Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Strangled

In the news lately all I hear are reports about public school funding being cut.
Little tid- bits are being reported about legislation that {sneaks} in portions which will lead to things like:
less money for public schools
handing vouchers out to {free lunch} kids so that they can attend private schools of their
choice
creating another DPI that will just govern the charter schools...
Really?  Really?
I get a bit distraught, and I worry a lot.
It is worrisome that public schools are being treated like and viewed as just any other
{entitlement} program.
It is worrisome that after decades and decades of building up public infrastructure and personnel and educating a whole set of the populace to be professional educators--that we are viewed as, and treated as public leaches--or somehow inferior employees.
It scares the hell outta me that the public school system is being strangled by the people we have elected to govern us.

Why would our fore fathers and ancestors invest so much time and money into building buildings for our children to be educated?
Why, over time, has the public mind set and values set shifted so that we have rules and laws about children attending school?
Why would Universities all over the world have entire departments that are devoted to educating future teachers and administrators?
The answer, in my mind, is that public education is a public pursuit.
It is best for everyone to have a population that is, for the most part, educated.
Even when my dad was a little boy many farm people did not send their children to school...and guess what...
No one cared.  No one went looking for the kids who did not show up.
Over time these things have changed.
It took decades.
It took so much money.

So now, we have decided that any ole somebody can start up a school in an old k-mart, not provide transportation, not provide lunch--and operate under whatever charter they think up
This is what happens.
This is called Charter School
Are they all bad?  Who knows?  Are any of them, good--why sure..
But do I think my tax money should go to fund schools that do not have to play by the same set of rules.
NO!
You want a private school.
You want to charter a new idea-pay for it with your own money.
I think that is absolutely super!
Special needs kids are often not welcome at charter schools.  Meanwhile the federal law requires public schools to meet all of the educational needs of the special needs population.
What?  Does that make sense to you?
How would you feel as the parent of the special needs kid?
hmmm......

If our new set of government folks are upset over spending here are some ideas:
Require drug testing of all adults who live in households where any member gets a gov't check of any kind.
Only fund with gov't money one child per mother and one per father.  ONE.
You have more, you worry about how they get taken care of.
Money buys people choices, and if you don't have money to pay for children then you should stop having them.
We as a society have taken this kind of decision making out of the game....
Children are abused and neglected under our system.  I see it every day.
ThGrown ups talk about selling food stamps for cash...wtf people?
I hear children talk about "tealing food" from their parents...

1 comment:

Bethany said...

Get it girl! There are so many things in here... I like. The charter schools here are rampant too, and it is frustrating.

Spot on!

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