There seems to be a lot going on in education right now &mdash both nationally and in Mississippi.
The Mississippi Senate is attempting to pass HB 1170 to reduce the number of days in school and many universities across the country are raising tuition due to budget cuts. I know some of you may think fewer school days is a great idea, but in all reality, what is our country coming to?
There was a time in this country when education was a luxury. If one was able to go to school instead of having to work or help out at home, it was an amazing opportunity. It was even more amazing if an individual could go to college.
Ever since 1929, when Alaska Territory made compulsory school attendance the law, all states have strived to improve education. Since then, our country has made great strides increasing requirements to push students to learn more as well as making a college education more affordable for everyone.
Why should we give up education because our economy isn’t doing so hot right now? It seems to me now would be the best time to keep education strong. We need people to become educated in order to find a way out of this hole we’re in. We need brilliant minds, who understand the way the world works and can come up with innovative ways to fix problems.
The Mississippi Senate has recently proposed reducing the school year from 180 days to 175. I know many of you are thinking, “So what? Who cares?” right about now, but think about the implications.
True, in some subjects it might not make any differences at all, those five days are just play-around-don’t-do-anything-productive days that will have to be given up. In some subjects, on the other hand, like math and English, those days might be highly valuable in order to properly teach a concept. Mostly, however, this decision makes me ask, “What next?” If the government can flippantly reduce school days to save money, what will they do next?
Now, with the economy in such rough shape and national spending on education reduced, not only are primary and secondary schools suffering, but colleges as well. A large number of schools across the country are about to increase tuition to cover the insufficient funds.
While scholarships will still be around, many will be reduced in size because the resources simply aren’t available. This means fewer kids will be able to afford college and many more will be in debt than have been in the past.
Tell me, how does this help our economy? If more people graduate with debt, more people in the country will be in tough situation and not many will be able to find a way out of it again.
People love to use the phrase, “The children are our future.” They put it on bumper stickers, wear it on T-shirts and use it in speeches. But what happens when “our future” comes from millions of poorly educated children? Sounds like a grim prospect to me.
Hannah Kaase is a senior majoring in animal and dairy science. She can be contacted at [email protected].