Tag: education

Surviving a Broken World

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We just went through the season of celebration, but, really, is there anything to celebrate? There are hundreds of thousands of refugees crossing the Mediterranean and Aegean seas, fleeing war, persecution and violence in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and many other countries. The indiscriminate terrorist attacks killing 130 people in Paris were so senseless, as was the loss of 224 lives in the Russian plane crash in Egypt. [W]e continue to have mass killings in our own country; [i]n the three years since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, [which claimed] 27 people, [including] 20 […] children, another 340 Americans have died in mass shooting incidents. Any of us with young kids or grandchildren have trouble explaining why our modern day world is so violent and unhappy.

This constant bad news has got to be taking a toll on our younger generation, who has instant access to information with their daily exposure to the Internet and smartphones. Add to this the [number of] kids who live in poverty, and you have to question whether the upcoming generations are going to be better off than their parents. According to USA Today, 22% of children in the United States live below the poverty line, which is a higher percentage than during the Great Recession; [by contrast], in 2008, 18% of kids were in poverty. [I]n this great country of ours, poverty is highly unequal, with 39% of African-American children, 37% of [Native American] children and 33% of Hispanics living in poverty. The U.S. Department of Human and Health Services’ official poverty line is [an income of] $23,624 [annually] for a family with two adults and two children.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation found 18.7 million [U.S.] kids, or one in four, live in low-income households, which are defined as families using more than 30% of their pre-tax income for housing. [C]hildren raised in low-income households may get insufficient food and nutrients, which can negatively impact physical development. When children go to school hungry, they are [also] unable to focus [on] learning, [while] inadequate housing can expose children to toxins or other health hazards.

For any parent, juggling work, child care and transportation is challenging. Add in the stress of struggling to pay the bills, [and] parents battling with low income[s] have a higher risk of depression, substance abuse and domestic violence, which can affect a child’s social and emotional development. On top of this, 54% of our kids do not attend preschool, 66% of our fourth graders are not proficient in reading, and 66% of our eighth graders are not proficient in math. By ignoring the needs of these 18.7 million kids, we have a formula for the next generation to fail.

This failure for our society to improve itself has already begun. Bloomberg Business just reported that our middle class—[defined as a] family of three [that] has a minimum income of $41,869—has lost their majority status in the United States [for] the first time since 1970. Over 120.8 million adult Americans live in middle-class households, [including] 51 million [considered higher]-income and 70.3 million […] lower-[income]. The middle class holds 43% of U.S. aggregate income, which also is the smallest share since 1970. Generations have grown up with the goal of becoming middle-class. What do we tell our newest generation?

We need to worry about our kids, [a]nd we need to help them deal with the world around them. […] Each of us can’t teach 18.7 million kids, so we must rely on caring organizations to work with those who need the most help. There are great organizations we can contribute to like Save the Children and the Children’s Defense Fund, [both of which] help these less-fortunate kids. Communities in Schools help students while in school, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America help create a safe place to learn and grow. […]

Children should be growing up [and] worrying [only] about playing and exercising and eating the right foods so they can become stronger and smarter. Our over-connected technology world, though, throws a wrench into the traditional way Americans have raised their kids for generations. Many times, our children know before we [do] about the tragedies afflicting this world because of their instant connection[s] to computers and cellphones. We can’t protect them from this anymore. We also can’t rely on our government to do it alone, because it is such a huge task that is getting worse as each new year unfolds.

We all make personal New Year’s resolutions, like “exercise more,” “lose weight,” and “spend more time with family and friends.” As a country, our resolution for this year needs to be “help all of our children.” Our children are our hope to change this broken world.

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/surviving-a-broken-world_b_8811312.html

Shouldn’t We Be Helping Those at Home First?

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The United States spends $30 billion a year on official development assistance overseas, according to Oxfam America. […] We have foreign aid [to protect] our national security with [the] hopes it will reduce [the] poverty and injustice that fuel social tensions and [destabilize] countries. It also helps with our own economic interests, because aid can support the generation of demand for U.S. goods, which builds stable trading partners. [Additionally], based on the morality of our country, [providing aid is] “the right thing to do,” because it may help advance human rights and, in turn, democracy. Anyone picking up a newspaper over the last couple of months has […] to question if our aid has made countries more stable, brought democracy to the rest of the world or created a larger demand for U.S.-made goods.

