The other day the deadline for protesting your local property tax passed. These taxes mainly fund the local school district.
Confession: I always protest my tax evaluation. Not because I hate education, or don’t want to pay my fair share. I just work damn hard for what I have and have no wish to just simply give it away.
This got me thinking of an online discussion awhile back that I was following.
One person took the view that all public education was a waste of tax money. Summarizing his viewpoints, he felt that the system was fundamentally broken, public school teachers were lazy and over coddled by a powerful union which refused any attempts at reform or accountability, illegal aliens are taking advantage of our generosity and diluting the level of education for other kids, and that the only solution that politicians could come up with was to throw more money at the problem. Finally he opined that the public school system should be shuttered and that only private schools should exist.
I normally do not step into online discussions. I have had a long and sorry history with these. I participated in the flame wars of the 90’s and I know from experience that these type of discussions eventually degenerate into ad hominem attacks. Sometimes though I still get pulled in.
My own history with public education is not all that great. When my family arrived in Houston in late ’77 we went looking for a school for me. I should preface this with the facts that in Bogota, where I had previously lived, that I had attended a bilingual kindergarten and I had a smattering of English. Not enough to converse but enough to understand some things.
Back in Houston we found the local public elementary school. My parents and I went in and sat down with the registrar. She asked them if I could understand English and they admitted that I knew very little. She looked down at me and said “He will have to sit at the back of the class and be quiet.” I will remember that moment for the rest of my life.
Perhaps it was a sense of self preservation, or perhaps it was the very first adult decision that I ever took. I told my parents that I did not want to attend that school.
They eventually found a private school, Ascension Episcopal, where a kindly teaching assistant took the extra time to basically teach me English and catch me up with the other kids. I seriously doubt that I would have received that level of extra care from the other school.
Eventually I did enter the public school system but only after I had caught up to the kids in my grade level and could compete on even terms.
I should be bitter and agree with the individual above about public schools but here is why I don’t.
As a nation we are living in a time of tremendous challenges and opportunities. Trading partners are emerging as powerful rivals, old time allies are not as tractable as before and are trying to do what’s best for them, and enemies are becoming more sophisticated and organized. It’s a leaner, meaner world that we live in.
Why then are we indulging the luxury of not utilizing every resource that we possibly can to keep or even enhance the standard of living that we enjoy?
We live in an age where the knowledge and the service economic sectors are the becoming the primary economic engines, at least for this country. This is not the simple age that my parents grew up in where a man could walk in off the street and take up a trade to support his family.
The next generation is going to need all the educational resources that it can get its hands on just to stay competitive around the world. America will need everyone on board and bailing just to keep the ship afloat.
From an altruistic viewpoint you should want to help your fellow man and should be happy to give them an opportunity to better their lot in life. From a pragmatic standpoint we need to take individuals that could potentially be liabilities and make them into resources.
Now, do I believe the current system to be perfect or even good? No, of course not. The educational system is fragmented, corrupt, and profligate. But just because it has problems is no reason to end it.
To be brutally honest you can either spend your tax dollars supporting education and turning out the next generation of innovators, leaders, and fellow tax payers or you can spend your tax dollars for police protection from the next generation of street criminals and thugs.
I know which future I would rather fund.
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