Found in Education: Run down schools in a rich nation

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A picture from Detroit's schools
In the United States there is an embarrassment of riches for some. The Koch brothers publicly pledged to spend(buy) $1 billion on the 2016 presidential election.  Forbes estimates Donald Trump's net worth at somewhere around $5.5 billion. But when it comes to education and the state of our schools, we as a nation are unequivocally resistant to taxing the wealthy and deeply investing in our schools. We pay our teachers worse than many other nations; we struggle to retain teachers; and we are not above berating teachers in the media.  But even if we don't care about the teachers(which we absolutely need to), you would think we would care about the children.

From @detroitteach on Twitter


In Detroit schools have mold, no play space, and missing textbooks.  A playground has been placed off limits due to spraying steam and leaking ooze which is presumed to be from the sewer.  And these conditions have been going on for years.

In North Carolina students go to schools without textbooks, and don't think these are replaced just by high-tech. In New Mexico students are attending schools with leaking roofs. The students were moved to the library where water has leaked into the lights, so the librarians won't turn on the lights. In Chicago and Detroit students attend classes with no heat.

And while none of these stories are truly new, the fact that we expect children to learn in unsafe conditions should put us all to shame. The failing infrastructure of schools and our inability to fix these issues is embarrassing in a country as rich as the United States. At what point is enough enough?  At what point do we put children first?  

 I wish I knew.

 Found in Education (F.I.E.) is a weekly blog post on education policy, teaching tips, products, and stories related to education that I find over the week.  See something I should know about? Please send your ideas.  Comment here or leave me a message on Facebook, on Twitter, on Pinterest, or at the store.

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