Cutting Back on Education

The recession is causing our nation to cut back on a lot of things, but there is one thing I thought would not face major budget cuts, something that is vital to the future of our country. This is education. It turns out that I was wrong. Schools have been affected nationwide, but California and the poor neighborhoods of Los Angeles have been hit especially hard. One L.A. School in Watts had to lay off half of its staff, with more to be laid off this summer. About 2,000 personnel have been laid off Districtwide. One class in this same school has had no less than ten different teachers throughout the year. Surely not much can be accomplished under these circumstances, how would you feel if every time a teacher was about to learn your name a new teacher came the next day? Due to these setbacks in the education budget, student's learning is limited.

Luckily, I am not the only person who thinks what is going on in these schools is wrong. While these L.A. students along with others suffer, not much has changed at New Trier. The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, is trying to stop this unfair education. They filed a lawsuit, alleging that the teacher layoffs are a constitutional violation of these inner city students right to an education. The neighborhoods in which these schools lie are full of poverty and gang violence. Without the children of these areas receiving a proper education, there is little chance of the neighborhoods improving.