Free Education - Essay Example

Introduction

Education is essential for every person. Living without education is very difficult. Every person needs as little as the basic level of education and the best provided depending on provision and availability situations. On examining decision-making levels in life-defining situations, a well-educated person is likely to make a better decision than an uneducated person. Different parameters also play when one makes a critical consideration of education to different races. From whichever origin, everyone deserves to be educated. The provision of free education to different levels should, therefore, be considered necessary. Therefore, African American descendants of slavery in America should be provided free education up to Bachelors' Degree level.

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Free Education to African Slavery Descendants

The United States Department of Education (DoED) should consider offering free education to African slavery descendants who live in the United States. Considering its capability and budget, the DoED should outline a well-running plan to have up to at least a Bachelors' Degree level education provided for free to African slavery descendants. These descendants are from African families who found themselves in the United States due to the slave trade, which heavily involved African people working as slaves in the United States (Gates, 2010). African-American slaves view slave trade impacts differently, believing that nothing can reverse its impacts, not even the provision of free education (Armange & Mullet, 2016). These people have faced challenges in their survival as many have limited access to education due to poverty, and very few afford education.

An individual who has a bachelor's degree has a higher chance of getting a well-paying job to sustain oneself and their family. A Degree holder is a professional and has an eye for opportunities. Providing food and other basic requirements is not a solution to eradicate poverty. If the poor are educated, they will provide for themselves, which will lower the burden from the United States government. An individual with a family of five is a tremendous burden if the whole family has to be fed by the government or well-wishers. Providing education will help resolve this as dependence levels will go down (Craemer et al., 2020). About 37 percent of these slave descendants consider any national policy to compensate them for the past evils acceptable (Armange & Mullet, 2016).

Basic Education Requirements

The United States Department of Education should fund the basic education requirements for African American slavery descendants. Some of the basic requirements that the DoED should fund or provide may include; school uniforms for basic learners, reading materials such as textbooks, geometrical sets for mathematics and sciences, pens, pencils, among other reading materials. The DoED should also ensure that children have food in schools. Those in boarding programs should be provided with an enabling environment. Adequate beddings, sanitation materials, and appropriate meals should be prioritized.

Students of African American origin in tertiary institutions should be provided fully with reading materials, including practical materials. Their attachments should be paid as well as their internship programs. The government should fully pay the basic and tertiary level through the United States Department of Education (Foner, 2013). Students also have personal and basic needs in their university levels, and they should be provided with some money to cater to these and learn smoothly. Such amounts should not be counted as loans but rather grants so that the students do not have to worry about repayment. Students not living in university hostels should be provided accommodation elsewhere, and their transport to school catered for fully (Armange & Mullet, 2016). These grants and other incentives will motivate many African American descendants of the slave trade to work smart at their basic levels to get to the universities and do their degrees in different courses.

Living Standards

The living standards of the African American descendants of the slave trade will greatly improve upon providing them with free education up to the professional level, a bachelor's degree. Therefore, they will live better lives and feel like part of the United States more significant population without marginalization and feeling like they are a lesser group. Upon completing Bachelors' Degree level, they will be able to further their studies as they will be eager to become great people like Doctors and Professors (Armange & Mullet, 2016). There will be no education gap between the pure Americans and the African American slave trade descendants and economic gaps being closed.

With education, African Americans will have the courage to compete with the rest in all fronts, including economic activities and political activities (Craemer et al., 2020). This education will help balance all aspects of living for all the people in the United States, and racism cases will drastically decrease as people shall view each other equally without the aspect of superiority in any nature. This feeling of togetherness will improve the cohesion among the United States people and bolster the country's growth in general.

Suppose the African American descendants of slavery are not provided with basic and tertiary education to at least a Bachelors' Degree level. In that case, they may find themselves as the most uneducated people in the United States (Foner, 2013). This aspect will have their self-esteem lowered, and they will not have the confidence to participate in many of the country's activities like politics. They will feel left out and isolated with no option and no one to show care to them. The United States government will have to keep spending on these people to provide necessities, which will lower economic growth (Klein & Vinson III, 2007). These people will burden the government in all sectors as they will not afford to pay their bills. They will not be able to even pay for their health expenses, which is very paramount. They will be living in bad conditioned places and poor standards, making them more prone to diseases and infections. The United States Department of Education, in conjunction with the government, should therefore provide free education.

Through the United States Department of Education, the government will have to provide free education to the African American descendants of the slave trade (Klein & Vinson III, 2007). However, this expenditure will benefit as the African Americans will be more productive, and there will be very low levels of dependence. Like robbery and other bad habits, cases of lawbreaking will keep increasing if they are not educated. They will engage in malpractices to earn themselves something for a living (Klein & Vinson III, 2007). They might even join or form terror groups to punish the United States government, which will cost the government more security provisions to the other citizens.

Conclusion

Generally, through the United States Department of Education, the United States government should provide free education to African American descendants up to at least a Bachelor’s Degree level. This education level will benefit both the people and the government in economic development and nation-building for the United States' good. The DoED should factor in this and create a platform for African Americans to acquire free education through its stakeholders. This proposal should be implemented from all levels of education, from basic to tertiary. There is a need to equal the parameters for all the United States people and give everyone platforms to live lives like any other. The United States Department of Education should try to make education to the African Americans cheaply available. The people will be happy and will embrace this and benefit abundantly. It should be considered a boost and a lifetime advantage to these people alongside every other person living in the United States.

References

Armange, R., & Mullet, E. (2016). Slave descendants’ views regarding national policies on reparations: A Martinican perspective. Social Science Information, 55(4), 511-530.
https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0539018416658150

Craemer, T., Smith, T., Harrison, B., Logan, T., Bellamy, W., & Darity Jr, W. (2020). Wealth Implications of Slavery and Racial Discrimination for African American Descendants of the Enslaved. The Review of Black Political Economy, 47(3), 218-254.
https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0034644620926516

Foner, E. (2013). Forever free: The story of emancipation and reconstruction. Vintage.

Gates, H. L. (2010). Ending the slavery blame-game. New York Times, 22. https://loseyourmother.voices.wooster.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/132/2018/01/How-to-End-the-Slavery-Blame-Game-The-New-York-Times.pdf

Klein, H. S., & Vinson III, B. (2007). African slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean. Oxford University Press. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=zafKBwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT16&dq=living+standards+of+Slave+descendants+in+america&ots=vS6xoGOiUZ&sig=HhzeGC0rhUtJ2YXr-4CKS--18T8&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false.