Last year, we spent $14.4 billion to support Title 1, [otherwise known as] the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), [which] provides resources to schools situated in low-income communities. […] This is down from the previous year […] because of the government cut in funds due to our ongoing “sequestration.” Childhood poverty in the United States stands at 21.1%, [or the equivalent of 15.5 million children]—more than one in five. […] The National Education Association says that to reach all eligible children in poverty, Title 1 needs $45 billion. What a coincidence that Title 1 is $30 billion short of helping our kids at home—the same amount of dollars we are shipping overseas.

Title 1 support is so important to the future of America and what makes a school successful. According to Newsweek and the research done by Harvard professor Roland Fryer, Jr., strictly controlled environments foster success in students. Five principles are reflected in successful schools: frequent teacher feedback, the use of data to guide classroom instruction, frequent and high-quality tutoring, extended school days and years, and a school culture of high expectations. Title 1’s funding goal is “to ensure that all children have a fair, equal and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach proficiency on state academic achievement standards.” [Effectively], Title 1 funds are to be used to improve curriculum, instructional activities, counseling [and] parental involvement, [as well as] increase staff and program improvement.

No kid in America should go hungry, and our government does have a federally subsidized school lunch program. According to NewAmerica.org, this program supports student nutrition in over 101,000 schools and provide[s] free and reduced-price […] meals to low-income children before school, during school, after school and over the summer. […]

In September, the Children’s Defense Fund released the latest data about poverty, stating there are 46.7 million poor people in America, [33% of which] are children, [making them] the poorest age group. […] Children of color […] are disproportionately poor; […] 37% of black children and 32% of Hispanic children [fall into this category], [compared to] 12% of [Caucasian] kids. The younger the children, the poorer they are, with 25% of kids under age five considered poor—and these are the [strongest] years [for] brain development.

We have to be realistic. The government only has so much money to spend to continue to operate. Our legislatures scared us in September by averting a government shutdown and approved temporary spending measures to keep federal agencies operating through December 11. Much like we have trouble balancing our checkbooks and prioritizing where we spend our own money, our government is having that problem on a massive scale and continues to kick the can down the road. […] So until our leaders get their acts together, it falls back on individuals to help the poor, the hungry and the disadvantaged in this country.

Luckily, there are several nonprofits […] we can turn to with our donations and volunteer[ing efforts]. The Children’s Defense Fund is a strong and effective independent voice for all children in America. The Salvation Army, in their mission for “doing the most good,” feed, clothe and comfort those in the most need. The Gospel Rescue Missions provide social services to help the less fortunate. […]

The numbers of those in need in America are staggering. Our government has no more money to allocate to additional programs, so it must move its dollars around rather than hoping to collect more taxes. This country needs to look to help itself first. What would happen if we took all of this foreign aid and poured it into lifting [up] our own struggling citizens?

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/shouldnt-we-be-helping-th_b_8401336.html

Has America Given up on Arts Education?

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Here we are heading into another school year, and, once again, communities all across America are struggling with funding cutbacks that affect teachers, school programs and school facilities. Much like marketing is the first department to be cut back when a business has to downsize, the arts-education departments are the first to lose funding when schools are in trouble. This is evident just by looking at the history of our government’s National Endowment for the Arts program; in 1992, we were funding it at $176 million a year, and now it’s only $146 million. Contrary to what many of our political leaders think, the arts in school are essential to creating the innovative workforce of tomorrow.

Arts education is one way to help develop critical and creative thinking, according to PBS. For instance, music education may improve skills like reading, writing and foreign language learning, because it trains auditory skills. It takes discipline to learn to play an instrument, which increases concentration skills. Making music involves more than the voice or fingers—a child taps into multiple skillsets using their ears and eyes, as well as small and large muscles. Music also helps kids visualize various elements that should go together, much like the thinking they would use in solving a math problem. Solving these multistep problems prepares children for careers in architecture, engineering and technology.

A study at the University of Kansas showed elementary schools that had superior music-education programs scored 22% higher in English and 20% higher in math on standardized tests, compared to schools with low-quality music programs. Theater participation where students recreate stories may strengthen memory and verbal skills, and, because it involves roleplaying with others, may help in understanding the viewpoints of others in real life. Creating art and […] visiting museums [both] boost analytical thinking by teaching students to notice details in paintings, which may help train them to consider details in their future.

Research by the NEA found that at-risk students who have access to the arts show better academic results, [have] better workforce opportunities and [demonstrate] more civic engagement. They found that low socioeconomic status (SES) students who had a history of arts involvement in the eighth grade were more likely to have plans to earn a college education. […] These SES eighth-graders were nearly 30% more likely to read a newspaper and volunteered at a rate of […] 20% [more] than that of the other students.

