I like Barack Obama. I think he’s done some great things for this country since he burst onto the national stage. I can’t remember a politician who has created so much interest in the political process and the role of government. I agree with the majority of his policies and think he is generally headed in the right direction. That being said, I don’t understand why he isn’t talking more about education.

Maybe I’m missing something and haven’t been paying enough attention, but the things I hear Obama talk about most include reducing our presence in Iraq, increasing Wall Street oversight, protecting American jobs, and providing more affordable health-care for all Americans. What about education? Perhaps I’m being naive, but it seems that dramatically improving our educational system would have a profound effect on the whole country.

A well-trained, highly skilled work force can be a tremendous asset. Right now many of the people living in the country’s most impoverished areas have relatively low levels of education, and this is no coincidence. Providing people with a quality education can go a long way toward improvement. Access to higher education leads to lower crime rates, higher household incomes and greater ability for families to afford health insurance. Additionally, the types of jobs that well-educated workers hold aren’t among those being shipped to China. We hear about factory jobs being sent abroad regularly, but when was the last time we heard similar news about the jobs of teachers, doctors and lawyers?

The upside of education may sound too good to true, and it must be noted that the reward of a much better system will not be realized immediately. A dramatic overhaul of the education system will be costly and will take some time. However, we cannot afford to be short-sighted, allowing the education problem to remain unsolved. Instead, we must adopt a long-term approach, viewing education as an investment in our country’s future that will help develop a safer, healthier, more globally competitive society.

Barack Obama clearly wants to help solve the problems of the United States. He’s an intelligent man who has made a point of surrounding himself with other intelligent people. I’m hopeful, like much of the country, it seems, that he can get us pointed in the right direction and make this country a better place to live. But for that to happen he needs to start talking about education.

J.T. Munch can be reached at [email protected].