http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/06/opinion/the-decade-of-lost-children.html?emc=eta1
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"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." (Pablo Picasso)
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Last Friday, Charles M. Blow opined in the NY Times that one of the greatest casualties of the Great Recession may well be a decade of lost children. He summarized a report issued last month by the Children's Defense Fund that indicated the impact of the recession on children's well-being has been catastrophic ("The State of America's Children 2011").
The highlights:
* The number of children living in poverty has increased by 4 million since 2000, and the number of children that have fallen into poverty between 2008 and 2009 was the largest single-year increase ever recorded.
* The number of homeless children in public schools increased 41% between the 2006-7 and 2008-9 school years.
* In 2009, an average of 15.6 million children received food stamps monthly, a 65% increase over 10 years.
* A majority of children in all racial groups and 79% or more of black and Hispanic children in public schools cannot read or do math at grade level in fourth, eighth or 12th grades.
* The annual cost of center-based child care for a 4-year-old is more than the annual in-state tuition at a public four-year college in 33 states and the District of Columbia.
Blow's fear was/is that this situation implies a negative future for U.S. economic growth and our place on the world stage. He sees the state budget cuts that are ongoing as undercutting a U.S. economic recovery and undermining efforts to create jobs over the next year.
How can we argue with that?
From a business point of view, where do we get the best employees for tomorrow. We've spent 10 years and how much money in Afghanistan? This century started with a U.S. government surplus, not a deficit.
Spending some money on infrastructure (including schools) will, as any economist will attest, provide a multiple of cash into the community creating jobs and lessening poverty.
I, personally, don't want to see a single child here go hungry or without an education.
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I was stunned to hear the statistic that the bottom 40% of Americans only possess .3% of the wealth in America, while the top 20% possess over 80%. The inequities are staggering and education is both a cause and a symptom.
ReplyDeleteA personal story - my sister teaches at a low-income school that was the first school built in they city back in 1974. It was due for a remodel this year but was "bumped" out of teh line-up by a high-income school that was built 13 years ago. It was bumped because the parents at the other school have loads of money and time so they called the school board ISD offices regularly to complain. The parents at the low-income school do not have money, or time, or the language skills, for that matter, so they did not go to the school board and were replaced in the line-up by the other school. How is this for no child left behind?
A good education requires multiple investments coordinated effectively of which school buildings represent only a part.
ReplyDeleteU.S. military strategy is a mess, which would take me 30 or so pages to explain... Bottom line, upper echelons want to turn Afghanistan into a Japan. The catch: it will take a few decades.
I read a little bit about economics consultants today. A research assistant said they create reports for policymakers that support the clients' views as much as possible without making their economic methodology easily reproachable. Think about it. All those people out there that think only their way is correct quoting their own as biased as possible research produced by consultant they paid.
Just another example of the power of money, stubbornness of ignorance, and apathy of the common political player, thus their constituents. I think Americans need to mess up a bit more before they take political participation more seriously.
It seems that even the *financial* markets support increased Federal spending for infrastructure and government jobs. The view of two prominent portfolio managers here:
ReplyDeletehttp://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/spend-now-save-later-bond-fund-leaders-say/?hp
@ Christine
ReplyDeletePimco commentators = conflict of interests
@ Tracey
Given the current income disparity trends, the top 20% will find themselves increasingly outnumbered, which political decisions will reflect. Those that value education enough should organize protest or find ways to integrate into schools with more funds. The only problem with this school is that they stopped looking for solutions.
@Josh
ReplyDeleteThe school administration went to bat, but if you don't have parents writing/calling/showing up at meetings, then it is not heard. At this particular school, many parents work more than one job and they don't have the time (or the energy) to fight the isd for this. They are more likely to come to the principal to complain, but he can only do so much. The parents at this school value education, but they are drowned out by those who have time and money. So it is a failure of the system in this case, not the parents.
@Josh I agree with Tracey. Parents at the lower income schools lack information. The parents who fight incessantly always get what they want. Most parents at lower income schools have no idea what courses the kids need to graduate, how important resume building is, have no idea what the SAT/ACT is, the list can go on and on. Since, the parents do now know, they cannot push the students. There are solutions. It is as simple as educating the parents with the goal of their kids getting a college education. Changing the mindset, changes trends in the future.
ReplyDelete@Yesenia - Great points! My sister deals with kindergarten parents, so I didn't even think about it from this angle. Another option is to institute mentoring programs at the at-risk schools. Getting college kids to work with hs kids can be incredibly motivating and informative.
ReplyDeleteWonderful points all: everything starts with our children and their education. As Craig M pointed out to me recently, we spent $23 billion in Afghanistan to air condition our troops last year. If we didn't have troops there, that money could have been allocated to infrastructure spending on such things as schools and roads with all the implications for employment, etc.
ReplyDelete@Tracey After school tutoring and mentoring programs are definitely not emphasized enough. First of all, teachers do not have enough to teach all the concepts during the classroom. I often remember in high school, I would often teach myself concepts, even though I had amazing teachers who were there morning and afternoon available to help. My brother is struggling at school as a Freshman. He is in a different high school then the one I went to, and there is overcrowding. He seeks help from his teachers but they are often busy coaching, etc. Unfortunately, I don't think his school pays as much attention to academics as it does to sports. If only we had those $23 million dollars to implement better academic programs. Or if more college students tutored at the school.
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