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I went to school to be a history teacher. I thought I was going to get to teach, not be a case worker. Moved to DC and got a job renting luxury villas in the Caribbean. I'd rather do something more productive than help the rich transfer $ to other rich people. Years later I guess you can say it is my career. But I am only in my late 20s and there is plenty of opportunity for change. I have a child, am married, and now live back in the Philly area where I grew up and have family. We are middle class and college educated but cannot afford to buy a house.

I guess my interest in world affairs began during the Bush v Gore election. I was studying in England and traveling extensively in Europe. People would be so interested to learn about my views on current events...for the first time in my life. Why don't people engage in such conversations with children instead of dictating to them what they should believe? The embarrassing part, I knew much less about my countries policies than they did.

My biggest issues are education, healthcare, nuclear proliferation, the deficit, and the environment. I care about them all but these would my big picks.

Change usually takes decades and sometimes centuries. I wish that the people with influence would start talking about radical changes to our education system. High school is such a joke, ask any current student...just think back to your days counting down. I bet you couldn't score as well on the SATS as you did when you were a teenager because you only remember what you still use today.

So why not rethink the function of high school. I am not advocating against stepping stones and exposure to any of the core subjects. But I think by the time someone is 14/15 they have a good idea of what classes they like and what they don't like etc. I think those years should be more narrowly focused on the individual interests and capabilities, more like trade school and pre-college. And then when you turn 18 you work as an intern making a little money and gaining exposure to the possibilities of the future and further focusing on possible careers. Companies could then invest in further education where necessary. It is painful to see all of these college graduates with $50K+ in debt for a BS degree. I could go on and on and know that faults can be found with my ideas but at least it isn't the status quo. Let's start talking!