In […] Arizona, a model program by the Tucson Unified School District known as Opening Minds Through the Arts (OMA) was inspired by the ongoing research into brain development and music. [The] program […] integrates arts education with core curriculum from Kindergarten through eighth grade. OMA uses instrumental music, opera, dance, theater and visual arts to help teach reading, writing, math and science. Each school has an Arts Integration Specialist and a team of seven artists working alongside classroom teachers, adapting each lesson to support teaching of core content and knowledge. In addition, the children learn to play the recorder, violin, a wind instrument and keyboard. The OMA program employs 26 artists from the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Arizona Opera Company and [the] University of Arizona’s School of Music who teach 30-minute twice-weekly classes for 36 weeks of the school year. The quality of this program and the documented student achievement results [have] gained national recognition from the U.S. Department of Education, Harvard Project Zero and the Arts Education Partnership.

Innovation is needed in today’s competitive workforce. Innovation relies on a broad mix of skills [and] several types of people, [primarily] scientists, developers [and] entrepreneurs. Skills by job group obviously are different, but certain skillsets overlap most innovative jobs. Technical skills need content and procedural knowledge, thinking and creative skills question ideas and find solutions to problems, and social and behavioral skills involve communication, collaboration and persistence. These jobs all need a skillset that pulls in knowledge from several different experiences. Having kids exposed to music, drama, dance, choir, [the] performing arts, literary arts, media arts and visual arts starts them on the path to innovative thinking.

We know most school districts have arts on the back burner. What can adults passionate about the arts do to help? If you love the arts, you can volunteer in the schools sharing your enthusiasm for music, performing arts or the visual arts. If you don’t have the time to volunteer, there are several organizations that will take your donations to help students. The Afterschool Alliance enriches kids when school is over. The Scholastic Art & Writing program encourages students on a local level [by holding] exhibitions of [their] work. Americans for the Arts works on advancing the arts and art education. The Arts Integration Solutions’ mission is to transform the education system by bringing the classroom practice of arts integration to every child. […]

Arts education matters. People exposed to the arts play a significant role in the continued innovation of the United States. The arts are an essential part of our heritage and vital in what makes us human and separates us from other creatures. Our lives are infused with the arts as we listen to music, watch TV dramas and comedies, read fiction, attend museums [and] theaters, and watch the dance of “The Nutcracker.” Our lives and our children’s lives would truly be empty without the arts.

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/has-america-given-up-on-a_b_7860710.html

How Do We Include All Kids?

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If an American family has an exceptionally bright child, we can usually figure out how to surround them with the right educational opportunities to help them excel. The National Association for Gifted Children estimates there are three million gifted children currently in U.S. classrooms. According to this group’s definition, these are children “who demonstrate or show the potential for high performance, and it is our responsibility to provide the optimal educational experience to fully develop the talents of as many children as possible for the benefit of the individual and the community.”

But what is happening to the psyches of our better students when everyone becomes the valedictorian, considered the best in their high school? The Tahoe Daily Tribune just did a feature story where, of the 70 graduates from North Tahoe High School, 18 were declared valedictorians and one was salutatorian. The Columbus Dispatch reports that 20% of all graduating seniors in Dublin’s three high schools became valedictorians—that’s 222 valedictorians! When I went to high school many, many years ago, we were all chasing the top student in my class, […] and no one could catch up to his intellect, so he deserved to be our only valedictorian. How did all our kids get so smart that so many now share in top honors? Are our children smarter than we were, or has our society changed how we measure success, and is that change really for the better?

U.S. News just reported that 24% of American 15-year-olds cannot successfully complete basic math and science tasks. They estimate that if the U.S. educational system could get these students to understand the basics of math and science, the economic gains over the working lives of these students would add up to more than $27 trillion. This report goes on to say that “improved skills do not automatically require more money, just more focus. As a result, the world is no longer divided into rich and well-educated countries and poor and badly educated ones. With the right policies, countries can break out of the cycle of rewarding the best and penalizing the rest.”

The Supreme Court unanimously underscored the idea of equal education opportunities for all in “Brown v. Board of Education” 61 years ago. The court said, “Education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. It is the very foundation of good citizenship. It is the principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, preparing for later training and adjusting normally to the U.S. environment. Education is a right that must be made available to all on equal terms.”

