John Merrow writes here about the Governor’s Inaugural Address. It could be delivered in any state. It should be delivered in every state.
It is about the importance of education to creating the future we all hope for.
Read the entire address and email it to your governor. Perhaps he or she will crib a few lines.
Let’s remind ourselves that public education serves an important public purpose. Yes, of course there is an undeniable private benefit to getting education: children who finish high school and college will earn significantly more over their lifetimes than high school dropouts. Parents know that, which is why they seek out communities reputed to have ‘the best schools.’
However, in addition to the individual’s private gain, education provides significant public benefits. Investing in one child’s education helps all of us.
Think about it: Educated citizens have better jobs, pay more taxes, are more likely to vote, get involved in civic life, and work cooperatively with their neighbors. Educated citizens are less likely to be on welfare, live in homeless shelters, or require public benefits.
It’s a win-win when people are educated. That’s why we–government–cannot stand by and leave it to parents to see their children get educated. We need to enable, and we need to provide. And we need to pay the bills!
Let me remind you that, until fairly recently, America understood that. The GI Billpaid for the college education of millions of returning World War II veterans, creating the middle class and the greatest economic boom in history. In the mid-1960’s generous Pell Grants opened the door to college opportunity for millions of low income young people, creating another economic surge.
But during the Reagan years government walked away from a public commitment to education. Pell Grants were cut. States cut their commitments to their public colleges and universities. Government began making students borrow for college, rather than using public dollars to help them. Basically, we swapped grants for loans, and now student debt is over $1.5 trillion!
There have been other harmful changes. For the past 20 or more years, those controlling public education have emphasized test scores to the detriment of just about everything else. Adding to those bad policies, two major economic downturns did serious damage to school budgets, harm that most of our communities have not yet recovered from. School spending here in _______ is down from 2008, just as it is in 31 other states. And because too much money is being spent on testing and too much time on test-preparation, our young people are not enjoying art, music, drama, physical education, field trips, and other extra curricular activities–all the good stuff that (at least for me) made school enjoyable.
Schools need less testing and more money. Making that happen will require the courage cited in the ‘Serenity Prayer,’ because we also must change how we pay for schools here in _______. Back in 1973, the US Supreme Court ruled that education is not a federal constitutional right; it’s the job of individual states to educate its citizens. As in most states, here in ______ we have passed down the job to cities and towns and let them figure out how to pay for it.
Investment in the common good elevates all of society. I have always believed this, and it is one of the main reasons I decided to become a teacher. As an ESL teacher in the same district for many years, I found it rewarding to see the collective “fruits of our labor” grow and develop into responsible members of society. When I came home from work, exhausted from the demands of teaching, I could always look at myself in the mirror and know I had done something, worthwhile and bigger than myself. My ELLs would never have gotten the opportunity they had in our quality public schools from a privatized system that most likely would have refused to invest in them.
Unfortunately in NYS Gov Cuomo will use the impending 6.1 B budget deficit to justify underfunding schools, a budget deficit caused by rapidly increasing medicaid costs, it was no secret.
The Governor should be talking about changing the method of funding schools in NYS; the current property tax system is a reverse Robin Hood, taking from the poor and giving to the rich.
With overwhelming Democratic majorities in both houses of the legislature there is a once in a generation opportunity to make progressive changes; however, “those that have,” regardless of parties, will fight against “those that haven’t.” Perhaps the first term progessives will push hard enough for change … a governor with eyes on higher office and an amoral view of politics and the good of the people, all the people, has been a major impediment to progessive changes.