Jay, who has lived in the Waukesha area for nearly 20 years, is an active volunteer who serves on numerous local boards and committees. He’s married to Colleen with three kids having gone through the Waukesha schools. He is the VP of a local distribution company and currently serves on several area Boards.
Education is in the news! And none of it is good news!
Depending on your perspective, it’s now obvious that “The schools will fail unless they get more funding”…or, “The schools get enough money – let them make do!”
The facts:
* Over 41% of the State’s money goes to education. That’s quite a bit.
*Local and State taxes are high and show signs of rising, albeit slowly.
*Critics will say teachers are overpaid and don’t pay enough for their benefits.
*Others will ignore current State laws, ignore facts, and ignore the plight of education today and preach from an uninformed position.
*Many, too many, will fence-sit and wait for others to deal with it.
Let’s all, for once, reflect & respect the other “side’s” position, take a moderate position and accept “they” might have a point! Moving forward, “together,” what’s the answer that we would accept in this new-found spirit of solidarity?
First: Is there a way to reduce the expense of education while still maintaining a quality product? Yes! The State would have to rewrite laws re: requirements for graduation. Students would be tested and targeted between freshman and sophomore years according to their strengths; math, the arts, sciences, etc.. Students would be moved into accelerated programs with a reduced load of “Gen-Eds”. Graduation from high school could be accomplished in 3-3 ½ years. School sizes would be reduced. And what would honestly be lost? Ask any post-high school student and ask if they, in reflection, could even name all the courses they took junior year much less what they got out of them.
(Writer’s Note: My kids have just come through this time. Ages 22, 20, 17)
Second: Why do people only attack "local" school districts while letting the State University and Technical System escape our review? They shouldn't! The same principle is applied where the first (2) years of “Gen-Eds” are reduced to (1) year. The intense programming related to one’s chosen major starts a year earlier and the students are now eligible for graduation that much sooner. Again - smaller schools. And that’s just the start…When did the “TA” abbreviation become synonymous for “Professor Totally Absent?” Make the professors, similar to the non-academic world, work a 40 hour workweek! (3) professors working 40 hour weeks would replace (4) working 30!
Third: Are there outside partnerships available to assist in this “Brave New World?” Absolutely! The private sector has been begging the schools for relevant workforce development. Jobs are going unfilled and countless dollars are spent “re-educating graduates”, high school and college. Dangle the potential of a more-focused, better trained student to business and business will come running. The potential here is unlimited – businesses will partner with education in a very big way if they can be assured they will get a “return on investment.” Unfortunately, current WI laws governing education requirements are not necessarily business friendly.
OK – It’s a simplistic concept and start. And it neglects the social aspects of education.
However - reduced requirements for “Gen-eds” results in smaller school sizes which means less staffing. Students studying courses they are actually interested in guarantees motivated students with a higher level of retained education after the course is over. In addition, professors and university administrators are long past-due to join the rest of us “plebeians” in (12) month employment with a high degree of accountability to your employer. A full workweek would immediately cut university staffing dramatically State-wide….And to you professors that don’t like this – “Quit” and then find your next 20-30 hour workweek/8-9 month job!
Business dollars will now join public funding for education. Most businesses will invest where they can maximize their returns. Programs for students that truly help businesses will be have infusions of capital and brainpower from the private sector. The earning cycle for our students will start that much earlier – and at a higher level!
Let’s try a unified, common sense, business approach to the ever-looming crisis for education-funding in Wisconsin. Engage business people to "fix" education - the local and State legislators have proven they certainly don't have the answers. We have ample warning that there is not enough money in coming years to sustain the current education model. If we start tomorrow, it will still take years to develop a model tailored for the needs present and funding available. Taxes are high, referendums bruise communities, and there is a finite amount of State dollars which will be available in the future.
Can we all, at least for a short while, agree and respect each other long enough to acknowledge that both sides truly do have valid points as well as valid criticisms?
