Making Change

Two weeks ago, I got fed up. In the face of imminent budget shortfalls that will grow our already enormous class sizes (2nd largest in the nation, by state, in elementary) next year, losses in P.E., music and the arts, as well as further days cut from our school year (already the shortest, by state, in the nation), our city refused to pass an income tax that would act as a bandaid to schools that are losing a lot of life-blood. At the same time, I participated with anxious hope as our school attempted to win a $50,000 Pepsi grant to cover some of our cuts. We lost yet again.

We need faces to represent the statistics of school budgets cut, I think. We need to refuse service if there are so many primary needs met. Can you imagine being a young person sitting through 7 hours of desk time with only two 10-15 min. recesses and no P.E. class to move around in? What are we doing to our future populations when creativity is discouraged in the absence of designated times for art and music? What exactly do we mean by "public education?"

I am not so worried about my kids. We have the resources, as a family, to supplement or even homeschool if we choose to. I am thinking, primarily, of the thousands of children and families that do not see themselves in choice about the education that they are paying for with taxes and not receiving in a way that adequately meet their needs.

I am thinking that choice is power, and sharing power in our community is what will make positive change happen. So, we're going on strike.

We are the customers here -- children and families -- and we have a right to send our educational offering back to the kitchen if it is half-baked. The problems lie in the districts, the state government, and even the federal government's support (or lack of) for this system. The problems are many, and there are countless possible solutions.

Right now, we need to stand up as citizens, families, and students to say that we want our faces to be seen behind the numbers ticking away in this crisis. We are a part of this community, and to support education is to nurture long-term social sustainability. The prisons get three times the funding that schools receive. Where will our disenfranchised, under-educated population go, I wonder?

I can tell you where we're going. The boys and I are riding our bikes to the state capitol building in Salem this weekend so that we can be on the steps to protest on Monday morning at 10:30 a.m. At the same time (10:30 a.m. Monday, June 13), I invite people from all over our state to pull their children from schools and meet in their district parking lots. Tell friends and community, and we will all show up en masse to make a stand for quality education!

This is our chance to show what a monkey-wrench is thrown into the works if we, the customers, refuse to participate in an educational system that is woefully short on resources. We can build awareness in our community and legislature on Monday. We are to be reckoned with!

I hope to see you there. It takes courage, and I know we can all play our part with loving hearts and the full expectation of finding a way.