Investing in the Future....

This blog is a reprint of a post I wrote on  February 27, 2012.  I changed the title for this reprinting because of a major legislative issue making the headlines in Missouri news. HB253 will benefit only the very wealthy in Missouri and will be harmful to public schools as well as every other program in Missouri  that receives state funding. 

Each of us must be diligent to devote the time required to research this issue rather than let our minds "latch on" to the first well-done commercial or catchy headline we see. We are bombarded with so much information every time we turn on the computer or walk by a television that happens to be on hitting us with 15 second sound bytes of information, that it's difficult to focus on the actual issues at hand.

With so much information out there, it's difficult to sort fact from fiction, but it's vital that conscientious citizens take responsibility and base their decisions on factual information. When you've finished reading this, whether you are a fellow Missourian, or not, I encourage you to visit http://www.missourifuture.net/ and take a look at the information provided there as well as the list of groups and associations who are committed to making good things happen for the kids of Missouri! 

We are at a crossroads in Missouri.  We must  put divisions aside and make the effort to do what's best for everyone concerned, especially when it involves our children....our future.

Here's the blog....

Let us not be content to wait and see what will happen,

but give us the determination to make the right things happen 

-- Peter Marshall

Over the years, I've spent quite a bit of time as an advocate for public education.  I do this because I believe, as many of our founding fathers did, that an uneducated public is a quick way to put an end to a free society. I do this because I have grandchildren who will attend public schools.  I do this because I want to remind our legislators that when they appropriate money for public education, it's not "paying for" education for our students, it's "investing in the education of" our students.

And, let's just talk about the "return on investment" when it comes to our kids! 

The students enrolled in our high schools right now will be the teachers, doctors, truck drivers, law enforcement officers, soldiers, parents, farmers, engineers, business owners and a myriad of other professionals who  will be the first in line to take the torch of leadership from our generation.  As we "age out" of the work force and "into" retirement, home health care, nursing homes, hospitals and assisted living communities, it is the students we're investing in right now who will "run the show"!

I want them to do well!

I have been very busy, personally and professionally, but when it comes to doing what's right for the 900,000 children in the state of Missouri, I feel a strong sense of urgency when it comes to legislative issues affecting education!  I think they are worth the investment!

At the Missouri School Boards Association Governmental Relations Center, in Jefferson City, there is a quote on the wall that reads: "Education is the foundation of democracy."  This quote, long attributed to Thomas Jefferson sums up my strong feelings regarding public education. 

Thomas Jefferson believed in a society where talent and virtue should be educated regardless of wealth, birth or any other condition.  He believed that democracy could not long exist without education. He believed the education of our children should come at the common expense of our people. He also believed that without wise elected officials at every level, our education system could not thrive. 

Thomas Jefferson saw public education, quite literally, as the means of insuring political liberty for every generation!

My challenge to you is to go online right now and start gathering information about legislation you're interested in. Whether it's education, [such as the issue I mentioned earlier] or another area that affects your life,  see to it that your voice is heard in your state capitol and in the nation's capitol. Develop a determination within you to give your best, do your best, and to encourage others to do the same.

Blessings!

Sharon

Some good sites to visit if you're interested in the education of our future leaders.

http://www.missourifuture.net/

http://www.msbanet.org/

http://www.mo.gov/

http://dese.mo.gov/

http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/

http://www.usa.gov/

Make the right things happen...

“Let us not be content to wait and see what will happen,  but give us the determination to make the right things happen.” --Horace Mann

Born in 1796, Horace Mann is considered to be one of our nation's first education reformers.  He believed that "universal public education was the best way to turn the nation's unruly children into disciplined, ...judicious citizens." Mann served as state representative, senator, and Secretary of the State Board of Education in Massachusetts and went on to serve that state in the United States House of Representatives.  A well-educated man, and brother-in-law to famed  writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, he placed a great deal of value on education and believed heartily in public support of local schools that should be made available to the masses. He believed that children should be educated and that such education should be provided by an interested public.  To that end, Mann worked to improve many facets of education.  He was a supporter of higher pay for teachers, quality training for teachers, a broader curriculum for all students, and  he believed the American people should provide "more and better equipped school houses." Over the decades that have come and gone, those same values are just as true today as they were then.  As a matter of fact, with the advances of technology and the sheer amount of information our students and teachers are responsible for, it is even more true today!   We must be able to pay high-quality teachers enough to attract them to the profession and keep them there.   We must continually update curriculum to be certain our children are learning the right things at the right time in their academic careers. And, we must take the responsibility of building and maintaining our public school "houses" to the highest standards available.  Those school "houses" are the living and learning environment for our children for a majority of their days.  To learn and achieve at the levels expected of them, our school "houses" must be safe, clean and comfortable.  It makes sense that when a student has a great environment to learn in, and great teachers to lead them to become learners, they will succeed in life. Tomorrow is Election Day in my home town of Houston, Missouri,  and there is an issue on the ballot that will make a difference in the future of our city, the surrounding community, and most importantly, it will make a difference in the lives of our children.  It is an instance in time when a "YES" vote will have an immediate and far-reaching affect on our future.   The passage of this particular school bond issue will make it possible to improve the learning environment for our students, so I hope that when my fellow citizens head to the polls tomorrow they think like Horace Mann and have a "determination to make the right things happen" for our most important commodity -- our children! Blessings, Sharon