Focus on Lower Education

The Texas educational system is the in dumps and it’s no wonder that Texas has such a high number of high school drop outs. A lot of focus is given to the Texas higher educational system, but I think a spotlight should be put on lower education.

I work at a public elementary school in a lower income neighborhood and have seen first hand how children in these areas are put at an initial educational disadvantage. How can children do well in high school or college when they were not given a good foundation in elementary school? The options and opportunities these kids are given are dismal.

For instance, most fifth graders at my school have the option to choose between two middle schools, though both are rampant with gang activity and recruitment. They have the option to have their elementary school classes in Spanish if that is their native tongue, but once they get to middle school all classes are in English, and, if a student is not yet fluent in English, then they are bound to fail. They have stressed teachers who are not paid anywhere near a decent salary, and in some cases there is no teacher at all for these students, just a permanent substitute.

This is not the situation that Texas children ought to be given. Texas direly needs to create better funding for its public schools. Better funding for lower education could create a safer environment for children. Greater resources combined with higher salaried teachers, who would be better able to focus on teaching these students and not on their own finances and well being, would have an enormous impact on these children’s lives.