"Girls Just Want to Go to School"

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/opinion/kristof-girls-just-want-to-go-to-school.html?_r=1

Columnist, Kristof, talks about an unfortunate Vietnamese family whose mother died, father works away from home, and is thus led by a 14 year old student/sister. He does not try to advertise poverty, rather, he applauds this girl, Phung, on her diligence to her schooling. To Kristof, Phung is one "dazzling" example of what "work ethic and gritty faith" can bring to an impoverished individual, family, or country. Yet, America has lost this virtue. As a result, our educational stock has decreased in the global market. Therefore, we must readjust the education system to "build human capital."

Kristof is critical of America's laziness and inability to educate students that share a passion similar to Phung. By comparing our educational system to an impoverished country, he creates a shocking contrast that forces the reader to assess America's values of society. Kristof stresses the need to fix our nation's problem by starting at the roots: invest in the "robustness of our kindergartens" when looking towards the future.