Education....seems to be low-priority.

First, I am freaking out over job prospect(s). But more on that later. The education stuff, which makes me sad, comes from the fact that LMUSD sent out a TON of pink slips to teachers this past week and a bunch of people showed up to the board meeting to discuss it. An NHS alum sent out a message about the meeting, and this is part of what he had to say:

The fact of the matter is this, we live in a society that weighs entertainment, and military over education. If you want someone to blame, blame the community, start with yourself. When was the last time education was a on the top of your political agenda? The truth is that the congressional districts 22 and 23 have long sat silent while our teaching staff has been underpaid and under-appreciated .

APparently some people are just on witch hunts, trying to place the blame on anything they can. But this guy is right - we have sat silent too long. Education has always been at the top of my short-lived political agenda, which probably speaks to my age more than anything else, and I have long been more than a little conflicted over the state of our K-12 and higher ed system - I feel like it fails to really reach so many students, but at the same time it's under-funded. And teachesr that are not so great probably had a not-so-great education in the first place - lovelyyy cycle. But despite my reservations and frustrations, I've never really voiced it in a public/constructive manner.

More thinking to follow over spring break. Right now I need to do studio work, study for a midterm, and decide on a job...