When will we make education our top priority?

In the true spirit of getting all those extra special features on the DVD or the Blu-Ray, I am going to post my unedited column here (along with a link to the edited version). How exciting! It's like you're getting a behind the scenes look. So, without further adieu, my latest column in all of its unedited splendor.

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While driving down to San Antonio to visit my parents for Thanksgiving a little over 12 weeks ago, a little pebble flew out from the back of a dump trunk and hit my windshield just directly above the inspection sticker. The damage was a 3-inch horizontal crack.

After a week passed, the crack was still there, and I had not made any attempts to have it repaired. From time to time, I would mention to my friends that I needed to get that crack fixed. But, my plate was full, and my wallet was thin. It was all about priorities. I was busy shopping for Christmas gifts, having the brakes on my car fixed, paying the dentist, and paying for my cholesterol and blood pressure prescriptions. The crack descended to the bottom of my priority list.

Today, the crack is still there, but thanks to the winter blast of 2011, it is now 12 times bigger, reaching almost completely across the span of the whole windshield. Needless to say, my priorities have shifted a little and the windshield is now near the top of my priority list.
Education (and the education system in general), it seems, has always been treated like the crack on my windshield. We talk about it a lot. We pay lip service to it all of the time. Some people speak of how the system is broken and needs to be fixed. Politicians speak of leaving no child behind or the importance of winning the science fair over winning the Super Bowl.
Unfortunately, there are going to be no winners when DISD (and other school districts across the state) start cutting teachers, counselors, and administrators. There are going to be no winners when classrooms sizes increase to fire-code-threatening levels. There are going to be no winners when entire campuses close and when fine arts programs are cut. Apparently, this seems to be okay with many of our leaders, too.

Teaching, as we know it, will change if these cuts occur (and not for the better). I can’t even begin to visualize student desks organized in any kind of way besides rows and columns. I can’t even see how there would be room for the 4 student computers that I currently have in my classroom. I have a hard time seeing how I am even going to maintain any sense of order and structure if my class size increases by 10. I am sure that many DISD teachers would agree with me in those assessments. I know many non-teachers out there don’t believe it, but teaching is hard. It will feel almost impossible next year when these cuts are implemented.

Does anybody out there even understand how this scenario could send a ripple throughout the country? The inability to successfully educate our children can only eventually lead to higher drop-out rates, crime rates, poverty rates, teen pregnancy rates, and the list goes on. This is not good for anybody, even people who don’t have children in school. Everyone is a stakeholder whether they like it or not. There is an old African proverb that says, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Sadly, this village called the USA doesn’t seem to care too much about that. There will definitely be children left behind.

Like my cracked windshield, education is being taken for granted. True, there are many problems with the educational system in America. There are many things that need to be fixed and dealt with. We could say that there is already a small crack in place, no doubt. When these cuts happen, there will be a huge crack across the windshield when all is said and done. Will we deal with it?

It is all about priorities and education just doesn’t seem to be that vital. The government will bail out the private-sector banks and huge corporations in the best interest of the economy and its citizens. Who will step in and help out our children, teachers, and schools? Taxpayers will fund a 1.2 billion dollar stadium to have the Cowboys in their backyard. But, when it comes time to pay property taxes, will they complain about it because they don’t even have a child in the school system?

Weeks ago, people from all over conglomerated here in North Texas for the Super Bowl. Tons of money was spent, pockets were lined, business owners smiled (even if the weather put a damper on it). The 2 quarterbacks that competed make million-dollar salaries. Big time companies spent an average of $100,000 per second for an advertisement during the game. I like that Obama said it, and I never expected it to come to fruition less than a month after his speech, but we’ve got a long way to go before being the winner of the science fair will take precedence over winning the Super Bowl.

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Link to the column as it appeared in the Dallas Morning News: http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/local-voices/headlines/20110218-michael-haring-when-will-we-make-education-our-top-priority.ece