Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which one can use to change the world.” The United States of America was always known for having one of the best education systems in the world, however recently, the notorious COVID-19 pandemic has widened the education gap and caused many Americans to question the value of their education system. This widening education gap due to the pandemic is expected to become one of the biggest challenges that the United States President will face following the 2020 presidential election.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought an immense change to the American education system. Children were suddenly forced to transition from in-person education systems to remote learning due to public fear of contracting the virus. Families around the country saw their electricity bills skyrocket due to their electronic usage at home increasing. Similarly, some low-income families were forced to pay for WIFI and were obliged to share one laptop to perform all their remote learning duties. Students all over the country felt as though the quality of their education was decreasing. Even today, many students feel like remote learning pushes students to teach themselves the education material despite teachers being online to help assist in learning. The COVID-19 effect on the United States education system could potentially impact the country’s economy for the rest of the century.

The level of education of citizens entering the workforce is known to have a significant long-term impact on the economy. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development predicted in a study that children who are part of the remote learning generation are expected to see around 3% less earnings over time when they enter the workforce than what they were expected to earn in the same job before the pandemic. In addition, children from lower income families with less access to education resources are expected to have their expected earnings in the workforce drop around 4-5%. Similarly, based on a study, the United States is expected to lose around $25-30 trillion over the rest of the century due to remote education’s expected impact on the United States of America’s Gross Domestic Product, which is expected to drop 2.9%. The prolonged period of remote learning and its long-term economic outcome proves to be one of the biggest challenges that the winner of the 2020 presidential election will have to overcome during the upcoming years.

Studies have proven that the education system in the United States due to the COVID-19 pandemic is more troubled than any other point in history. Arguably, the biggest challenge for the next presidential elect will be to bring back the quality of American education while isolating the spread of coronavirus in the process. Despite the future of education and its influence on the workforce looking glim, President Donald Trump has proven throughout the past 4 years in office that the fate of the United States of America and the country’s economic impact is resilient. Throughout President Trump’s term, the nation’s GPD has dominated the worldwide markets and reached record-breaking highs. With powerful leadership, there should be no doubt that America has the potential to push through these challenges, bring back the quality of the education system, and change the world like never before.