What's Your Priority?

What are our priorities as a state? I don't know about you, but it seems that our legislators are sending mixed messages. Do we want to cut spending, or do we want to have a truly educated workforce? Do we want to be a low tax state at all costs, or do we want to use a level-headed approach to the budgeting process? You can't increase the standards (which is what is happening with the STAAR testing taking the place of TAKS) while cutting funding for school districts at the same time.

We've heard a lot lately about the increase in expenditures by school districts over the past two decades. Unfortunately, we don't get the whole picture when listening to the talk that is coming out of Austin. One of the things that we keep hearing is that schools are taking money out of the classroom by having staffing at a level of one-to-one teacher/non-teacher. The claim is that this number has increased over the last couple of decades; however, the research shows a different story (see chart below, taken from Ed Fuller's Blog on education). The fact is that the number of teachers has remained relatively stable while administration has actually decreased over this time. The difference comes in the instructional aides who have been added to help with the types of students that have been entering our schools. Many of these students are limited English proficient, and they require more help to bring to them up to the level of their peers. This takes staff and ultimately...money.

So, what are our priorities? Educating our children will lead to a better educated citizenry. This leads to a more productive workforce and more tax revenues. I believe that we will reap the benefits in the long run for our investment today. Or, we can shortchange the education system and pay for it later. What do you propose?

Getting Ready for the End

We have entered the last six weeks of the school year. My time has flown! Soon it will be time for graduation and then the summer. But, between now and then there are many activities that will be taking place.

The 8th grade awards banquet will be held on May 5. This is a great opportunity for our 8th grade students as they prepare to enter High School.

The Athletic Banquet is scheduled for 6pm on May 19. We have had a good year in our athletic activities, and this is an opportunity to honor the young men and women who have competed in those competitions.

Many other activities will be taking place during the last weeks of school. I hope you will be able to join us and participate. We are very thankful that you allow us to be a part of your children's lives.

Is There Hope?

Recent comments made by legislators seem to be suggesting that the climate in Austin is becoming a little more conducive to adding monies to public education. Hopefully, they are beginning to see the damages that could result if we don't properly fund our state's children. If you have been in contact with your representative, I thank you and ask you to continue. If you have not, please remember to do so. Let them know what you would like to see happen during this legislative session.

What Does the Future Hold?

What does the future of education hold for our nation, state, and local communities? We all know that students today are much different from those who entered our schools 20, 40, or 60 years ago. I would even say that students of today are different from those who entered our schools at the beginning of the century.

At a recent training I heard a report on research that was conducted by scientists of learning and the brain that claimed that the brains of children today are different from those of older generations. The children of today are multi-taskers that are able to handle many different forms of information at once. For example, how many times have you seen your kids watching tv, listening to their ipods, answering text messages, and checking emails all while working on their homework? Although this seems impossible to us (the older generation), this is the world that our children were born into, and they can handle it much better than we can. In fact, researchers claim that they need this type of stimulation in order for their brains to work properly. These types of data have profound influence on the future of education for our children and will lead to changes in the way school is ultimately "done."

This same presenter claimed that the amount of technology in the world doubles every 12 months while the price of that technology decreases by one half, and that the top 10 jobs in 2010 did not even exist in 2004. What does this mean for our kindergarten class that will graduate in 2023? What will their world look like and how will we educate them for that future? What are your thoughts? I would like to hear from you.