Archives for "Kids"
“Education is our most severe crisis, and the danger is increasing”
The Portland Press Herald published an important and thoughtful “Maine Voices” piece today written by James Gale, a 7th and 8th grade math teacher from Bath.
“BATH — It is no secret that among industrialized nations, our high school students perform at the bottom of the list in math and sciences.
School administrators, presidents and lawmakers have addressed this trend in recent times with initiatives and incentives intended to make schools more accountable, economical and successful.
Yet today, schools face the worst economic dilemmas in recent history and America is no better off among advanced nations.
Here in Maine, we have been hit hard.
Programs and teachers are being cut in districts statewide, and many gubernatorial candidates are actually in agreement that Maine needs to increase the number of students in classrooms in order to close in on the national average.
The scope of the situation is not only dire in that our kids are failing and we cannot fund them for success, but worse, people with the potential power to influence and implement change are proposing a major step backward in the effort to improve quality education in schools.
That schools are focusing on finding only the most affordable paths to improve test scores is fundamentally misguided. The culture of education should not be fused with the culture of the corporate world.
It is one thing for a corporation to overemphasize profits; the quality of products or services slips, product and/or workplace safety is ignored, and injuries, lawsuits, recalls and other controversies are imminent.
We have seen this scenario played out before us many times in recent months and years.
Businesses must present a service or product that is worth its price in the eyes of the consumer.
If it is a high-quality product or service, it will gain in popularity and earn profits.
An honest business requires skillful economic planning, and above all, an emphasis on the product or service offered.
A dishonest business will cut corners, overemphasize the numbers, and attempt to convince its market that the product or service is worth a higher price than it really is, at the risk of the aforementioned consequences.
When we cut corners in education, we risk more than a product recall, an injured employee or a dissatisfied customer base.” See full story at the Portland Press Herald.
“States’ budget crises land on children”
Here’s a troubling story by the AP about the consequences of huge budget cuts by state government across the country. These consequences clearly demonstrate the need for fiscal responsibility and investment in public services.
“CHICAGO – Now the crisis is reaching the children
In Arizona, a program that helped blind high school students care for themselves and find jobs is suspended. In South Carolina, all five state-run group homes for kids closed and a program that helped paroled youths get jobs is shuttered. And in Hawaii, a program to reduce child abuse and neglect was cut so much that two years after serving 4,000 families, it now serves 100.
All over the country, the financial crisis has forced states to make historic cuts to close what the National Conference of State Legislatures found was an overall budget gap of $174.1 billion this fiscal year and has lawmakers looking to trim another $89 billion next year. That means slashing services to the one population they’ve long protected: children.” Read More.