Education

¿Hablas Ingles? English as a Second Language

¿Hablas Ingles? English as a Second Language

The first day of school can be tough. A new classroom, teacher and classmates can be a bit intimidating. But have you ever thought about the kids who don’t speak English as their first language?  Imagine your first day at school as a non-native English speaker. Not only do you have to keep up with the schoolwork, but you also have to understand the language.  Many students in the U.S. experience this on a daily basis. …

Public Schools vs. Charter Schools

Public Schools vs. Charter Schools

A sort of epic teaching battle for who can produce the best students. Charter schools have become the modern rival of public schools. The conversation has turned even uglier as Teachers Unions take charge and outright defame charter schools, with efforts to remove these entities from particular states all together. I think it’s time we call for some peace. …

Unfair School Funding

Unfair School Funding

In the U.S. school funding comes from a combination of three main sources. This balance varies from state to state, but on average it rounds to about 10% federal money, 45% from the state, and 45% local property taxes. The leading cause for our wide variation of poor and well education across school districts is our latter contributor, property taxes. Property values vary tremendously from neighborhood to neighborhood, district to district; and with them, tax revenues range far and wide just as well. …

Unfair Funding - Part 2

Unfair Funding - Part 2

In 2016, National Public Radio (NPR) released a report titled Why America's Schools Have A Money Problem. It generated a lot of talk among educators and well-concerned Americans alike. The report accompanied the following graph depicting the blatant problem with school funding across the nation: …

Unfair Funding - Part 3

Unfair Funding - Part 3

The problem is clearly staring us all in the eye, but lawmakers refuse to see education as an importance that requires equal protections and funding. In 1973, San Antonio Independent School District vs. Rodriguez made it to the U.S. Supreme Court. The plaintiff, Demetrio P. Rodriguez, argued that any school funding system that depends on local property tax revenue is fundamentally unfair to poorer districts. Rodriguez’s sons attended an elementary school where the third floor had been condemned. It lacked books and many of the teachers weren’t certified.