first one.  The first question I answered was what is the percentage of high school dropouts in the U.S.  I correctly guessed 25%.  Again, he asked the audience how many new teachers will be needed in this country over the next ten years.  I correctly guessed one million.  Once again, it was the right answer.  I am not being dishonest when I say that I did not know the answers to either of those questions.  I just got really lucky.  The Secretary of Education called me a teacher's pet, but that's all right.  A quick shout-out.  My friend Amanda Streeter actually was on air for a good amount of airtime, and talked about her various endeavors in student government.  It's at the 30: 38 mark.
     In summary, I had an excellent time.  I learned new things about American education, and my hope and pride in the future  America was strengthened.  Also, I got to be on the radio, which is the highlight of any way.  I am very fortunate to be able to go, and I am grateful for the experience.