Last year, when the budget was first sliced, teachers were the first victims, and many young teachers were rather unceremoniously given pink slips and, consequently, the boot. I truly do not understand why this is so, why teachers fresh out of school, with a vivacity for teaching, are the first to be thrown out, but as I am young, my opinion little matters. However, I would submit that this current policy is faulty and far too simple; in fact it is, quite honestly, the easiest way out.
Instead of attacking education, the general management of the schools must be analyzed. For instance, I have seen countless incidences of lights left on in classrooms, teachers that keep on the air conditioning despite balmy temperatures outside, computers left carelessly on, etc. The electricity bills of schools, if so many electrical entities are kept on, must be staggering. Simply by conserving electricity (through the turning off of computers, air conditioners, etc.) schools can save hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is surely enough to save at least one teacher, thereby still keeping class sizes somewhat manageable.
However, it is true that even if such environmentally/fiscally friendly policies were instituted, the schools would still be quite deficient in terms of their budgets. I am not blind to the hardships this country is going through, from an overwhelming debt to an utterly penniless state, but I do believe that not nearly enough emphasis or funding is placed on education, regardless of the times. Republicans particularly believe that the education budget should be the first to be slashed, as Schwarzenegger has so bluntly showed. In fact, education was cut in half in terms of budget, whilst the transportation budget was given allowances to build dozens of new highways, which is utterly thoughtless and foolish. Considering the environmental problems, as well as the rising costs of gas, new highways should not be built. If anything, more trains and subways should be put into use. Yet, the real issue is that highways were given more funding, while public education languishes. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that Europeans and Americans alike bemoan the stupidity of Americans and their inordinate love for their cars.
Yes, I am fully aware of the argument Republicans make; namely, that there are plenty of private schools for children to go to, and that education in general should be privatized. Now, there are so many issues here that I don’t know where to start. For one, many people, especially in these trying times, do not have the resources to send their child to an expensive school that studies have proven gives much the same education as a public school. For another, education should be encouraged by any society that wishes to both thrive and flourish. Every great civilization, most famously the Greeks, but also every other following or preceding them, has encouraged education to some extent. Now, it is true that many rulers in the past have discouraged education because they believed an uneducated populace to be much easier to control (an ideal that is undoubtedly, if somewhat frighteningly, true; and appears to be the current ideal of Schwarzenegger), but the populace then becomes weak, and society suffers for it. However, an educated society is one that grows quickly, stays strong, and suffers less from such ills as crime and poverty. In fact, I would submit that America’s problems, manifold as they are, will become mitigated when Americans and their leaders finally realize that education is the cornerstone of every great society.
