Education shapes our future
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Editor,
Lost jobs and low wages in our communities place tremendous stress on families. Children who are stressed do not learn well and often behave aggressively and defiantly. So, naturally, demands on public schools and their resources have risen sharply.
Public schools are crucial among societal safety nets. Most nets, such as food stamps, heating subsidies and Medicare, are aimed at immediate survival. But schools shape our children’s and also our own future. We need to find ways to fund schools adequately and reliably.
Conservative columnist David Brooks recently said that the central fact of education is that people learn from people they love. The foundation of success in school is teachers’ relationships with the children and families they serve.
Schools can support children and families in these times of stress, but it will require smaller class sizes, and caring professional educators. Imagine if you will, a kindergarten class of 26 new learners versus one of 20 or 18. Any educator will tell you the difference six or eight students make in a class. Happiness and learning go hand-in-hand for children. Adequate funding is necessary to make this a reality.
As a community, we need to be assured that schools value our children’s authentic growth and happiness over mandated standardized test scores. If children are happy and learning to think, collaborate, question, evaluate, research, and communicate, then they will be prepared for life and test scores will inevitably rise.
And most definitely, we need to send folks to Helena who will advocate for our children and provide adequate and reliable public school funding. Only then can Montana’s future be assured.
Nancy Lindsey
Polson
