With the upcoming election student activism has hit new highs and it is all fueled for a desire to change our education system in America. All candidates of this presidential election are showing different visions for the future of our system that is currently in place. Students are becoming more and more aware of potential problems and have been engaging in activism and advocacy in order to shape the future of the schooling system.
On one hand, the Democratic candidates are looking to shift towards a more ambitious plan for the future in which issues such as student debt, lack of quality education, and school funding issues. One example of this would be Elizabeth Warren, democratic senator from Massachusetts, who was looking to cancel student loan debts and implement colleges with no tuition. Many believe this is controversial since it requires more government funding and schools would be unable to allot the tuition money into creating in school improvements. Others who have suffered from the struggles of paying back student loans are some of the biggest advocates for colleges without tuitions. Bernie Sanders also supported this concept of tuition-free college. Conversely, Republican candidates focus more on decentralizing controls on education and also school choice. Candidate Donald Trump seeks to expand to charter schools and also believes that parents and students should have more of a personal control over what schools they go to. This sparked a lot of debate because many felt this would create more equity if people were going to have an option of what school to attend but others believed that inequality would rise if people were not accommodated due to the government becoming less involved in the schooling process and system.
Therefore, the election will have a substantial influence on the American education system regardless of who wins. The changes will be drastic in the schooling system since both candidates feel different approaches would be best for the betterment of education as a whole. Whether it is the Democratic or Republican Candidates who win and with the increase of engaged activism and advocacy, America is bound to transform.