An article published on January 1st in the Seattle Times paints a dismal picture of the priority that education seems to be experiencing during the economic “situation” of our country. Take note of the different components that are being cut or downsized to save money especially, “suspending all-day Kindergarten for students in schools with the highest poverty levels, saving $33.6 million”.
Does anyone else see the problem here? If we continue to cut programs that are designed to aid students that need the most support we are simply going to be setting up problems for another economic catastrophe in the future. If the country continues to be distanced from industrial and manufacturing jobs with a focus towards more service/knowledge-based occupations, then these students will be left behind (pun intended). I understand no one wants to raise taxes and that anyone who suggests it is setting themselves up for political suicide, but we also need to consider the sustainability of the country and students’ futures.
We are in a tough economic situation, but that is exactly why turning funding into a game (like “Race to the Top”) just so people play ball with what the federal government wants means that we are setting ourselves up to create a larger problem down the road. The reason that most politicians refuse to stand whole-heartedly behind education policy is that it takes 15 years to see the effects of a full-grown student and 3 years to be voted out of office. Washington state is just another case study as to why we need to reconsider our priorities for the country and work to prevent a future economic problem and poor livelihood for our kids.
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When will the moral imperative of the position start to play in here. Surely there are some politicians somewhere that realize that education is the answer to the biggest question facing our society. How do we turn this ship around?
Frustrating article – but certainly not surprising.