This one has me vexed. I usually follow a pattern of coming upon an issue or topic; then I think about it a while to come up with a way of discussing it that's a little different (if I'm lucky); then I sit down to write it out. This one isn't going according to the pattern. I've determined my feelings on the topic, but I'm having the hardest time seeing it written out. So you just have to come along for the ride.
It all started some years ago when Lee and I joined a new organization called Stand for Children. It was the beginning of a national organizing effort to create a lobby for children, where members of a community could address the needs of children with local decision-makers. We were privileged to know the founder of the movement, Jonah Edelman; and work with him on the first actions in Spokane along with some great people here locally. Jonah is a brilliant young man. If you have a minute, look him up on "the Google". The organization's efforts were generally geared towards improving educational opportunities for all children.
Education is not a topic that requires much outside motivation for us. I'm a huge believer in the value of education at all levels; and Lee is an educator, with a great passion for improving education. We are once again participating in the Stand for Children efforts here locally, but oh how the times have changed.
Public education is under attack like no time I can recall over my lifetime. In the last year we have seen unprecedented blows to public education in a number of states. This movement seems part of a concerted effort by Republican Governors to use a budget crisis as a reason to dismantle teacher's unions and de-fund large portions of the educational structure itself. (I suspect this is a movement to privatize schools) And this is where I have floundered a bit in my own reaction to the crisis, and disagreed with others who are also seeking to maintain best possible outcomes for our children. We in this movement are all on the same side- but we may see the way forward a bit differently. From here on down, it's all opinion. As it is with all opinions; mine may not be any better than the next person's opinion. But here goes!
Our budget crisis is real. The Great Recession is real, and there are fewer dollars to go around. Many states are weighing the educational needs of their children with other needs. In my opinion there are no needs that measure up to the need to educate our children. Our children are not getting the best education now, based on comparisons with other industrialized counties around the world. Overall, we rank 18th. Not good. If you want to curb the growth of the prison populations and solve many of the other ills that befall our culture- then believe that nothing is more important than education and fund it above all else.
Teachers are the key element required for an excellent education (once a culture or society decides on this as a priority). But, teachers seem to cast as the bad guy in this debate. Some argue that the unions are too strong and serve only to protect their own. There are many cases where this appears to be true, but it is not the rule. It is the exception to the rule, that inevitably gets the public attention. Some argue that teachers get paid too much, so they are the logical target of budget cuts when fear, rather than logic, rules us. Some argue that union contracts favor seniority over quality of teachers-so we have to find different ways to deal with teacher layoffs during a budget crisis. (This issue is one that Stand for Children is grappling with in Washington.) It is true that there are times when the unions seem more concerned with their issues than the children's issues. But at the heart of it, I believe teacher's unions have evolved in order to create a stronger profession for our children's sake. In addition unions are the last hope of keeping the playing field level for the working class. They are fewer now, but they help us all maintain living wages.
I have come to believe that those of us who want to reform/improve education may be only nibbling around the edges of reform to the detriment of more meaningful long-term improvements. As a philosophical point it might be better to get away from the argument about the best way to reduce the number of teachers, and focus on not laying-off teachers at all. Instead of arguing over the amount we spend on schools we ought to work for a cultural shift that elevates the idea of education above all others. The politicians will always blurt out their old platitudes about "children are our future" but they rarely govern that way. If they really meant it- if our culture truly valued children- we would not be having this discussion. There are other counties that don't quibble about education, it is paramount. But, somehow, we seem to go on with the platitudes and never get to the point of believing, as a people, that we must elevate the whole profession and give education our highest priority.
In the 60's when JFK reset the tone by asking "what can you do for your country?" there was a national call to service and to higher education. Even then we valued teachers more. If we are to value them again we must pay to attract our best and our brightest. Our children deserve the best. Our culture pays the big bucks for the investment bankers and the athletes, while starting teachers need five years of college, and begin careers at 30K a year, deep in debt. So if we have sub-par teachers, that's why- not because of unions. It's because we haven't made them important and valuable enough.
I've been told I'm not too practical on this issue- that we need to start small and work for reforms "we can get". That may be right, but the bold changes are the ones that inspire and elevate us. I hope to see a rising tide of education lift all ships.We can never achieve greatness while attacking those who serve our children. We have monumental problems facing the next generations and I'm counting on my children and grandchildren to ensure the survival of our kind. They will need the best education we can give them to do so. That will come from having the best teachers, and giving education our highest priority to prepare them. This is a basic cultural shift I'd like to see us all start making now.
Thanks for looking in.
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