Dreams of a Mother: Education

I dream of a world where education is a top priority and the government puts its money where its mouth is. No more lame slogans without funds to back them up. No more impossible mandates.

What I dream of is simple: a world where I can send my children to our neighborhood schools, confident that they will be taught, nurtured and protected - no matter what neighborhood we live in.

My dreams extend to our nation's upper 2%: I dream that our nation's wealthy can keep more of their earnings, because the quality of our public schools is so high that they no longer feel the need to spend $30,000 per year per child for private education.

I dream of a world where teaching is respected as a profession; where teachers can earn as much as stockbrokers, because we, as a society, recognize that there is no investment as valuable as our children. They are our future.

I dream of a world where the schools are all clean and safe, where there are enough books for all the students, and desks and chairs for all of them, too.

I dream of a world where schools receive the funds they need to operate, including the money to buy sufficient supplies, so teachers don't have to dig into their own pockets to take care of the class. In my dream, school fundraisers finance extras, not necessities.

I dream of a world where schools once again have a full-time nurse on staff, so that children who need medical help receive it promptly. In my dream, when my child has a severe allergic reaction, the epi-pen will be administered by a professional, instead of an office clerk with spotty training.

I dream of a world where diversity is seen as an asset and not a problem. In that world, students who need to learn English are not marginalized. They are given time and resources and helped along. And in that world, English-speaking students also receive foreign language instruction, because they will need more than one language to succeed in our inter-connected global community.

I dream of a world where both my gifted child and learning-disabled child receive the services they need to thrive.

I dream of a world where my child can take an assessment test and be comfortable that it's just a test, and not a life-or-death situation. In my dream, my child's teachers aren't worried that they will lose their jobs if some kids don't do as well, so they don't have to spend weeks just preparing their classes to take the test (which makes the results less accurate). In this dream, my child doesn't lose sleep over taking the test, because the principal isn't worried that the school will lose funding if its API score drops.

I dream of a world where the drop-off rate plummets, because high school kids are engaged in their courses.

I dream of a world where I don't have to worry that my child will be a victim of violence at school. No teacher should ever feel unsafe at work, either.

I dream of a world where saving for college doesn't mean I won't have anything left for retirement.

In my dream, no child would be left behind -- for real.

Donna Schwartz Mills spent two years on staff at her daughter's public school. Read her takes on Los Angeles Unified and other topics at SoCal Mom.

Comments

[Debbie]

Beautifully said, Donna. Thank you.