Education… Fund It!
Let’s fund education to support our teachers and create inspiring learning environments for our students.
Well it is that time of year again in Iowa when the legislature and Facebook blows up about educational funding. After finishing up working on the February issue of The Little Hawk with a group of high school students I have come up with two reasons why we should fund education. I would also encourage everyone to read up on what has happened in Kansas and Michigan when education is defunded.
- Get Top Teachers and Keep Them
Attracting great teachers is key. Entry level salaries for teachers are well below an average college graduate. Let’s really talk about the myths and facts about teacher salaries. To keep them keep class sizes low. Low pay and class sizes over thirty is not a good combo.
2. Inspire Students with Learning Spaces
Great learning spaces help produce great products. Let’s get business like and take a look at the product high school journalism programs are producing all the over country in the JEA Flipboard Magazine. Also take a look at the state of art tech classrooms that modern journalism programs are using to produce such amazing content. Well funded, mostly by private donations and grants, as we all know that money can’t help students learn (sarcasm). If schools aren’t funded inspiring spaces to learn will not be created.
I am lucky to have a pretty good classroom built for students to use technology to produce publications, but it is mind blowing what has been built at the Palo Alto Media Arts Center and the Kirkwood Call’s media lab.
In these spaces students write stories about their school, and community to inform and entertain. Localizing national issues and in general trying to make the world a better place, while developing their writing, digital media, and communication skills. Skills that students have used to go on to become lawyers, doctors, app developers, graphic designers, and even journalists.
These start of the art facilities are giving students the skills needed to succeed and inspiring them to want to come to school.
That’s it. Let’s fund education to support our teachers and create inspiring learning environments for our students.
