Every year an amazing transition occurs during the first weeks of August and September: kids who have spent their summer hours lolling in pools, on bikes or in movie theaters; kids who swore in June they never wanted to see the inside of a classroom again, suddenly can’t wait to load up on pencils and paper, don the latest “Back to School” fashions and head back to the world of books, desks, chalk dust and computers. This remarkable phenomena, eagerly awaited by most parents, is also happily exploited by teachers who understand that September enthusiasm must be harnessed and recycled like precious fuel if it’s to last all the way to the following June.
But keeping that enthusiasm alive is harder than ever these days as declining budgets force many school districts to cut back on services, classes, salaries and supplies. Many teachers in our area begin their back to school preparations with a trip to the educational supply store where they spend their own money to purchase not just enrichment materials for our students but the basics as well: paper, pencils, maps, study aids.
It seems to me that when our economy suffers, the first items we cut from our budgets are those that appear to be the least painful in the short term: the Arts (the soul of our country), Economic Aid to the Needy (the heart of our country) and Education (the future of our country).
How shortsighted we have become, especially considering that our country has had a long history of respect for and belief in the importance of educating our children. As early as the 1600’s, our colonists were establishing the first schools. Our first institute of higher learning, Harvard College, was founded in 1636 by the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and by 1647 Massachusetts had passed a law requiring the establishment of public schools in every town with at least 50 families.
By the early 1800’s, public education had become a priority of our political leaders who wisely saw that the economic and social well-being of a world class country inevitably depended on well educated citizens. With that in mind, many states followed the example set by Massachusetts in 1837 by establishing state boards of education. And it wasn’t long before states began to pass compulsory school attendance laws.
With our long and rich history of improving our lives and country through public funded education, with the monumental tasks that face us in the 21st. Century—a fiercely competitive world economy, shrinking resources, global pollution and climate change, new and yet untreatable diseases—why, would we even contemplate cutting funds to schools and education?
I realize there are those who don't want their tax dollars spent on educating someone else’s children but if we’re lucky enough to reach old age, those children will be the doctors and legislators, the firefighters and police officers and the caregivers we will come to depend on.
Sure, schools don’t always teach what we’d like. Sometimes the method of the moment overshadows the end result. Sometimes emphasis on certain subjects seems misplaced. So I suggest becoming an involved citizen. Attend your local school board meetings and let your thoughts and concerns be heard. Vote responsibly for school board members and other local and statewide leaders. Question where funds are being spent and watch that they don’t get wasted or misused. But please, while you’re voting, don’t vote away much needed tax dollars from public education. Yes, the public education system can certainly do better but we have some great teachers out there who are working diligently to do the best for our children.
The future of the United States, indeed that of the planet, depends on well educated global citizens. Our children are that future. Today, their education is in our hands; tomorrow, our hopes and well-being will be in theirs.
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