So how do we help our schools lift up the 24% of Americans needing the basic skills and the other students not standing on the stage as valedictorians? One way is to volunteer your time or donate to tutor organizations that help those in need. If you can’t find a local organization to help with tutoring, A List Education has a strong list of organizations that help tutor those who require the most help. Junior Achievement, whose mission is to prepare young people to succeed in a global economy, can use our help. They impacted 4.5 million U.S. students in 197,000 classrooms last year and can use additional volunteers and donations. […]

During the tough economic times since 2008, national, state and local governments have failed to adequately and fairly resource our schools. Budgets, staff and updated equipment have been sacrificed because we have not been able to adequately fund these schools. If the economy had not tanked, it would be a different story, but we have to deal with reality where we just don’t have the money to lift the kids who need it most. We need a school system that prepares all of our students for the ever-changing opportunities our economy offers, and that is why we all need to work on the local level to make educational funding the priority of all upcoming budgets; [o]therwise, we are just cheating our future. While we will always have valedictorians, those students who need the most help will become greater than 24% of our population.

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/how-do-we-include-all-kid_b_7641156.html

Can’t Blame the Teachers for Getting Us into This Mess

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In today’s America, why would anyone ever want to become a teacher? The budgets for our classrooms dwindle each year, and teachers continue to take money out of their own pockets to provide their students with supplies. The schools are getting older, and fewer new schools are being built annually. Based on the school shootings over the last few years, teachers must now worry every day about the security of students and themselves. All of this seems to eclipse why teachers wanted to teach in the first place.

In spite of the pressure on teachers, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics, public schools employed 3.1 million teachers this year. There were 284,000 new teachers joining public schools compared with 222,000 a decade ago. Thankfully, the spirit to teach has not been lost on our newest college graduates. Why teachers choose to teach can be a very personal decision, but common themes include giving back, being a caring adult in a child’s life, proving one person can make the difference and inspiring students.

This year, 49.8 million students attended public elementary and secondary schools. There are 13,600 public school districts with 98,300 schools between them. We will spend $619 billion on our schools, which works out to $12,281 per student, [a]nd 3 million students will graduate from public schools [in 2015].

It does pay to stay in school. Today’s working adults ages 25 to 34 with a bachelor’s degree earn $46,900 [annually on average], while those with an associate’s degree earn $35,700 [per year]. High-school graduates earn $30,000 [annually], and [the average drops to] $22,900 [per year] for those without a high-school diploma.

The fact that the United States is ranked 14th [in the world when it comes to education], according to Pearson, is a real wake-up call. […] South Korea is ranked first, followed by Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Finland, the United Kingdom and Canada. Pearson found that the top-ranked countries offer teachers higher status in society and have a culture emphasizing education. Society’s attitude about education and its underlying moral purpose seem to be stronger in the top-rated countries—[a]nd to think that just three decades ago, the United States was ranked first in the world.

It continues to amaze me that people want to become teachers. New teachers make around $36,000 [annually] and can earn $58,000 [per year] after 20 years, so striking it rich does not seem to be a reason to pursue this career. There are so many stories about teachers helping others that remind us that there is spirit within these individuals that the rest of us don’t possess.

ABC News had a story about Lindsey Painter, a first-grade teacher in New Braunfels, Texas, who is donating her kidney to one of her students. The Arizona Republic reported about a Phoenix fifth-grade teacher, Reid DeSpiegelaere, who helped the school’s families when their rent was increased. Many of the families were immigrants from war-torn countries who could hardly pay their current rent and were very connected to the school, teachers and staff. DeSpiegelaere organized the effort to find the families other places to live in the district. “In modern education, especially in this area, we need consistency,” DeSpiegelaere said.

Schools are the heartbeat of our community, [a]nd it isn’t only teachers who mold our kids, as People reports. Charles Clark is a janitor in Euless, Texas, and for 26 years, has been mentoring poor and fatherless kids. Trinity High School’s 2,400 students name Clark as the most influential person at their school, and he has hundreds of thank-you letters from students.

With what is going on in Congress, it is very unlikely that our schools will be receiving additional funding in the near future. Add to this the fact that teachers this year took an average of $513 out of their own pockets for classroom supplies, food for hungry kids in their classrooms, instructional materials, and books for their students, and we have a no-win situation for students and teachers. It is up to concerned citizens and parents to make a difference and give teachers well-deserved help.

