I think this is sadly telling… My post on the back assward distribution of money TO entertainment and FROM education received comments of agreement, anger, and desire for change but not a single suggestion of what to do about it. If we are only going to complain and not take action, everything will stay the same. We need to realize we can make a difference!

Part 2 of this issue will cover what I have seen in education. I hope to hear others chime in on your experiences. From there, part 3 will move on to suggestions for change.

I’m not going to pretend to be a financial or political expert here. However, I have had children in public school for the past 15 years and I have either volunteered in or been employed by public school districts every single one of those 15 years. I have seen several changes during my time in the system and when I speak about what I have been a part of, I am amazed at how amazed others are by my stories. More importantly, I have also done my research on everything I have been involved with, so I suppose, like it or not, my involvement has made me an expert of sorts in both politics and finance as far as education is involved.

For those of you who have not heard my tales from the trenches nor had the time to research the constant changes in the system, allow me to catch you up a bit.

• I have always volunteered in my kids’ schools. Some years I could do more than others but I always believed (and still do) that my involvement in my kids’ education was one of the greatest predictors of their success.
• 13 years after my first child started school, the federal government instituted the Family Engagement in Education Act of 2010. They were officially stating what many parents already knew.
• I watched an 8^th grade boy reduced to tears when his lunch was stolen while he turned his back to put ketchup on his hamburger. I then saw this handled by the school in a very unique way. During lunch, a teacher walks around the cafeteria with a paper grocery bag – if kids have lunch items they don’t want to eat (ie:  unopened milk, pudding, or applesauce, a whole piece of fruit), they can put it into the sack. The teacher then redistributes it to those who would like to eat it. I’m sure this is NOT supported by the district and is never spoken of but what a brilliant approach to the problem of wasted food and hungry students!
• After subbing in a French class for one day, I was told by a student that he learned more from me in that one day than he had learned all year. The teacher was in the school for 7 years before anything was done about the fact that she was not teaching students.
• I have had entire classrooms tell me they are stupid and not expected to graduate from high school. All I can think is, who in the hell has the right to put that in the mind of any student?
• There are lots of teachers and administrators out there doing all the right things without many of the resources they should have.

Blame cannot be placed on the schools, the parents or the government. We have all gotten into this mess and it will take ALL of us to get out.