Today is dark and drizzly here in Seattle. I remain even more disillusioned about yesterday’s VP debate and the current bailout.
A link from a friend pointed me to a website called DonorsChoose.org, where public school teachers in the United States are asking for outside donations to fund projects in their classrooms. Projects come across the curriculum from literacy and math to science and music.
In an era of ‘no new taxes,’ we all know that public education gets its budget slashed early. Bill Gates testified before Congress to let him hire more immigrants in high-level computer sciences because there are not enough qualified Americans to do the job.
Public education holds a strong place in my heart as with the exception of three years, my K-12 education was in public schools of varying qualities. Same with my two younger brothers. I have friends who are teachers and I agree with them that No Child Left Behind has left millions of children and schools behind. Even those gifted children Bill Gates wants to hire as college-educated adults.
While I have chosen to not to have children of my own, I vote for every school levy because I remember going to a poor and unpopular high school. I had wonderful teachers who got me interested in literature, politics, art, and foreign languages, and I had an equal share of horrible teachers who discouraged me in science, math, and physical education. To quote Shakespeare, “The past is prologue” and I can’t help but think that those formable years had their impact on where I am today. I wonder what my own schooling would’ve been like had there been better funding.
I think it’s sad, unpatriotic, and inhumane that these teachers can’t get funding elsewhere. But at least, they have somewhere to go to seek the help they need and we can give it to them.