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opinion guest_columns
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Forget Wall Street; Bail Out New Mexico's Schools
By Christine Trujillo
President, American Federation of Teachers-N.M.
Do you remember learning to read from the old “Dick and Jane” school texts? I do. The “Dick and Jane” stories featured Mother, Father, Dick, Jane, Sally and Spot. They were the perfect family with kids going to the perfect school. Dad carried a brown briefcase and mom cleaned house in a frilly apron and high heels.
Everyone was happy, and they didn't have to worry about anything. It was a world where the neighborhood didn't have people of color and they didn't speak different languages. Kids never threw tantrums, parents never yelled and Spot was obedient.
It was a life very different from mine with 16 kids helping our parents harvest potatoes each fall. We ate beans, potatoes and tortillas every day and wore hand-me-downs.
Dick, Jane and Sally had new clothes and shoes. Their schools lacked for nothing and each kid had his own book. The weather must have been perfect, too, because I don't recall reading about leaky roofs or classrooms being hot or cold. I never saw overcrowded classrooms, nor do I recall kids with special needs in those books. I remember that Dick didn't have test anxiety. I can't remember that Jane or Sally sold candy or gift wrap to raise money to pay for a school nurse.
As I got older I didn't give it much thought — until I started to teach. By that time schools didn't use Dick or Jane to inspire kids to read because so much had changed in the world when it came to teaching and learning.
The world had changed in other ways, too, or had it? When I taught school we always worried about having enough paper, textbooks and materials to do our work. We still continue to supplement the classroom needs out of our own pockets, or we ask parents to help subsidize our needs.
I can continue to go down memory lane about Dick and Jane and Sally and Spot, but we live in a world where our kids are Juan and Viviana and Natasha and Kareesha and they speak different languages. They weren't in the books I read, but they sure existed.
We live in a world where the economy has gone bust and everyone is wondering where their next meal is coming from. We can't forget that the many families that are struggling depend on public schools to help their kids aspire to do better than they did. They expect school to be a safe haven. Families depend on our schools and our educational employees to provide services other than academics because they can't. Frankly, they always have — whether it is getting their kids' eyes examined or jackets or clothes from the clothing bank.
So it really makes me angry that here in New Mexico, as in the rest of the country, we are struggling to fund our public schools sufficiently. It makes my blood boil to have the government come up with previously nonexistent money to bail out Wall Street in just a few weeks and yet public schools have struggled for so many years to find enough money to keep the doors open.
Public schools are being asked to fulfill the tasks that should be done by other components of society. I don't believe that anyone in our school system would ever begrudge our kids and when asked, somehow we have filled that void. I do, however, resent that the expectation to do everything is to be done on a “baloney budget.”
The New Mexico Education Partners have decided to take this challenge on — our first meeting is today in Santa Fe, and the theme is “60 Days Until the 60-Day Session.” The point is that the Legislature and the governor will have 60 days to fulfill our constitution's commitment to the children of New Mexico. Our goal is 60 teams from 60 districts.
If the government can find money for Wall Street, surely they can find the money to fund our schools sufficiently.
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