The opening line in that song was this;
"I believe the Children are our future. Teach them well,
and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty
they possess inside. Give them a sense of pride, to make
it easier ... "
I was reading the newspaper this morning, and thought of this song. One of the stories in today's paper was titled
"Schools budget crisis fuels old debate; Some question whether the district can still afford its alternative schools."
I go on to read the article, because I have a child in school, and I know that there are 8 school locally that are on the chopping block. I've not heard which ones, but I want to make sure my daughter's school isn't one of them.
Apparently the Eugene School District needs to cut $30 million from their current budget. $30 million. That's a LOT of money. I understand why the thought of closing 8 schools is even thought of. What I don't understand is how this is good for our children.
Someone proposed the following ... eliminate 104 teaching positions. Wow. Really?! What's that going to do to our children. All this is going to do is force class sizes at the remaining schools to be larger. They're already over 30. How is that going to help!?
What will be the point of a public school system at all!? I could do a better job homeschooling. That way I'd know my child was getting the one-on-one attention that EACH and EVERY child needs from their teacher. I'm nervous for my daughter. There is a LOT I'm going to have to think about before the next school year starts for her.
IF the school sites that are proposed to be closed, actually do close, my daughter's school will be one of the sites that take some of the students from the closed schools. Meaning the student to teacher ratio will be out of control. Currently at her school, as with many schools nationwide (I assume) the student teacher ratio is 28-30:1. 28 to 30 students, for every 1 teacher. With the proposed cuts, that ratio will become at least 40:1. That's unacceptable.
I'm taking Whitney's words to heart. I DO believe the Children are our future. That they NEED to be taught, and taught well. They can NOT be taught well in a classroom of 40 students and only 1 teacher. It can't happen. It won't happen for my child. I will pull her out, and home school her. That will put MY schooling on hold, but that's the way it'll have to be.
I hope and pray that another solution is found, but I seriously doubt that will happen. Lord help us .. please.
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