What affect will the school budget cut have on our children?

After reading many articles about how other people think the school budget cut will affect our children, I have decided to write this blog to express my opinions and to inform with the information I have gathered. Our school systems are in a sad state. No one knows what will happen next. I heard some teachers talking the other day and they were saying that elementary schools were being shut down and students were to be bused to other schools. They said that they weren’t waiting until the school year is over to begin this endeavor but doing it immediately. We are seeing a change in our country that we have not seen in our lifetime.

The articles that I read, and some were blogs, were from states all over the United States. Schools all over America are in a crisis. Teachers are being laid off, programs are being cut, and schools are being consolidated. There was talk of eliminating kindergarten, having school four days a week, shortening the school year, plus many other things. It doesn’t seem like very long ago that we were being told how far behind the United States was compared to other countries and there was a push for better education. The message that is being sent now is that our children’s education is not important anymore. The government is wanting the schools to do more with less. This seems to be the situation that many businesses are in today. It’s always about money! I hope the children aren't the ones that pay for this with their education.

I can’t believe that cutting school funding was even considered. I agree that schools should not spend more than is necessary but what are our children and our future worth to us? This is not the place to cut spending. There are many other places that cuts could be made before money is taken away from our children’s education. Nelson Mandela’s quote speaks volumes, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” -- Nelson Mandela

Maybe I am wrong, but when I started college to become a teacher, I never thought that by the time I got ready to graduate that there would be such chaos in the education field. Teachers are scared, parents are scared, and the children are scared. I think about the children in the schools that all of a sudden, overnight, closed and the children were bused to other schools. That has to be frightening to the children and to the parents. Many other pre-grad teachers are wondering if there will be jobs available after going to school for years to be a teacher. Many have college loans to pay back. Not only are our schools in a crisis, but our country is in a crisis. In my opinion, this is the worst shape our country has been in since the depression in the 1930’s.

I say, without education for our children, our future looks very bleak! This is an evil force that will bring our country down. This is one way to destroy our country without firing a shot, by destroy ing our young and by keeping them from having the best education. This quote by John Dewey says a lot: “Education is a social process. Education is growth. Education is, not a preparation for life; education is life itself.” -- John Dewey

Wake up America, the pot is boiling!

Cartoon from: http://www.cagle.com/news/SchoolBudgetCuts/1.asp