The President’s recent education budget announcement has caused hope, questions and a lot of conversation online. A Google search done today on “us education reform” has retrieved 74 new articles or blogs on the topic, and that’s only one part of the discussion.
A closer look at the ongoing buzz about education reform shows a very similar theme running through most of the content, and it is an old question. Despite federal budget increases and new policies regarding teacher education and academic standards, who is ultimately responsible for our children’s education?
The $50.7 billion budget for education will be a key factor in our schools ability to effect change in their policies, teacher education and equipment to enhance their current standards which are sorely needed in many school districts around the country, but it’s not just about funding.
President Obama made note in his State of the Union that the responsibility of recovery for the United States lies in every American and this includes the future of education. Without higher academic standards for our school districts, without a change in the attitude from testing to teaching in schools, without a drive for college education as the expectation and the goal, we will not see real change.
We live in a country where public education is available to all of our children. We need to expect more from administrators, school boards, teachers and staff who man public schools to offer the very best of their skill and talents to our children. We need to have accountability, for staff, for kids, for parents and for policy makers to ensure that their combined goals all lead to an improvement in our children’s education We need to stop segregation in our charter schools. It is another roadblock in the path of our children’s’ future, and can not be tolerated.
No one group is at fault for their district inadequacies, but each community does have the responsibility to get involved, to expect more and to find innovative ways to use these newly allotted funds to build the education system that our kids deserve.
Posted By: Paul Adams
Thursday, February 11th 2010 at 11:08AM
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