As a future teacher and someone who has attended foreign schools, I’ve seen firsthand how big the difference is between foreign and local schools and why we really must do something about it.
Here, let’s play a quick numbers game.
I’m going to present two expenditures from the 2009 federal budget. You have to guess which was spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and which was spent on education.
These numbers are $54 billion and $136 billion, respectively. Is it any surprise, knowing our government, that the wars get the larger share of the budget?
Personally, I’m appalled we spend more than twice as much on a pair of wars (which some may argue we shouldn’t have even gotten involved in) than we do on something as essential as education.
On top of this, from 2006 to 2010, the funding for education will have dropped 1.2 percent when adjusted for inflation.
Don’t think this kind of spending mentality hasn’t had an effect. Outside of the obvious effects seen here, it has also had an effect on classrooms across the country.
In a study done in recent years by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which compiled test scores in three basic areas, America did not fare too well. In math, we ranked 27th, doing only slightly better in science at 22nd — and both of these were out of 32 countries.
In both areas, the U.S. finds itself at least 10 points below the average.
Doesn’t the subpar-ness just make your heart swell with national pride? I guess the “Teach for the Test” mentality spawned by the No Child Left Behind Act really worked well for us.
What’s even more insulting is how much more we usually have to pay for our schools than many of the countries that outscored us. Right now we are among the four highest spenders on education, with not much to show for it.
In this crumbling economy, more students will be forced into already crowded classrooms, which is just great for learning, right? Take, for instance, Los Angeles, where juniors and seniors are expected to have classrooms of up to 43 students.
Additonally, schools across the country have already been having problems supplying textbooks and materials, and we have a mess on our hands in this economy.
But wait, there’s more. Classrooms are becoming more difficult for teachers, with time being taken away from teaching to instead keep the class in order. Young teachers new to the profession are finding themselves being scared away — especially when coupled with low pay.
At a $35,000 per year starting salary (less than pastors or foresters), it shouldn’t be too surprising.
On the other end of the age spectrum, we have more than a third of our teachers above the retirement age of 50, leaving us far too close to losing a large part of the workforce.
If there were ever a perfect storm for the education system, that time is now.
We already find ourselves running low on teachers in certain parts of the country, and this has led to an influx of emergency teachers — or people taking alternative routes to gain their teaching certifications.
Is having an unqualified or inefficient teacher really better than having an overcrowded classroom, though?
Instead of raining destruction and mayhem in other countries, the U.S. could focus on something about itself and spend some war money on education.
Instead of fueling the flames of fanatic hate, we can teach the future generations how to fix the shambles of a country we’ll leave them.
With some politicians benefiting from their voters remaining uneducated, however, this is unlikely.
Should this happen, things will still need to be cut, but classes should be the absolute last area affected. If it means more money for textbooks and teachers, then by all means take the federal funding away from sports.
For instance, sports budgets in New Jersey can run anywhere from $300,000 to $800,000 a year. This money should be going to what school is meant for — classes.
This is not just so we don’t look stupid among the rest of the world like we are at times; it is something we must do if we want our country to last.
Without a good education, a basic societal good, then we really can’t expect much from our country. Our politicians will be more inept than they are now, and there would be few specialists in the country to cater to the myriad of needs we have as a society.
What’s the point of defending a country if there’s nothing of value to protect?
Zachary Davis is a 19-year-old history sophomore from Warsaw, Poland. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_zdavis.
____
Contact Zachary Davis at [email protected]