I was listening to NPR on the way to work this morning because I'm an intellectual kind of guy, and they were talking about California's budget problems. They were saying that California has to lay off so many teachers that there will be 45 students in the average Public High School class. I just saw a guy running past me and it made me sad, this sucks. Anyways, 45 kids in a class? As a political scientist and a future teacher, I can't wrap my head around this one. First, how is one teacher supposed to prepare 45 students to succeed in college? Just think of it from a dicipline perspective; I'm not alone in thinking that's not legistically possible. Second, California's traveling down a slippery slope.
This reminds me of the situation going down in Sub- Saharan Africa. I know it's not exactly the same, but stay with me. Sub-Saharan Africa was facing money problems, so they had to borrow money from the International Monitary Fund. The IMF imposes sanctions on borrowing countries and requires them to open up to globalization and international trade. This is expensive, and so Sub- Saharan Africa had to cut its spending-- which come in the public services sector; healthcare and public education. All of a sudden, citizens have no job skills, turn to lives of crime, the state loses control of all or some of it's territory (because of lack of police funding or what have you) and BOOM! Failed state. Now, that's an extreme, but California better watch itself.
Third, I posted this from my iPhone. I'm so cool.
No comments:
Post a Comment