Let's Shift the Paradigm for Public Education
I think we need a fundamental shift in the way we think about public education in the U.S. It seems that our lawmakers and perhaps even some of our citizens think of public education as a drain on the economy, an extraneous expense, a side item, a black hole in the budget, a perpetually unsolvable dilemma. However, what if we looked at public education from some different lenses. I'll pick two to start with, and would love ideas for additional paradigms to consider. The first two will be Economics and Christianity, topics about which I am somewhat familiar.
1. Public Education from an Economic Perspective: What if our lawmakers looked at public education instead of as a black hole but as a wise, lucrative investment that will pay off for the country? Perhaps this issue could be framed in terms of the new global economy where thousands of American jobs are being outsourced every year. Some call our new economy in the U.S. a "knowledge economy" which means that Americans need to know and understand more than the basics in order to compete. Public schools in this country, instead of preparing students for this knowledge economy are miserably failing students. Students who graduate from schools in areas with small property tax revenue are left knowledge-less and therefore jobless. Why don't economists and lawmakers see this as a clear investment opportunity... putting more creativity, money, and resources into this problem now can pay off exponentially later! Furthermore, it is common knowledge that the better a person's education, the less likely he/she is to 1) to rely on the state for welfare funds and coverage of medical and other expenses, 2) to engage in delinquent activity and therefore to tax the criminal justice system, 3) to be unemployed, and many more. Putting money in on the front end saves all kinds of money and prevents poor outcomes later on.
2. Public Education from a Christian Perspective: The cross section between religion and politics these days is quite puzzling. The issues commonly brought into the debate are same-sex marriage and abortion. However, I find public education to be a much more troubling and pressing issue today due to the sheer numbers of children we are talking about. The statistics on students who are dropping out of high school, failing their state's standardized tests, not being admitted or not attending school, etc. exponentially surpass the statistics on the number of same-sex partners who seek marriage and the number of abortions sought in this country. I think we need to talk about how many children's lives we are destroying with the public education system as it stands right now. From a Christian perspective, we are not serving "the least of these" whatsoever! We are privilaging the rich with phenomenal educations and condemning the poor to substandard lives. I believe this should be the MOST pressing issue for Christians right now.
Looking at public education from these different paradigms I think makes it a much more appealing endeavor to fund and to advocate for. What do you think?
Stacy Tolos is a Junior at Vanderbilt University. She is a fellow with Young People For, a project of People for the American Way, and has worked with Idealist.org, Ashoka, and other leading non-profits.