So with the bad economy and government budget shortfalls many states have cut their funding for education. It's the standard less teachers or aides with larger class sizes, less extracurricular activities, even worse special education, and sometimes closing and combining schools. This has happened everywhere, from California to Maryland and unfortunately (and obviously) it means worse education for children. Currently Michigan is in the lead for horrific cuts. Gov. Rick Snyder released his plan in April and it contains an "unprecedented push toward for-profit schools, dubious online curricula, and budget cuts and anti-union measures that would make the public teaching profession ever more insecure." Read the Mother Jones article Michigan's Radical Assault on Public Education for more information.
Personally I just can't wrap my head around the logic of defunding education. It's a necessary service that when done well substantially improves not just the individual, but all of society. Also we can look at history and other countries to see what happens when we fund, or don't fund education, and a lack of funding is never a good thing. Or at least it's never a good thing in the long term or for the majority of society, short term it saves governments money and creates a poorly educated working force for cheap labor in factories/corporations. Is that really what the majority of our states and politicians want?
By the way, I swear at some point I'm going to get back to book recommendations, and lists, and providing information of educational techniques and jargon. There's just all these time sensitive things going on between politics and education that I feel needs to be addressed.
Personally I just can't wrap my head around the logic of defunding education. It's a necessary service that when done well substantially improves not just the individual, but all of society. Also we can look at history and other countries to see what happens when we fund, or don't fund education, and a lack of funding is never a good thing. Or at least it's never a good thing in the long term or for the majority of society, short term it saves governments money and creates a poorly educated working force for cheap labor in factories/corporations. Is that really what the majority of our states and politicians want?
By the way, I swear at some point I'm going to get back to book recommendations, and lists, and providing information of educational techniques and jargon. There's just all these time sensitive things going on between politics and education that I feel needs to be addressed.
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