It Is Time to Accept That We Need to Pay the Price
The
presidential primary elections are in full swing, and what we hear about most
is the desire for change. For many Americans, Washington is not living up to their
expectations. The results of last week’s Iowa
primaries were proof of that. People are looking for change and a quick fix to
a system they see as broken. Very few have a clear idea of what needs to be
done, they just know that they want to try something different. The same can be
said of our education system. For many, it is not living up to expectations,
and they are looking for a quick fix.
The public’s
desire for change is not new. Both politics and education are moving targets
influenced by current events, shifting economic environments, and personal
experiences. As far as I know, there has not been a time in history when we
were satisfied with the status quo in politics, education, or life in general.
What we do, how we live, where we work, and the education needed to meet these
goals, has been in a constant state of flux. It is our nature to be curious and
inventive; to want what others have, and when we get it, to still want more;
and to teach our children to expect more than what we had. With these growing
and ever-changing expectations, we will never be satisfied with the way things
are in politics or in education.
Here is my
take on education. When we look at our education system, many people talk
failure. But in truth, many American schools are doing the best job of educating
students in history. In 1950, students completed an average of nine and
one-quarter years. Now most students have a high school education. The basics
haven’t changed — reading, writing, and arithmetic. What changed are technology
innovations, global competition, and public expectations. Do we need change in
education? Yes, but it’s not because the education system is broken. It is
because our world is changing and our expectations for education are changing
in response to the environment in which we now live. It is not the first time
that we have shown that we have the desire for change, but to make things
happen we must also be willing to pay the price.
Here is where
failure occurs. We all talk the value of education, but when push comes to
shove, how many are really willing to pay the price. My own state is a perfect
example. In the Dec. 11, 2006 issue of the Phoenix
Business Journal, it was written “Gov. Janet Napolitano is expected to
offer a budget next month that puts a major focus on, and increases spending
for, K-12 and early education, children's health care, and better leveraging
the state's universities to help with economic and work force development.
Napolitano has made the latter the showcase of her one-year term as chairwoman
of the National Governors Association. The goal of Napolitano's NGA effort is
to help Arizona
and other states compete globally, improve their work force quality, and
diversify their economies.” Fast forward to January 2008 with the state facing
a deficit. A Jan. 5, 2008 article in the East
Valley Tribune states, “Universities, community colleges, and public
schools would lose tens of millions of dollars, fewer poor children would
receive state health insurance, and construction of schools would be delayed
under a proposal to balance the state budget released by top Republican budget
leaders Friday.”
I can’t help but wonder how short-sighted people
and politicians can be. I understand the budget deficit and the need to correct
it. I also understand that education is the biggest line item in the state
budget. What I don’t understand is the willingness to sell our kids — and
consequentially our state’s economy and our future — short. If we want to talk
about change and fixing the system, we need to figure out how to pay the price.