Where is Finland’s space rover? |
On Board Online • October 15, 2012
By Peggy Zugibe
Area 10 Director
A year ago, I was beside myself because our manned space program had ended. I’m considerably chipper now that we’ve landed a rover on Mars. There is something about exploring space that makes me proud to be an American.
I’m also proud to be a school board member, because I believe public education is essential to our national character as well as our success. Our founding fathers believed in public education as much as they believed in a system of checks and balances.
As John Adams wrote in 1785, “The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. There should not be a district of one mile square, without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves.”
During the period from Aug. 5 to Sept. 12, Congress’ approval rating was 13.3 percent, yet I don’t hear people calling for privatization of our government. Why not? Because it is still the best system in the world – and so is our public education system!
Schools had an easier time a few decades ago when they prepared one-third for college, one-third for work that did not require a college degree and just didn’t worry about the remaining third. Today we aim higher. We want to prepare each student to be college- and career-ready for the global economy of the 21st century. And everyone, including school board members, is impatient to get there.
Turning every child into a well-prepared graduate is a challenge under the best conditions, and we are dealing with rising pension and health care costs, a 2 percent tax cap, mandates to implement the Common Core and a new system of evaluating teachers and principals. My home district was given about $140,000 to implement Race to the Top but we estimate that the actual cost will be around $3.9 million. In 2007-08 our district received $44,250,000 in state aid (exclusive of federal ARRA funding) and in 2011-12 received $43,334,000. So four years later we are receiving $916,000 less.
Article XI of the New York State Constitution Section 1 states: “The legislature shall provide for the maintenance and support of a system of free common schools, wherein all the children of this state may be educated.” Although this requirement is vague, it seems clear that the state is responsible for the financial support of public education. I believe all stakeholders need to get together and define what a sound basic education in 2012 looks like. Then there must be a commitment to fund it.
Notwithstanding our shortcomings, the American sun is still high in the sky. The ranking of the U.S. on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index of 142 countries during the last 17 years averages 2.4 out of 142. The U.S. ranks first in GDP per working adult ages 25-64. The U.S. ranks fourth in researchers per 1,000 employed compared to China’s rank of 19. The U.S. per capita (per person) GDP rank is 12 compared to China’s 120.
Yes, there are challenges facing public education, and we must be committed to solving them. But I still think we have the edge in 21st century skills that are difficult to assess – ones that make a people thirst for innovation and discovery. If Finland has the best educational system, why haven’t I seen their rover on Mars with ours?