It’s hard to imagine that in the twenty-first century education is still playing second fiddle in the states budget. The School District of Philadelphia is told to operate with less and to produce students who can excel on the states PSSA test. It is like the Israelites who were told to build bricks without straw to make their work harder. If you do not invest in students you cannot expect good outcome in our states future. Denying that the future of our state is built on our ability to effectively educate every citizen is an indication that the policy makers are living in a false reality. It seems that we are telling students to build a house whose foundation is education but we are withholding the tools that they need to be successful.
Education is a battle that is worth fighting for. Many youths lives are changed when they are challenged to stretch their minds. I am a former School District of Philadelphia student and I know what can be accomplished when the right tools are placed in the hands of students. They can change the world and they can transform the state of Pennsylvania. My doctorate degree in education is largely due to motivated School District of Philadelphia teachers who told me that there was no limit to what I could accomplish.
Over the next month, I hope that the state will reconsider its budget decisions and find new ways to restore funding to the School District of Philadelphia. Every day I find good news about students in schools that I visit. It is unacceptable that the students are left crippled by a lack state funding and a 190 million dollar budget deficit. Let’s invest in our future as a state by supporting the children who will create future jobs and give us a position in the global economy. We can make worst of times a better time by remembering the value of education and its benefits on our own lives.
Posted By: Stephen Jones
Saturday, October 24th 2009 at 7:36AM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
