Public Education and Ambivalence
By Thomas J. Fleming
I am a huge fan of American public education. Okay… with one caveat… When it’s done well.
Where on Earth is there anything quite so amazing as American public schools? It’s the one place where no one gets turned away. No one. For any reason. Even disciplinary expulsions have limits.
Don’t speak English yet? Come on into the tent. White, black, Asian, Arab? You’re in. Mentally or physically handicapped? Republican, Democrat, Independent, Communist? Gay, straight, bisexual? Rich, poor, even homeless? Religious, agnostic, atheist? C’mon in! You’re all invited into the tent.
And once in the tent, we in America go on to say: Are you athletic? We have a way for you to develop that talent. Are you musical? Are you artistic? Do you want to learn a trade? How about a foreign language? Going to college? We will provide the resources for you to have a leg up on accomplishing whatever you dream for yourself.
What makes American public education so awesome is that we, yes all of us, have to find a way to make this work. And the process of doing that… Whew! What a task. What an awesome responsibility.
Right now, in Nevada and elsewhere around the country we’re faced with a lot of decisions regarding American public education. One decision has already been made regarding my future in Fallon, Nevada.
I recently received a “RIF” (Reduction in Force) notice from the Churchill County School District (CCSD) in Fallon, Nevada. The district sends out the notice to employees who will not be offered a contract for next school year.
Our school district officials (School Board and Administration) determined that “specials” at the elementary school be cut. “Specials” are what we call the teachers who provide elementary students with experiences and curricula in Music, Art, Computers, and Physical Education.
Our district officials also decided to cut many elementary classroom positions. They closed a highly regarded elementary school. Several positions were also cut at the high school and the junior high.
Remaining teachers will have significantly higher class sizes. There will be fewer potential experiences for our students.
Examining the circumstances of how we reached this point is worth the time and effort.
The problems we face, as I see it, come from fundamental public ambivalence about public education. We want our children to have a solid, well-rounded education that includes music, art, P.E., technology, vocational programs and upper-level college prep classes. We want reasonable class sizes. We want to field athletic teams in a wide variety of sports. We want other vibrant extra-curricular activities.
We want – or at least we don’t begrudge – our teachers’ making a decent living wage with health and retirement benefits. We want our schools to be well-equipped with the necessary books and other tools needed to educate them.
Our ambivalence shows up when it comes time to pay for these things.
Here’s just one example of what I’m talking about in Nevada: A year ago, our State Legislature passed a couple of temporary tax measures that augment the state’s education budget. These measures are “sunsetting” in a few months.
There are many politicians, including our Governor, who are promising that these particular tax measures will not be renewed.
If the measures aren’t renewed, the Nevada public schools, which already rank 50th out of 50 states in per-student funding for education, will be faced with another set of huge cuts.
Will we augment our K-12 schools’ budgets through tuition payments, as state colleges do? Will we hope for another stimulus package from the federal government, which came to our rescue a year ago? Perhaps we’ll offer to pay teachers with chickens and house-painting.
Or will we simply sigh and complain about how we are forced to cut entire programs and increase class sizes yet again, placing our schools even further on the road beyond mediocrity to the quagmire of apathy.
Or. Perhaps. Hm… We can own our responsibility to make our schools work and take the actions necessary to match the words we say about how important quality schools are to all of us.