The National Teachers Assistance Organization gathers donations for professional assistance for teachers. At Donors Choose, public school teachers post classroom project requests, and you can donate to the project that most inspires you. At Start Donating, they match donors with teachers in need of supplies. […]

It takes an entire village to bring quality education to the next generation. We have the teachers and the staff already in place. Painter shows us that teachers truly do care about their students. DeSpiegelaere reminds us that for a school to be successful, it must care about the neighborhood. […] Clark teaches us that all of us, whether we are teachers or not, mold our community. As teachers finish this school year and start to prepare for the next, it is up to our [legislators], community leaders, parents and ordinary citizens to support our kids before it is too late.

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/cant-blame-the-teachers-f_b_6904132.html

Dropouts Are Putting a Major Strain on Our Economy

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Despite all the efforts of every president from Kennedy to Obama, [high-school dropouts] are a blight on our society. According to DoSomething.org, [more than] 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States every year, [or roughly] 7,000 kids a day. [In 1970], the United States […] had the world’s highest graduation rates of any developed country; [our nation] now ranks [at] No. 22 out of [the world’s] 27 [developed] countries.

[Statistically], high-school dropouts commit 75% of our [nation’s] crimes. The unemployment rate for [these former students] is 9.1%; for those with high-school diplomas, it’s 5.8%, and [for those] with college degrees, [it’s] 3.3%. The average high-school dropout earns $20,240 annually versus $30,600 for a high-school graduate.

According to The New York Times, if we could reduce the number of dropouts by a little over half, this would yield close to 700,000 […] graduates each year. These […] graduates […] would obtain a higher rate of employment and earnings, […] would be less likely to draw on public money for healthcare and welfare, and less likely to be involved in the criminal justice system—[a]nd, because of the increase in income, [they] would contribute more in tax revenues. Each of these graduates over their lifetime produces a net benefit to taxpayers of $127,000 in government savings, [which] would benefit the public close to $90 billion each year. […] That is serious money and an easy issue that both Democrats and Republicans can rally behind to reduce our deficit while supporting funding for education.

Throughout the years, […] our leaders have made attempts to reduce the dropout rate through improving our educational system. Kennedy […] [desegregated] public schools to give all kids the hope of a better education. Johnson established Head Start so all kids would have a chance to start on equal footing. Carter upgraded the Department of Education to cabinet-level status. Clinton passed the “Goals 2000 Educate America Act,” which gave resources to states and communities to enact outcomes-based education with the theory that students will reach higher levels of achievement when more is expected of them. George W. Bush passed the “No Child Left Behind Act,” which worked to close the gap between rich and poor students by targeting more federal funding to low-income schools. Obama passed the $4.35 billion “Race to the Top” legislation, which has competitive grants supporting education reform and innovations in classrooms. Yet, we still have 1.2 million students dropping out of high school each year.

[A]ccording to The Arizona Republic, the 18,000 high-school [students who dropped out] this year will cost Arizona $7.6 billion over their lifetime. Phoenix, the country’s sixth-largest city, had the highest rate of youth disconnection among the country’s 25 largest metropolitan areas [in 2012], with 24% of its students dropping out of high school. [T]his year’s dropouts will cost Arizona $4.9 billion in lost income, $869 million in health costs, $1.7 billion in crime-related expenses and $26 million in welfare over their lifetime. On top of all [of] this, statewide, 22% of [those ages] 16 [to] 24 […] are [neither] working [nor] in school, [totaling] 182,000 young people.

The societal impact of our kids dropping out of school is devastating. Our schools know early on when many of these kids are in trouble. Key indicators include poor grades in core subjects, low attendance rates, failure to be promoted to the next grade, and disengagement in the classrooms, which would also include behavioral problems. [T]o save these kids, [o]ur government needs to invest in early childhood education. When students enter school without the needed knowledge and skills, they begin behind and just never catch up. Early childhood programs need to support the emotional, cognitive and social development of kids.

So what should our schools do to curb this enormous economic problem? Because many dropouts feel alienated from others and disconnected from the school experience, schools must ensure that all students have meaningful relationships with adults while at school. This obviously includes teachers and administrators but should include counselors, volunteers, and more paid and unpaid mentors. Schools must have individualized learning sessions and nontraditional options, [which] may include online learning and intensive tutoring programs. Also, students with disabilities, who are twice as likely to drop out as students with[out] disabilities, must be offered [more personalized] programs from Kindergarten [through 12th grade].

