Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Honk for Education

Yesterday was a state wide rally for education as Governor Scott, of Florida, and the Florida Legislature are preparing to address what they see as needed budget cuts and using this an excuse to advance other agendas that have been itching at them for some time.
One agenda is a re-write of how we will do education in our state, and across the country. Another agenda is to dis-empower the working class unions so that they will have less of a voice (almost no voice left) in government. So, the teachers who love their work as educators, and who appreciate the collective position they have through the teachers union, gathered to show their unity and to raise awareness. It was delightful to hear so many drivers responding by honking their horns, by waving and smiling, and giving a "thumbs up."


I don't know what the answer is for improving education in our state, but I do know that when we simplify a problem we are denying ourselves the opportunity to address the real issues. Our society is much more complex than it ever was, our schools are more diverse, our communities are disengaged from all institutions, families are struggling to make ends meet and to make sense of what they are experiencing, and young people are often struggling to find where they  "fit in." And that just scratches the tip of the iceberg. But it is so much simpler to say that the problem is that we have too many teachers that are not cutting it, and if we have good teachers they can handle larger classes.

What do you think? What are the true challenges in education? What would make a real difference in providing a good foundation for tomorrow's adults? I would be interested in hearing from you.

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