How am I not surprised at this. The article sounds so good and cheerful, oh we will stop spending money, we are cutting from the top. No, this is not good news, it means that the already strapped government programs are going to do even worse. Why would we cut from domestic programs? Education-how on earth are we going to be able to educate our children when the schools have no money, and have to lay off the great teachers that work there. Plus, it's not just teachers that keep the school running. What will happen to art, PE, music, library? What will happen to the teachers aides that help so that the teachers can give one on one attention to students? On top of schools, they are cutting the EPA. How is this going to help. All this will do is make us use up the planet that much faster. I just don't understand the thinking behind this.
I need to read more on this and I will check out your link later but I recently attended a conference and our speaker discussed the state budget and how the percentage of the budget allocated to education is supposed to be the one section that cannot be decreased. I thought when I left the meeting I had a clear understanding on this and yet all I have seen lately is state budget education cuts. I am going to travel off the democrat/republican path here because it doesn't seem that these education cuts are affiliation specific. Its both sides.
Working in higher ed, there is so much that the common man does not know that is going on right now with cuts to Federal Financial Aid programs and those proposed cuts are sitting in front of congress now. Most are supported by democrats and opposed by republicans. Those cuts and new regs will make it so a great percentage of people that come from poverty level incomes may not be able to attend schools that would cater to their needs and unfortunately, these folks don't stand a chance at getting into a typical 4 year University. Yet, I hear Obama preaching about how we need to make college available to everyone. How he wants the U.S to be #1 in producing college graduates. Well, those financial cuts will make that goal near impossible. Before we even get to the problems surrounding higher ed, we need to look at our high school grads, our lack of success with our elementary kids and how our children are simply being pushed through the system.
Case in point: My son, now 17 is learning disabled and bi-polar and ADHD of the Inattentive nature. He was struggling so miserably and no one at the school level would help him. It wasn't until my moms friend, who worked for DPS for 30 years, shed some light on my rights as a parent. Once I knew what the schools obligation was to help my son, I raised holy hell. He was in 8th grade reading at a 3rd grade level. When I expressed concern that he was not anywhere near ready academically nor emotionally for high school, his Deans comment and I quote, "oh no, he will be fine. This is normal". Really???? Are you kidding me?
Consequently, my son was so stressed out because of his inability to find any success in middle school that he became a victim of bullying until he snapped. He did not harm anyone, but had an emotional breakdown, made some verbal threats after being cornered by bullies, ran to a teacher for help and he was expelled for his statements.
I attended the expulsion hearing and when I read the report from the witnesses, the teachers, and his own deposition, I cried. Why did no one help him? Was I to be present at the school with him everyday in order to secure his safety and protection? We teach them to trust that the adults will help and in the end...they failed him. The school failed him. The school failed me.
My youngest have already had their after school extracurricular programs cut due to lack of funding and they are in Cherry Creek. They are in 1st and 2nd grade. So, I pick up the slack and in addition to my full time job, my education and my other life responsibilities, I shuffle them to their sports and assume additional academic responsibility that, when I was a kid, was provided at school. I wonder who is going to be accountable. Parents have a responsibility to educate their kids, allot time for homework, provide academic and emotional support, but the schools have a responsibility too and more and more, they push these kids through who are not ready. They graduate with less than 2.0 GPA's and are left with little chance to get into a traditional university. We need to be pro-active in helping our kids, not reactivate after the tests are graded and we see how many of our youth are struggling and just passed on to the next grade to be someone else's problem. On the flip side, how CAN our schools provide the support our kids need when the budget is not there? You can only sell so much gift wrap and so many chocolates you know? It's beyond frustrating. And disappointing.
How am I not surprised at this. The article sounds so good and cheerful, oh we will stop spending money, we are cutting from the top. No, this is not good news, it means that the already strapped government programs are going to do even worse. Why would we cut from domestic programs? Education-how on earth are we going to be able to educate our children when the schools have no money, and have to lay off the great teachers that work there. Plus, it's not just teachers that keep the school running. What will happen to art, PE, music, library? What will happen to the teachers aides that help so that the teachers can give one on one attention to students? On top of schools, they are cutting the EPA. How is this going to help. All this will do is make us use up the planet that much faster. I just don't understand the thinking behind this.
ReplyDeleteI need to read more on this and I will check out your link later but I recently attended a conference and our speaker discussed the state budget and how the percentage of the budget allocated to education is supposed to be the one section that cannot be decreased. I thought when I left the meeting I had a clear understanding on this and yet all I have seen lately is state budget education cuts. I am going to travel off the democrat/republican path here because it doesn't seem that these education cuts are affiliation specific. Its both sides.
ReplyDeleteWorking in higher ed, there is so much that the common man does not know that is going on right now with cuts to Federal Financial Aid programs and those proposed cuts are sitting in front of congress now. Most are supported by democrats and opposed by republicans. Those cuts and new regs will make it so a great percentage of people that come from poverty level incomes may not be able to attend schools that would cater to their needs and unfortunately, these folks don't stand a chance at getting into a typical 4 year University. Yet, I hear Obama preaching about how we need to make college available to everyone. How he wants the U.S to be #1 in producing college graduates. Well, those financial cuts will make that goal near impossible. Before we even get to the problems surrounding higher ed, we need to look at our high school grads, our lack of success with our elementary kids and how our children are simply being pushed through the system.
Case in point: My son, now 17 is learning disabled and bi-polar and ADHD of the Inattentive nature. He was struggling so miserably and no one at the school level would help him. It wasn't until my moms friend, who worked for DPS for 30 years, shed some light on my rights as a parent. Once I knew what the schools obligation was to help my son, I raised holy hell. He was in 8th grade reading at a 3rd grade level. When I expressed concern that he was not anywhere near ready academically nor emotionally for high school, his Deans comment and I quote, "oh no, he will be fine. This is normal". Really???? Are you kidding me?
Consequently, my son was so stressed out because of his inability to find any success in middle school that he became a victim of bullying until he snapped. He did not harm anyone, but had an emotional breakdown, made some verbal threats after being cornered by bullies, ran to a teacher for help and he was expelled for his statements.
I attended the expulsion hearing and when I read the report from the witnesses, the teachers, and his own deposition, I cried. Why did no one help him? Was I to be present at the school with him everyday in order to secure his safety and protection? We teach them to trust that the adults will help and in the end...they failed him. The school failed him. The school failed me.
My youngest have already had their after school extracurricular programs cut due to lack of funding and they are in Cherry Creek. They are in 1st and 2nd grade. So, I pick up the slack and in addition to my full time job, my education and my other life responsibilities, I shuffle them to their sports and assume additional academic responsibility that, when I was a kid, was provided at school. I wonder who is going to be accountable. Parents have a responsibility to educate their kids, allot time for homework, provide academic and emotional support, but the schools have a responsibility too and more and more, they push these kids through who are not ready. They graduate with less than 2.0 GPA's and are left with little chance to get into a traditional university. We need to be pro-active in helping our kids, not reactivate after the tests are graded and we see how many of our youth are struggling and just passed on to the next grade to be someone else's problem. On the flip side, how CAN our schools provide the support our kids need when the budget is not there? You can only sell so much gift wrap and so many chocolates you know? It's beyond frustrating. And disappointing.