This is truly a grassroots effort in each community to lower our dropout rates. There are national programs to help on the local level. Communities in Schools, an organization that has been around for 30 years, […] helps bring community resources inside public schools […] for at-risk kids to succeed in the classroom and in life. The Boys & Girls Clubs of America provide programs, services, and a safe place to learn and grow and connect with adults. […]

Dropouts cause our society emotional pain because we all feel sorry for those less fortunate and struggling to survive, [b]ut the cold, hard fact [is that dropouts also] cause us economic pain that could be avoided. […] We have to get our schools the resources to go at this problem head on. Maybe if we approach our current congressional leaders that this is an economics problem, not a school funding issue, we can finally get their attention.

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/dropouts-are-putting-a-ma_b_5586176.html

Who Pays for Our Kids’ Education?

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CBS News reported there are 200 one-room public schools located in rural areas left in America. At one time, just about every child was taught in a one-room school. Our second president, John Adams, taught in a one-room school near Boston. Abraham Lincoln was educated at a one-room school. Henry Ford loved his one-room schoolhouse so much that he had it moved to a museum in Michigan. As late as 1913, half of the country’s schoolchildren were enrolled in the country’s 200,000 one-room schools, [b]ut after World War I, people moved into cities, and one-room schools began to disappear. […]

There are 54,876,000 kids enrolled in schools [today], of which 49,484,000 are in public schools, according to the Center for Education Reform. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16:1 in public schools and 11:1 in private schools. Total public school expenditures were $607 billion [last year], with 12.7% coming from the federal government, 43.5% from the state and 43.8% [from] local expenses. The average public school expenditure per pupil was $13,000, and the average teacher makes $49,630 a year.

If you step back and study all of these numbers, they are just so huge. The number of kids […] in our school systems, the billions of dollars we spend to keep up the learning, and the amount of buildings we construct—[it all] makes our educational system alone rank as the 21st largest economy in the world. […] [Nevertheless], New York City […] teachers […] spend $500 of their own [incomes each year] on pens, paper and other instructional materials [for their classrooms]. Taking the 3.3 million teachers nationwide spending [an average of] $500 [annually] to help their kids, and we have over $1.6 billion coming out of teachers’ pockets to keep our schools going. […]

[The] teachers I know tell me they want to do their part in changing the world one student at a time by working on their hearts and minds and guiding them to become literate, empowered, engaged and creative. These teachers are passionate about their jobs, which most feel is their calling in life, [s]o pulling $500 out of their own pocket to help others is just what they do in their selflessness to make a difference.

[A]sking our teachers to do this is not right, [though]. Whether we have kids in school or not, all of us must be concerned with the quality of education we are providing for the next generation, and, as concerned citizens, we must make a difference and help our teachers help our kids. The National Teachers Assistance Organization is taking donations to help teachers. Donors Choose, an online nonprofit charity group that matches donors and teachers for supplies and projects, reports […] a 30% increase in requests for help from teachers this year. [The] Start Donating [website] is [another] easy way to help teachers get what they need. […]

We are a well-educated society, so how did we get ourselves into this cycle of putting this financial burden and stress on the teachers who we entrust with our kids every day? Teachers’ classrooms should be a sanctuary of learning, maturing and growing our children into the next greatest generation. Instead, we have our teachers worrying about the funding for the basic functions needed to educate our leaders of tomorrow. From John Adams and his one-room schoolhouse to our modern-day consolidated schools, we are still making it difficult for these dedicated teachers to perform at their best. It is the teachers of today, like the teachers of our forefathers, with their dedication and determination, who set the example for their students by their actions of caring and giving. The rest of us need to support these public servants and ease their personal burden of doing the right thing for our kids.

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/who-pays-for-our-kids-edu_b_5512072.html

Kids Lose Their Future to Poverty

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Now that one school year is over and we are preparing for the next, June is a month of reflection for educators and parents on how to do better [for the] next school year. It is hard enough for students to learn at school in today’s world. You throw in overcrowding, teacher-to-student ratios, poverty affecting too many students, and lack of funding for supplies, and it becomes almost impossible for the average student to get ahead.

The New York Daily News reported that in New York City, 6,313 classes were [considered] overcrowded based on the teacher’s union contract, which sets 34 kids [per classroom] as the limit in high schools and 25 [kids per classroom] in Kindergarten. In these classrooms, kids were sitting on the floors or standing the whole period. It is tough to imagine how children can function in these overcrowded situations, let alone how can teachers concentrate and keep the kids interested. How can these kids learn when they are sitting on top of each other?

