Alarming Cost cutting measures-- UGH-- make a fuss

UGH!  Now what will they feed us?

Linda Hanson (Photographer San Francisco) who shared a link to a NYT article ( "Governments go to extremes as downturns wears on") and a follow up editorial in Calitics by Robert Cruickshank that
describe bone-chilling measures to cut costs in various states -- reducing school days, turning off street lights, cutting community policing-- just to name a few. After I shout at the computer and stomp around the house I wear a look on my face much like the turtle above. UGH....

The buildings, institutions, and infrastructure that we inherited from our grandparents and their grandparents rose from the urge to create the future and demonstrated their belief in a national society.  But, we have re-framed their investments and  accomplishments -- making them admirable and relevant for those days but not these.  The view of joint action and shared costs as efficient, as a sign of wealth and civilization, as a gift to our children, the same force that created firehouses, libraries, and laboratories, is now spoken of with distrust and cast as oppression -- Big Government, socialism and taxation as over-burdensome.

The long run of good fortune and global economic dominance that was the the hope then the reality for the US during most of the 20th century was a byproduct not a birthright.  The optimism that characterized Americans, and for which we were belittled and beloved, has been replaced by magical thinking and denial. I am puzzled and alarmed by our willingness to abdicate the strategies and products of our national optimism and power.  Have we really decided that well proven solutions and critical investments are not important anymore or will not benefit us or those we care about? 

It seems we no longer consider our society or community as a valuable commodity that can be created and inherited.  I want to be proud of what we have contributed.  We cannot afford to do less or to back away.  Our national security is tightly bound to much much more than military spending and selling arms.  We must not be fooled, by these "cost cutting" steps and the situation that made it necessary was constructed, partly designed, and it is not simply to be accepted.  Make a fuss.
Or, at least make a face.
Sharon

Education revolution from TED series

This is an entertaining and activating talk on education that may resonate with you. He offers some useful and powerful mental images to help illustrate his points.



As we work with some incredible people to create/design tailored education for our daughter the term "community-based" education seems apt.

Sharon

In Vermont there is legislation pending to stop public funding for local schools that are "independent" or that have public and private money. Many of us that use these schools do so via a voucher system which is very popular here. Vermont leads the US in education measures and our system is comprised of students in the second most rural state in the US. Nearly 15% of students (11,000 out of 90,000 total) attend these independent schools in our local communities or in some cases we drive a long way to match the needs of our kids with the school. These are not trivial choices, they are painful, expensive and grinding. We lose friends because it is assumed we have become elitist or angry.

Our little cross section of Vermont-- the families and communities that use local public funds for local schools that are "independent" are as varied as any group can be. We are rich and poor, troubled and gifted, too smart, too slow, too fast, too sensitive, too energetic, .... you know.  And using the best we can do the kids in these situations have some of the best performance measures in the state compared to all other groups.  These schools are less costly not because they are cheap but because their survival depends on living within the guidelines set by the communities as "fair" price.  The cost is capped for the public contribution.

I don't know what problem is being "solved" by this proposal but I don't believe the ones that say it is a way to "save money" or reduce costs.  What is involved is much more complicated and the unintended consequences of this legislation could be not only ineffective-- it can't cut costs-- but disastrous and devastating.  Destroying the livelihood of the major employers in small towns (schools) and hoping to disperse the children into schools we left or didn't choose in the first place will not save money--our town would pay 50% to 100% more per pupil if this legislation is passed.

It isn't about money nor should it be. I beseech the VT legislature, please do not "fix" what is not broken.  We are public education, VT style, and rather than remove this option for the significant minority involved we should explore and expand the best elements and make them available to all VT students.  Ask more questions.

Here is Taylor Mali in "what teachers make" a moving call to activism and I hope a boost for the families driving to Montpelier in the cold dark Wednesday night from all over Vermont to speak with the legislators and who fervently hope to find that we are all ready to listen.