Thursday March 11 2010 1112 am
Schools Matter
Posted by Tracy Hahn-Burkett under Education & Learning , The World We Parent In[6] Comments
I bet you’re wondering why I’ve titled this post the way I did. If you’re reading this blog, the point is probably obvious.
There’s another alternative. Maybe the point isn’t so obvious to you; maybe the reason you’re here is because you’re visiting my blog after reading my newspaper column that ran today about my town’s school budget battle and the corresponding fight over seven teaching positions.
I welcome any and all rational, reasonable comments in all forums on this issue. Budget issues in a tight economy leave tons of room for people to disagree. But let’s deal with one not-so-reasonable argument right off the bat.
I’ve already heard from the “I don’t have any kids in the schools so I’m sick of my tax dollars having to support the schools” corner this morning. To me, this position approaches the unconscionable. We all live in a community. What if I tell you, “I don’t have any elderly people living in my home, so I don’t think my tax dollars ought to support ambulances going to the local retirement village anymore?” Pretty short-sighted, mean-spirited, selfish and a whole bunch of other adjectives, isn’t it? I’m even going to call it despicable. I am now done with this argument; please get back to me when you have a more humane position to stake out.
They say all politics is local, and that’s certainly proving true this week for this former political professional. It used to be my job; now it’s about my kids, and my kids’ schools and my community. All of those things matter.
What about you and your community? Is there a school-related battle going on where you live?
March 11th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
1 hr up the road my district has to shed 1.1 million dollars…that is 14 teacher positions and no a frozen salary for next year but increased employee contribution to health benefits…after the freeze, health care and increased property tax (I live in the district I teach in) I am losing over 4,000 dollars from what I got paid this year…makes me want to quit
March 11th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
IMHO it all rolls back to basic economics; willing to pay and willing to accept. The trouble is the near-term view of everything at the expense of a long-term outcome. Cut school $$ now, has impacts into the future, and when the future arrives and we look back, it will be an easy excuse; we had to cut funding. At that point it will be no one’s fault. It seems the easy way is the choosen path and we can deal with the future when it gets here. Tsk Tsk on those elected people afraid to make the hard decisions be/c it will shorten their political career. Don’t we understand that education is the greatest gift to give someone?
March 11th, 2010 at 11:24 pm
Amber, that is heartbreaking. I’m hearing more and more stories like this. The details in every district are different, but the end result seems to be similar, and everyone loses.
March 12th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
There has been a terrific battle going on in Texas at the State Board of Education (SBOE) over the Social Studies curriculum and what is and is not to be included in related textbooks used for the next 10-years. Seems this has national implications also since Texas is the largest purchaser of textbooks and therefore what the publishers rely on for content. What is wrong with that picture? If I live in New Hampshire and some Texas politicians, mind you it is Texas politicians making these textbook decisions and not educators, are making content decisions in textbooks my children or grandchildren are going to be using do I need to be concerned about this? You bet I do!
Seems there was a heavy ultra-conservative element with great influence on the SBOE in the past that felt the teaching of history should have a heavy religious influence. Well whatever happened to teaching the facts concerning historical events. Certainly if a religious belief had a part in any particular historical event it should be included, but to the exclusion of other facts? Luckily in a vote today by SBOE members this movement was voted down. Now if the SBOE would realize that there is nothing wrong about teaching both the theory of evolution and theory of creationism in the science curriculum so student knowledge of the subject would be broadened then the SBOE would be doing their job correctly. That was voiced by one knowledgeable parent during public hearings and I believe the right comment to make. But, these are politicians worried about getting relected and to hell with what is good for the children of Texas and possibly many other states in the country. When will we ever learn!
March 13th, 2010 at 8:42 pm
Uh-oh, Terry, it seems like cooler heads did not prevail in Texas after all. I feel another blog post coming on . . .
March 15th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
And following along with my economic views, there was an op-ed piece in the NY Times on Sunday, March 14th regarding the re-write of economics in social science.
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/hayek-propped-up-by-government-intervention/
Hat-tip to the Freakonomics team!