On the Road with Barack Obama
 |
BO: I think it's really important that we revamp our college loan programs to free up more money for students. The direct loan program works extremely well, and there doesn't appear to be a need for these student loan programs to be managed through banks and other private lenders. If we were able to consolidate programs under the Direct Loan program, we would save $4.5 billion, which could be funneled back into providing more Pell grants and providing higher level of grants per student.
One of the things I'm most concerned about, I think, is the decline in grants to students and the increase in loans to students. It's creating unsustainable debts for a lot of students. The minute they graduate from school they're already $20,000, $30,000 in the hole. That severely limits the obviously the kind of career choices they may want to make. We need to recruit more teachers, more nurses, other helping professions — and it's very difficult for them if they've got huge debt burdens to go into those careers.
BI: How have your experiences as a law professor shaped your public policy positions on higher education? As a political leader?
BO: Obviously as somebody who sees young people on a regular basis, I am greatly encouraged by the seriousness and hard work that young people are willing to put in. They're hungry to get education, and everywhere I go I meet young people with the will and the drive, and the desire to go to college, but often times they lack (the) money.
And I think as a professor myself, I'm painfully aware of the barriers that a lot of young people still experience going to college, and also recognize the value of higher education because ...I've had the opportunity that I have. I'm not someone who comes from a wealthy family, and I wouldn't be in a position to do the kind of work that I do had it not been for the generosity of the broader society. I want to make sure we pass that generosity on to the next generation.
In terms of my position as a politician, or policy-maker, one of the things that an effective professor learns is how to present both sides of an argument. If you're a good professor, and you're not somebody who is only teaching the things you believe, you're also teaching things that other people believe but you may disagree about.
And I think that being able to see all sides of an issue, having been trained in presenting all sides of an issue in the classroom, actually helps me question my own assumptions and helps me empathize with people who don't agree with me.
