What About The Children (The Impact of a Slow Economy)
The stagnancy of our economy and the myriad challenges facing families are exacerbating the difficulties we already face in K-12 public schooling. Not only are we having to deal with the perennial school budget shortages, low test scores, poor teacher quality, and declining graduation rates, these new economic and social realities add a new layer of complexities to the situation. What we are also witnessing is the unfortunate tendency for lawmakers to cut expenditures in areas that are the most essential to sustaining healthy and productive communities. While local and state government cuts in public safety and public health areas have never made any sense during tough economic times, the slashing of education expenditures as a first line of defense has always been even more perplexing. Notwithstanding the financial waste that probably occurs in some school districts, school budgets should be the last, not the first, resort when it comes to budget cuts. Classroom-related costs should be preserved in order to maintain the integrity of our teaching and learning goals. We must be intent on not sacrificing teacher quality and curriculum standards even in the toughest economic climate. What we can reduce are the exorbitant personnel costs that are non-classroom or administrative costs. For years, the percentage of dollars spent on classroom activities versus administrative functions has been heavily skewed towards spending that was not directly related to teaching and learning. Any attempts at shrinking state and local budgets should rightly focus on removing unnecessary administrative and operational costs in schools as well as nonessential expenditures that have nothing to do with students' learning and the quality of our teachers.
As our nation examines its domestic and international priorities, educators and other everyday citizens and professionals must clearly make the case for how critical high quality public education is to national competence and global competitiveness. As industries, sectors, and professions evaluate strategies and markets for their growth prospects, one would expect that they are keenly aware of the benefits of a well educated workforce and populace as a whole. Without highly trained and competent citizens, companies, governments, and organizations do not stand a chance at identifying growth opportunities and creating greater value and wealth for individuals, enterprises, and nations. An educated citizenry is indispensable if America expects to maintain a position of global influence and prominence. As the spotlight continues to shine on the desperate state of America's elementary and secondary schools, the realities of our schools should be apparent to most people. It can no longer be considered a figment of anyone's imagination that school-aged youth are not performing at a high level vis-a-vis their global counterparts. The implementation of standards and accountability systems nationwide has given us tools and measurements to use as we assess student and school performances. The excuses and arguments that were used in the past to stifle innovation and creativity have been rendered moot, given the measured successes of targeted charter schools and various other school prototypes and interventions. Our current economic climate is an opportunity for us to make a definite case for how we will expend finite resources toward public education and the many other expenditure classes that are essential for meeting our national and international goals.
As our nation examines its domestic and international priorities, educators and other everyday citizens and professionals must clearly make the case for how critical high quality public education is to national competence and global competitiveness. As industries, sectors, and professions evaluate strategies and markets for their growth prospects, one would expect that they are keenly aware of the benefits of a well educated workforce and populace as a whole. Without highly trained and competent citizens, companies, governments, and organizations do not stand a chance at identifying growth opportunities and creating greater value and wealth for individuals, enterprises, and nations. An educated citizenry is indispensable if America expects to maintain a position of global influence and prominence. As the spotlight continues to shine on the desperate state of America's elementary and secondary schools, the realities of our schools should be apparent to most people. It can no longer be considered a figment of anyone's imagination that school-aged youth are not performing at a high level vis-a-vis their global counterparts. The implementation of standards and accountability systems nationwide has given us tools and measurements to use as we assess student and school performances. The excuses and arguments that were used in the past to stifle innovation and creativity have been rendered moot, given the measured successes of targeted charter schools and various other school prototypes and interventions. Our current economic climate is an opportunity for us to make a definite case for how we will expend finite resources toward public education and the many other expenditure classes that are essential for meeting our national and international goals.
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