[Adding to this], 16 million children in the United States, [or] 22% of all [U.S.] children, live in families with incomes below the federal poverty level of $23,550 a year […] for a family of four, according to the National Center of Children in Poverty. These children are far more likely to have limited access to sufficient food, [a]nd with Congress cutting […] $8.6 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program […] earlier this year, these kids just got a little bit hungrier. The states where the most kids go hungry include New Mexico at 29.2%, Mississippi at 28.7%, Arizona at 28.2%, and Georgia and Nevada, both at 28.1%. How can these kids learn when they go to school hungry?

Now look at the 1.2 million children in the United States who are homeless. […] According to the American Institutes for Research, homeless children have four times as many respiratory infections, twice as many ear infections, five times more gastrointestinal problems, and [are] four times more likely to have asthma. [W]hen at school, they have three times the rate of emotional and behavioral problems compared to non-homeless children. How can these kids learn when they have so many personal problems?

Poverty and poor performance go hand in hand in school. DoSomething.org reports that children living in poverty have a higher [rate] of absenteeism, or [they] leave school altogether because they are more likely to have to work or care for family members. Dropout [rates among] 16- [to] 24-year-old students from low-income families are seven times [higher] than those from families with higher income[s]. By the end of the fourth grade, low-income students are already two years behind, and, by the 12th grade, they are four years behind. How can these kids perform [well as] adults when they fall so far behind in school?

The U.S. educational system is ranked as the 14th best in the world. South Korea is No. 1, followed by Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Finland, [the] United Kingdom, Canada, [t]he Netherlands, Ireland, Poland, Denmark, Germany and Russia. Why is the most powerful nation in the world ranked in the middle of the pack in educating its children? Last year, $1.15 trillion was spent on education in the United States, of which 10.8% came from federal funds and the rest from state and local contributions. You would think that is enough to educate every student, rich or poor, but, obviously, it [is not].

The United States sure has a lot of things to fix to break into the top 10. […] Since the vast majority of funding for education falls back to the states and […] communities, local help is where it has got to begin. It has to fix the children who go hungry and the children of the poor. There are great organizations to contribute to for this, like Save the Children and the Children’s Defense League. […] We have to fix the homeless children situation, [a]nd, somehow, we have to get the right equipment into the hands of these poor kids—the right books, pencils, paper and calculators—so they can keep up with everyone else in their classrooms. […]

I wish we could just flip a switch and poverty and hunger and homelessness would disappear for our kids, but we all know that won’t happen. Who chooses [which] kids are born into wealth and those who are born to live on the streets? Who chooses the kids who suffer in overcrowded schools or those who go to schools with sophisticated arts, music and computer programs? Back in 1918, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Creed, which states, “The United States of America is a government of the people, by the people and for the people, established on the principles of freedom, equality, justice and humanity for all.” It is up to all of us to bring these poor, hungry and homeless children up to the standards our forefathers envisioned for all of us, and we need to start today.

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/kids-lose-their-future-to_b_5337752.html

It’s Too Expensive to Go to College Anymore

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According to the [United States] Census Bureau, there are 59 million people 25 years or older who hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. Business [remains] the most popular major, with 12 million [graduates], while [e]ducation [is] the second most popular, with 8 million [graduates]. The median income for high school [graduates]—[those] who [have] never [gone] to college—is $28,659 [annually]. [F]or those with some college [education] but no degree, it is $32,036 [per year], [while] those with a college degree [earn] $49,648 [annually], and those with professional degrees [bring home] $87,356. This translates [into average] lifetime earnings of $3.3 million for a doctoral degree, $2.3 million for a college degree and $1.3 million for a high school diploma.

According to CollegeData.com, the average yearly budget to attend an in-state public university is $22,261, [and t]he average [to attend] a private college is $43,289. CNN reports that the average college student in the class of 2013 faces $35,200 in debt. Putting that into perspective, the profile of the average U.S. household consumer debt shows we all owe $15,263 in credit card debt, $147,591 in mortgage debt and $31,646 in student loan debt. In total, American consumers [currently] owe $11.15 trillion in debt, of which $994 billion is in student loans, a 4% increase from 2012.

In an article in The Huffington Post this summer, [the author] predicted that student loan debt will exceed the median annual income for college grads by 2023. This is on top of the wages of college graduates actually dropping 5.4% over the last decade. Considering that Congress [has] finally agreed […], after months of haggling, to stabilize the interest rate for college loans, […] at least the uncertainty of future interest [rate] hikes has been eliminated for families facing this huge debt.

