GUEST EDITORIAL
An Open Letter to President Trump
By Eileen Marinakis R.N., M.A.
Eileen Marinakis R.N., M.A.
January, 2017
Dear Mr. President,
You have repeatedly expressed the desire to be the President of “all the people”. With your statement in mind, I write to you respectfully requesting that you set education as one of your primary goals, to include the thorough and comprehensive education of all of America’s students, those from all sectors of our society, mindful that a well-educated populous will lead the world socially, scientifically, medically, technologically and economically.
The American public education system has long served all learners who come to its doors regardless of their ethnic background, family finances, spiritual practices or domestic locale. No other society or country has set such universal and comprehensive goals. The public education system of the United States of America has, throughout its long history, been credited with making our country great. Millions of foreign students have and continue to come to our shores to pursue graduate degrees. Yet, in recent decades our very system has been under attack by those who would propose diminishing the positive impacts of the system by lessening its financial resources and redirecting them to alternate enterprises which would elect to educate only select candidates at the risk of compromising the learning of the majority of the students. Thus, the achievements of the many would be lost at the cost of preferential education for the few.
As our society has become more complex and societal ills have affected our learners, the public schools have enhanced their goal to educate everyone. The system partners in addressing the multiple societal ills that impact its learners, such as violence, poverty, homelessness, teenage pregnancy, unemployed, alcoholic, drug abusing and incarcerated parents, and sexual predators, etc. Coincidentally, the public school system has responded to industry demands to stress STEM curricular. All of this is being addressed in aging and inadequate facilities, with outdated equipment and limited, qualified staff. Your presidential intervention is needed to finance new construction, better equip schools and communities with modern technology and attract high quality faculty and staff. How else can our country compete on the world stage if we do not provide top quality free education for all of our young and aspiring students?
Mr. President, I ask that you embrace your position of power in strengthening the very core of our society, our public education system. Insist upon high standards and make college affordable to all learners who have worked to achieve entrance to our institutions of higher learning. Do not dismantle that which has made our country great, but, instead improve it by funding and staffing it at the level necessary to advance our country over the generations to come. You are positioned to see to it that students from all states and communities have equal access to high quality educational opportunities. This is essential.
I thank you for your serious consideration of the points which I have delineated.
With best wishes for your successful Presidency,#
Eileen Marinakis R.N., M.A., is an Advanced Practice Nurse, Beacon College Board of Trustees Chair, 2011-2016 in
Leesburg, Florida
