Because I believe every child living in the U.S. has a right to be educated at a public school. I believe these schools should be safe, sound, and have the highest quality teachers, books, and materials. I believe we should offer education to preschool through high school, and I believe the curriculum should be as rich and diverse as this country.
Basically, we pay now or we pay later--we pay to educate now, or we pay to build the jails and to help those in poverty later.
I believe we, the adults in this society, should pay for the education of future generations. ALL of us should contribute; perhaps the most wealthy should pay more, because they will reap more of the benefits from having an educated workforce. But then again, we all will benefit from having educated doctors, police officers, scientists, writers, explorers, nurses, construction engineers........
Public education is by no means a new phenomena in the United States. The first settlers set up schools and universities (my guess is that Native Americans had their own education system as well). Almost as soon as the United States became a country, public schools opened and citizens were encouraged to send their male children. Shortly after, public schools for girls were opened, followed by schools for the deaf and the blind. Immigrant children were guaranteed an education, even when it meant there were 50-60 in one classroom But they learned to read and write in English, because their new country believed in education for every child.
Yes, there is a belief in a universal education system in this country, but we have struggled throughout our history as to how that system should work--"separate but equal" educations were considered "good enough", and to this day, there are plenty of unsafe buildings and schools where children are rapidly discouraged, not encouraged. Schools in America struggle to find the resources to teach children whose first language is not English. We believe in educating every child, and yet there are pressures to cut funding for children with handicaps. Jobless, homeless families need a great deal of societal support.
The single greatest determinate of educational success of a child in America? Socioeconomic status of the family.
But that doesn't mean we stop trying to educate every child. That doesn't mean that we throw up our hands in dismay at the state of disrepair. That doesn't mean we take the easy way out, and say, "Here's a voucher. Go find a good, clean private school for your non-handicapped child who doesn't have learning disabilities and who already speaks English." Because that's not what Americans do.
But that's what Mitt Romney wants to do. Mitt Romney, who attended private school, whose sons attended private school, and whose grandchildren have never set foot in a public school either. He's playing it close to the vest, but plenty of other GOP candidates are willing to talk about dismantling the Dept. of Education and handing all of you a voucher. Make no mistake--"Choice" in education-speak = vouchers.
They have no plans for addressing the single most important factor in the educational success of a child--poverty--but they have plenty of money to spend on vouchers. For certain special people.
How un-American. How very Mitt Romney.
Bleah. I'm not voting for him. I believe in public education. I believe in our future.
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