I have recently put a LOT of time and effort into following not only a dream of mine, but into something I feel will have a positive impact on a lot of other people. It is for this reason that I am particularly troubled by the cuts and proposed cuts to our educational systems. These include not only the K-12 cuts, but also the cuts at the college level. Now here is my reasoning on this, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
When we cut funding at the K-12 level the end result is teachers will get laid off, staff will be reassigned to positions that have been cut (possibly areas that they are not as strong in) and class sizes will increase. The best and the brightest of teachers will not be hired (remember you get what you pay for) and individual students in each class will not get as much one on one time as they did previously. Those that need extra help will have to be able to arrange times other than the class period to get it. This brings up a whole new set of problems with parent scheduling pick-ups and availability of instructors after or before school. Additionally with school cuts, new instructional material will not be available and regular school supplies (paper etc.) may be in short supply.
( I recall when I was in school that the texts in several of my classes were not exactly up to date, but of course as an all knowing High School-er, what did I care about other countries their problems and even if they were still countries. I did however find it a detriment when I entered college and didn’t know much about Europe and the rest of the world.) Other classes will be cut entirely leaving fewer options for kids to pursue. It seems to me that everyone I know is concerned that his or her children get a good education; so that they can as a result get a good job. How is this going to happen if we keep putting more kids into classrooms so that teachers have less time to help individuals, then not provide the teachers with up-to-date materials to teach with?
Another problem I see is the No Child Left Behind Act, and linking teacher performance to student achievement. The idea behind No Child is great, but it just doesn’t pan out in reality. We all know that not every child is a straight A student, that some work very hard, and should be highly praised, for getting C’s. But if teacher achievement is linked to student achievement and the teacher happens to be in an area that is lower income (which often means both parents work and are not available to help their kids which can affect grades) or has a high percentage of students that are at risk in some other way, then apparent achievement is low. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the teacher is bad. I’m not saying there aren’t bad teachers or claiming to know a good way to find out who is and who is not, all I am saying is that there are so many variables that can affect how well a child does that you can’t just say it is the teachers fault if they don’t do well.
So let’s assume that our kids are bright, did well in school and are on their way to college. Now we face cuts at the college level. It seems to me that this would mean we have to pay more for tuition. With the economy so poor our income is less, and now we are paying more for all our regular bills and our children’s schooling is costing more also. The colleges have less money for new equipment, won’t be hiring additional staff and classes will become more crowded (have you ever been in one of those gigantic lecture halls? Talk about lost in the crowd!). A lot of kids won’t be able to afford it and as a result will not get a college education. How is this going to help them or our country if our kids are not educated?
It seems very wrong to me that when cuts to budgets are done it is the education of our future generations that seem to suffer so much to accommodate the people with money who are pulling the strings of our politicians. But maybe I’m wrong…..
