Funding the Change For the Educational Systems of Tomorrow
The importance of early childhood development and all the government funding that will be funneled to new and old programs is a hot topic of discussion right now. Over the next few years the US government is promising to send billions of dollars to retool and update the education system as we know it today into a more efficient and effective system for our kids today and for future generations. That’s a lot of pressure when you think of it that way.
So what are some of the more popular talking points when it comes to restructuring our education system and development of our children? There is a lot of emphasis being put on expanding and more funding to programs like Head Start and other early childhood development programs like pre-school for all kids. Also the increase of charter schools to give parents and kids more options in their local neighborhoods. Early childhood schooling is not the only focus of all this new government funding.
There are also discussions on how to improve the quality of our teachers with the general consensus being some sort of system based on merit and performance. A system based on performance would seem like a no brainer to me especially when it comes to creating an environment that inspires teachers to do better for the kids they teach. As long as the system comes from the discussion of all parties involved and not just a system that is pushed on the teachers unions by the government.
I think one thing that I have seen being discussed that could have an immediate effect if put into place is changing the time frame of the traditional school year of September to June. A three month break is way too long and from an era of days gone by. To give our kids every opportunity the basics of the school system will need to change. Perhaps rearranging the school schedules to have a few shorter breaks every ten weeks instead of one long break in the middle of the summer. Three months away from the education system can not be helpful to a kids retention levels for what they are learning.
Now these points of early childhood programs like Head Start, pay scales based on performance, pre-school for all kids and longer school days or school schedules are just a few of the directions that all this new government funding is being thrown at. The question that a lot of people have with all this talk of change for the education systems is how can we count on the government to make these changes. People have every reason to have a certain level of skepticism when you consider that the failing public school system that we have in place now is a product of the same government that is promising us all these changes. I guess it will be a matter of wait and see how all this new funding for early childhood programs, new schools and teachers pay will play out for our children and their future.
