This or That?

Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #57 – July 17, 2010

Why is education the “foster child” when it comes to funding? Why do schools have to slash their budgets by hundreds of millions of dollars year after year? Do our legislators really think so little of education? And here’s the clincher: Why do state legislators support spending more money on criminals than on the education of our children?

The message herein is based on the premise that education is not only important, but also essential to every human being. In fact, it is not an exaggeration to say that the existence of human beings is virtually fruitless without education. A person with an education has the ability to change the world. Such a person is brimming with confidence and equipped with the tools to navigate through and create a successful life. This entire article could be spent touting the importance of education. Instead, since that is not the main goal, here are but a few reasons education is a highly valued commodity. Do we want this?, “this” being a sound education. If so, here is some of what we'll get:

Good Citizens
1. Education makes a worthy contribution to our lives, by making us responsible citizens. We get to know our history and culture through education and adopt those values. History teaches us what to do and what not to do. We learn from history.

Fundamental Knowledge
2. One who receives good education is more likely to have a secure future. Acquiring new skills and talents through education increases our productivity.

New Horizons
3. Education has the unique ability to open new vistas for us. Education broadens our mental landscape and is the way to greater enlightenment - the ultimate goal of most human beings in life.

Critical Thinking
4. Decision making is an integral part of our life. Education is significant, because it gives us many tools, which enable us to make the right decisions.

Confidence
5. An educated person is a confident person. When you understand how things work, and are able to systematically solve problems, you are imbued with self-confidence. Education fosters a positive outlook and allows us to believe in ourselves.

Or do we want "that?"

The Uneducated
What does it feel like to be a child that can’t read? According to Mona McNee, (founder of the Reading Reform Foundation, in the U.K),
“ They do not FEEL stupid but come to the conclusion that they must be (even if they are not) because they see other children learning, but not them.” To make matters worse, she adds, “School becomes a 12-year prison sentence of failure, humiliation, frustration. . . desperation.” The overwhelming majority of inmates are not educated. They are deficient in the five attributes of a good education mentioned above.

Education or Crime?
The most frequent response to the question given by the Gallup Poll, “What is the biggest problem schools face?” named on an unaided basis by almost a quarter of Americans (23%) is “lack of funding.” This figure is up from last year, when 15% offered “lack of funding,” as the biggest problem. And yet, the budgets for schools continue on the decline while budgets for prisons are on the incline.

In an article by Maya Harris (Vice President for Peace & Social Justice at the Ford Foundation), the following is noted:

“It has been projected that over the next five years, the state’s budget for locking up people will rise by 9 % annually, compared with its spending on higher education, which will rise only by 5 %. She goes on to say, “Yet, despite the historic increase in prison funding, leading legislators – including Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger agrees that this is simply throwing good money after bad, given the rank mismanagement plaguing California’s corrections system.”

James Sterngold, Staff Writer for The Chronicle, when discussing the California State Prison system, comments, “the most common companions for those who have failed to find a place in the legitimate world are illiteracy and stunted educational backgrounds. More than half of California’s 173,000 inmates read below a seventh-grade level, making them functionally illiterate, unable to read and follow complex written directions.”

Nationwide, nearly 70 percent of all people entering state prisons have not completed high school. According to the report, “Literacy Behind Prison Walls,” 70 percent of all prison inmates read below a fourth-grade level.

Research indicates inmates who have obtained an education while serving behind bars have a much easier time finding and holding a job when they are released. In addition, there are few relapses once they have escaped illiteracy.

So, do we want, This or do we wantThat?

The research I’ve read seems very clear. There is a definite correlation between lack of education and the clientele of our prison systems. The average level of education of those in prison is significantly lower than those out of prison. The solution is obvious. If we support our educational systems and make certain children are learning, as they should; this means not letting any of them fall between the cracks, we will not only have less crime, but more happy and productive people. Education greatly decreases the chance our children will wind up behind bars. Instead, it empowers them to achieve their goals and dreams in life.

What is your choice, this or that?

"Upon the subject of education, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people may be engaged in." -- Abraham Lincoln