What We Are Left With

Things we are willing to spend tons of money on:

the latest i-Whatever and all the bells that go with them

fast food

video games and fancy televisions

pets

gps navigation thingies (whatever happened to maps?)

fancy pants coffee

(I could go on, but you probably get my point by now)

Things we aren't willing to spend money on:

Education

It is a sad that at this very moment in our country schools are having to cut millions of dollars from their budgets.  Don't be surprised when your kid is in a classroom with 40 others.  Don't be shocked when your child's school library shuts down because librarians got the ax.  Don't be startled when there is no one left to help the at-risk students.  Don't be stunned when the principal answers the school's phones because they had to let the secretaries go. 

You may think I'm being extreme, but I am not.  These cuts are being made in our country, in your city, each day.  Bills are being considered by legislatures to increase the number of students allowed in a classroom.  We aren't willing to pay an extra cent on our grocery bill or an extra few dollars on our property taxes.  Politicians aren't willing to reduce spending in other areas. 

So, this is what we are left with.  We will soon have schools that are full of students and not enough teachers.  (Maybe we should just call them free daycares.)  We will still complain that our kids don't read enough and that the literacy in our country is falling but there will be no librarians to help students discover new books.  Our students who need a little extra support won't get it.  They'll fall off the radar (well, at least until they show up in stripes).  Is this what we really want for our children?

We can and should do better.  Spending on education should be a top priority.  Our children cannot grow into the leaders of tomorrow without learning the basics today.