Just about every parent (94%) says they want their child to attend college, [s]o, with that encouragement, nearly 68% of high school graduates [have] started out for college (44% of these kids to community college). Compare that to 43% of Americans [who] attend church regularly and 50% of adults [who] are married [currently, and] [c]ollege is now more popular [than] religion or spouses!

In the end, only 54% of these kids actually graduate within six years of starting college, [s]o we have all these students with high hopes and dreams going in, but only about half graduate and join society with crazy student loan debt.

We would all love scholarships for our kids, but that does not happen to most. This weak economy of ours is forcing institutions to limit their generosity in scholarships and financial aid, so the average student takes on more debt than the generation before. Anyone wanting to go to college needs to explore every option for help. The Council for Opportunity in Education is a nonprofit organization […] dedicated to expanding college opportunities for low-income, first-generation students, veterans and students with disabilities. Sites to help find money and scholarships include Fast Web, FinAid and Student Aid Alliance. If you want to help fulfill kids’ dreams of going to college, look into Scholarship America to help with a donation. […]

America is the land of dreams and opportunity. Anyone who is passionate enough to want a college education should be afforded the opportunity to at least try. It would be just great if we could make a college education free just like we do a high school education, but each of us in our right mind knows this is a pipe dream, [s]o the $35,000 in student debt will turn into $45,000 for the next generation and so on. A college degree is worth a million dollars more than a high school degree over your lifetime. Being well-educated is priceless. I guess the risk of adding to your debt may be worth the reward of being a strong contributor to our economic future. I just wish it did not hurt so much.

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/its-too-expensive-to-go-t_b_3935231.html

Teachers Have It Rough, but Kids Are the Ones Who Suffer

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With the start of the school year, we have yet another terrifying shooting incident—[this latest], at the McNair Discovery Learning Academy […] in Decatur, Ga., [occurred] less than a year […] from the tragedy in Newtown, Conn. Between Newtown and Decatur, the United States has [witnessed] 12 other shootings at schools.

I just can’t [imagine] how much stress this puts on all teachers. Our dedicated teachers do what they do because they have a passion to help mold the future of this country, foster creativity in young people, develop character in students and help people lead productive lives. They become teachers because of their sense of service. Having to protect kids from shootings was not part of their original job description—but it is now.

[O]n top of the stress to protect our kids, salaries have not moved much for teachers during the recession […], [b]ut what has moved […] is the money teachers take out of their own pockets to help their kids. According to USA Today, teachers will be spending an average of $400 out of their own pockets for classroom supplies […] this fall, […] up 3% from last year.

Mallori Lucas, a language arts teacher in Valparaiso, Indiana, says, “Of course we’re not forced to spend our money, [b]ut some of these kids don’t even get breakfast before they come to school, so we buy those snacks and treats.”

[T]he National Center for Education has school spending on supplies at 4.1% of the budget today compared to 8.1% [a decade ago]. Kids still need the same amount of supplies and learning materials they needed 10 years ago, but it does not look like our schools have this in their budgets.

Teachers by nature are resourceful, considering that last year, they took $3 billion out of their own pockets to help their kids, and they are going to spend even more this year. You can see this inventive behavior with what happened all over the country this summer as teachers anticipated they needed to help their students more than ever.

  • Elementary school teacher Mary Loung started Educycle, which helps other teachers sell or pass along [usable] school materials and shop for supplies they need in their classrooms. Businesses can also donate any surpluses to schools through Educycle.
  • The Chicago Sun Times reports that David Zine and Peter Baker, high school social study teachers from Aurora, rode their bicycles to Seattle to raise money for Best Buddies, a nonprofit that partners special-needs and general-education students to help forge friendships.
  • The Memphis Business Journal talks about […] Elizabeth Monda […], one of the first teachers to use the [crowdfunding] site PledgeCents […] to raise $4,000 for materials for her students. […]

How did we, as a well-educated society, get ourselves into this mess where we are putting so much stress on the teachers who we entrust with our kids every day? School should be a sanctuary of learning, maturing and growing our children into the next greatest generation. Instead, teachers worry about bullets and having enough money for the basic functions needed to educate the leaders of tomorrow.

Our current leaders have raised taxes, have us in a sequestration and can’t agree on anything to help move this country forward. Nothing has changed since Newtown, except we are spending less to help our teachers teach our kids to be decent and honorable. It is the teachers of today with their dedication and determination who will set the example for their students by their actions of caring and giving. The rest of us need to support these public servants and ease their personal burden of doing the right thing for our kids.

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/teachers-have-it-roughbut_b_3805308.html