KP View (3/4/2010): The Crisis In Education in California
The crisis in Public Education continues to mushroom and spiral out of control. Capistrano Unified School District in Orange County California has undertaken a concerted effort to balance its budget on the back of the teachers. This is as teachers are continuing on valiantly with their work and maintaining a standard of excellence that is among the top districts in Califronia. Moving up North to Los Angeles County, The Los Angeles Unified School District has announced intentions to lay off up to 5,000 teachers due to a 640 Million budget shortfall. I have to truly wonder how society will continue to survive if Public Education will be devastated as it is.
What has been happening in local school districts in California is just the tip of the iceberg. Governments have no money. They're going after the low-hanging fruit. When the stimulus runs out, budgets will also begin to be cut. I wrote about it in KP's sister site, Outsider Views. What Governments fail to understand that investment in education will yield rising prosperity so that everyone is uplifted in the process. The investment and new way of thinking has to be the key for future success.
What are the solutions? I think that simply throwing money at it is not the answer. What I do is this: if Uruguay can supply laptops to all 18,000 kids, then there can be a better way to educate and empower. I have seen a proflieration of Charter Schools and For-Profit Schools. Such schools are judged on performance. Yet, there is controversy because of the way there has been waste, fraud and abuse. I also regard Charter Schools as a band-aid at best. I wrote about my vision for "Smart Schools" to totally revamp and reassess how Schools operate. I have to wonder if the courage exists to transform schools into Smart Schools to guarantee the right for a future that is critical if America is to be the creator of the future.
The Great Recession and the wrenching restructuring will insure that America gets further behind from the rest of the world. I regard Public Education as the great equalizer. For those who are competing to take over the Governorship, this has to be priority. There needs to be a total shift in the mindset and the priorities. Our future depends on it.
What has been happening in local school districts in California is just the tip of the iceberg. Governments have no money. They're going after the low-hanging fruit. When the stimulus runs out, budgets will also begin to be cut. I wrote about it in KP's sister site, Outsider Views. What Governments fail to understand that investment in education will yield rising prosperity so that everyone is uplifted in the process. The investment and new way of thinking has to be the key for future success.
What are the solutions? I think that simply throwing money at it is not the answer. What I do is this: if Uruguay can supply laptops to all 18,000 kids, then there can be a better way to educate and empower. I have seen a proflieration of Charter Schools and For-Profit Schools. Such schools are judged on performance. Yet, there is controversy because of the way there has been waste, fraud and abuse. I also regard Charter Schools as a band-aid at best. I wrote about my vision for "Smart Schools" to totally revamp and reassess how Schools operate. I have to wonder if the courage exists to transform schools into Smart Schools to guarantee the right for a future that is critical if America is to be the creator of the future.
The Great Recession and the wrenching restructuring will insure that America gets further behind from the rest of the world. I regard Public Education as the great equalizer. For those who are competing to take over the Governorship, this has to be priority. There needs to be a total shift in the mindset and the priorities. Our future depends on it.
Mike Pouraryan
