One of the key areas we, as a Nation, must focus on is Education. Bill Gates makes some great points in this short talk on Education. The first part is on Malaria, the second part is on Education.

I highly recommend you watch it.

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/451

For the long term, we must begin to prize education again as not only a means to an end, but an end to itself. Learning should be an objective because we love it and because it makes us better human beings - more able to love, listen, understand, share, build, play and create. Education today is too much of a rite of passage, an obstacle in a way on the course of life rather than life itself. It is not an obstacle - it is the prize at the end of the course. When we look back on our lives, we should be filled with gratitude for what we learned, that we learned everything we possibly could, and that we loved learning it. Life is more than movies, video games and extra-curricular activities. Life is about learning. We need to change our mindsets and help change others as well.