Parents, here's an assignment for 2010-11 | Editorial | Idaho Statesman
As a new school year begins, things are anything but old school. Teachers will likely have more students, more tests to grade - and less time for one-on-one attention. Bus routes may be more circuitous and less convenient. Field trips? Don't get your hopes up.
After two years of budget cuts, this is the school year when reality hits.
It's too early to gauge the effects. After all, classes are starting today in Boise and will start Monday in Meridian, while Nampa begins its second week of school today. Meanwhile, Idaho's colleges and universities have just started fall semester.
However, it is high time to issue a challenge - or assign some homework.
Mom, Dad, your kids need you to be engaged and involved. Your neighborhood school needs you too. So does your favorite college - and not just on game day.
Parental involvement has never been more important.
• Be an informed consumer. School districts have an almost impossible task: figuring out how to absorb a $128.5 million state budget cut. Some help is on the way, in the form of $51.6 million from the feds - but districts are just starting to decide how (and when) to spend the newly approved funding.
No such luck for universities that are cutting $48.2 million in this year's budget, with no 11th-hour offset from Uncle Sam.
Do you think these folks have an easy or enviable job? Of course not. They're trying to limit the short-term pain, while trying to focus on the long term.
A little constructive criticism can help. Do you think art, music or sports are "frills," or a must-have for a well-rounded education experience? Speak up. Is the new bus schedule a mess, or is it working better than you expected? Say so. Do you think this year's fees are reasonable, or way out of line? Don't be shy. Hey, it's your money.
Do your part, as an engaged taxpayer, to shape the way schools look this year - and when the revenue picture improves.
• Focus your frustrations. Easier said than done, when you've spent days playing phone tag with an overwhelmed teacher. Or when your child has to share an older textbook with a classmate.
If you're feeling frustrated, remember teachers have to work with every child who walks through the door - and schools can spend only the money they have. If you think the schools have been shortchanged, remember that on Election Day, and during the 2011 legislative session.
• Help out. Have you always meant to volunteer at your child's grade school? Or cut a much-needed (and tax-deductible) check for your alma mater? Can you think of a better time to turn good intentions into good deeds? No, we can't either.
Nobody likes a big homework assignment. But we should be able to agree that 2010-11 is no typical school year. New realities. New rules.
"Our View" is the editorial position of the Idaho Statesman. It is an unsigned opinion expressing the consensus of the Statesman's editorial board. To comment on an editorial or suggest a topic, e-mail editorial@idahostatesman.com.
This is exactly why I think education needs to be decentralized and made more convenient (and useful) for students, teachers, and parents alike. (Also, I'd like to see it be less of a 5-18/22/24 endeavor and more of a lifelong pursuit, but that's another post altogether. :))
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