Egypt removed an egocentric dictator from thirty years of reign, and yet here in the US we cannot get a single politician to choose education over his Republican beliefs.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s responses have been nothing but dismissive of the protesters’ wants. As he represents the voice of the people, this is unacceptable.
The Wisconsin protests revolve around Governor Walker’s push to cut benefits for state workers, which includes teachers. His cuts would essentially eliminate the effectiveness of unions. The only power that would remain is effectively described in an editorial in the New York Times; “They [the unions] would be barred from bargaining about anything except wages, and any pay increase they win would be limited by the consumer price index.” In the end. unions would be barred from doing what they are made to do.
Gov. Walker believes that the best way to reduce state spending (a much-needed change, as the state is essentially broke) is to slice the benefits of the state’s workers. Yet he has also given tax breaks to large private companies, which would have been a source of income for the state.
Arguably the most important part of the state workers would be the teachers. Many highly educated people would find themselves incapable of making ends meet, and would either have to find a second job or quit entirely to procure something that would pay them a sufficient amount.
If they chose to stay in the school systems and get a second job, they would not be able to offer students as much of their time and energy. On the other hand, looking for a separate job all together means they would cease to be a teacher entirely.
This goes beyond the effect it has on those who are already teachers. Students who are looking to the job market to establish where they can make a livable amount money are probably not going to see teaching as a potential career.
Stop giving tax breaks to large private companies and citizens. Our society as a whole is directly affected by the education we achieve as a community. We are no longer a society of agrarian farmers. Americans are hugely dependent on the success of other Americans in the highly connected society of today. Devaluing education by eliminating a livable wage for teachers will hurt us in the future more than any large companies that stumble a little without their tax breaks.
Education should be a field that is always growing and evolving, something that is central to our society as a whole. Education should matter, and if politicians keep choosing to ignore the financial needs of teachers and quality educators, then we will continue to see a decline in our school systems, and as a result, a decline in our society as a whole.