When I read stories about how schools are the target of budget cuts and teachers are going to be fired because there is no money, it gets my ire up, and not just because I am a teacher. My blood boils because I am also a parent. I want my daughter to have the best education possible and I do not want excuses!
In my opinion, schools should run more like small businesses. Most schools across the country have a sports program with boosters and money going toward athletics. I have often said that it is the electives and sports that keep kids in school. Some kids would drop out of school if the only incentive to keep them in school was academics. Some schools and their boosters pump a lot of money into the programs, but even as much as the sports programs are thriving, the school budgets still suffer.
I was a substitute for a high school drama teacher last spring. She had a volunteer assistant who came in a couple days a week assisting as a drama coach. I chatted with him one day and found out he was a retired University of Oregon professor and experienced in writing, directing and acting professionally. The high school students respected his advice and in short, loved him. He said in the school district, they were cutting programs and the students suffered. This school had a drama budget with money for stage props, supplies, printing and other necessities crucial to a drama program. Classes were offered in all areas of drama, not just acting, but lighting, makeup, and other areas where students could gain valuable experience in professional theater, which was an area where many students aspired. At some point during the school year, the money dropped below an acceptable level, but then their big production (a modernized version of As You Like It) opened and ticket sales replenished the coffers and the drama department geared up for next year. Should this program be cut? NO! It is self-supporting, students love it, and best of all, students are learning valuable skills.
I think more programs could support themselves without tax dollars. Some students participate in classes formerly known as Home Economics, now known as Culinary Arts. Students learn how to cook. Many times they use teachers as testers for their creations. When I was student teaching, I got to taste and rate many items. Occasionally the culinary arts class cooked dinner for programs at the school. I thought they should set aside a day where teachers and students could sign up for lunch and the culinary arts students could cook it. I would happily pay for a culinary arts class meal. Most of the food I tested was delicious and often the aromas coming from the culinary arts kitchen made my mouth water. Again, this would be something that could support the program. Aside from just making money for a cooking class, there could also be a focus on the economics side of such a thing. Teach students how to create budgets for a coffee shop or restaurant and use the culinary arts program as a model.
Schools should create mini-budgets for special programs and then allow those programs to become self-supporting. I do not know if this will work, but progressive thinking should be the norm. When schools can prove programs work and are bringing much needed money into the school, then no one should complain about the future of special programs.
Before people complain about how the system works, perhaps new and innovative ideas would give a boost to public education and make it more relevant, something everyone can appreciate in difficult financial times.
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