Public schools are held responsible by the government. And
the government has many different areas in which they have to administer. It is
very easy to set a goal or standard. These goals are “good” and everyone can
agree that it would be great if every student graduated or if more students
were learning a second language. But it is quite another thing to actually
complete these goals. One reason for this is the bureaucracy that is involved
in government. There are so many
channels to go through to get policies implemented. However, the major issue, I
believe, is money.
As we can see right now during this current presidential
election, there is much is so much drama that surrounds money when it comes to
politics. Major questions include: Who should pay how much when it comes to
taxes, and then once the government has the money, how should it be spent? The
money received during campaigning also plays a major role in the polities of
the elected official. Even though every citizen has the right to vote, in
actuality, those with more money have more of a say in what happens within our government.
This being said, I truly believe that the super-wealthy
dictate much of what is going on in government. These individuals do not have
the same concerns about public schools as the average American citizen. Whether
or not public schools are successful does not matter to them because they have
the money to send their children to the elite private schools. As long as
policy makers remain indebted to those who contribute to their campaign funds,
then change in schools will be slow moving. The super-rich are more interested
in the finances that involve big business, oil, military spending, and the
like.
As we saw here in Ohio, the state government cut money to
public schools. As they give less money to these institutions they continue to
expect more and more out of them. This results in a heavy burden on the local
governments and landowners. (This also
helps us to understand why there is so much discrepancy between schools.)
So – what is the solution???
School reform. Government reform. These both seem like huge
hurdles but I believe they are both necessary for the sake of our future. (And
the future of our children.)
Sorry to get pretty political on here.
But I do believe that teachers need to be politically
engaged. They need to do so as an advocate for themselves and especially for
their students.
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