Is there something more fiendishly depraved and debased going on in politics when it comes to education? Are opportunities in this society so reduced by technology, over-population and all the rest of it since the 1960’s and 70’s that money spent on education is doing nothing but assuaging societal guilt? Just window dressing? A handy method of keeping kids out of harm’s way so their parents can work? Is it that we really don’t even intend to educate them because there are no jobs for them anyway? Especially when we are bringing in/allowing scads of workers from elsewhere?
For the past several years, Republican dominated legislatures like ours here in Iowa have routinely funded education below the inflation level, which is effectively a reduction, when Iowa schools have never needed funding increases more, considering that the state has become a Mecca for immigrants working in meat packing plants around the state. Their non-native, non-English speaking kids need more language help and special services.
Only they are not alone. Is there anybody who doesn’t realize there are more kids with autism in classrooms these days?
We never saw them when I was in school, but that may have been because anybody who wasn’t “socially acceptable” was kept home. The environmentalists say it is toxic chemicals we’re spewing into our world; Anti-vaxers say inoculations. Whatever. These kids are in classrooms now. They need highly refined special attention, psychologists, teachers trained to write Individual Education Plans (IEPs), special discipline techniques and all the rest of it. Schools are absolutely staggering under the burden of it all, and what they need is more budget for personnel to deal with the issues confronting them. Not less.
No comments:
Post a Comment