One Student’s Poetical Response to the Bottom Line
Governor Rendell says he won’t budge on his budgetary position with respect to education. He believes that Pennsylvanians have benefitted by student achievement in test scores and by schools increasing their AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress). ''We've come so far, we've come so fast,'' Rendell said. ''Why would we think for a minute we would stop this progress?'' Meanwhile, the state budget is months overdue, and education continues to be a mainstay of contention.
Opponents to Gov. Rendell’s proposal say that PA’s share of stimulus money from the federal government will only require about half of what Rendell is asking for education. They assume that as things recover, more money can be allocated. However, even if that happens, property taxes may have to be raised to make up the difference.
The chief political irritant seems to be the age-old argument over whether more money equates with better educational achievement. Some people still believe that implementing ideology should be free. That once teachers and administrators are in place, and books and schools have been purchased, then education becomes putting to use good ideas. And, ideas don’t cost money, right?
We can “make do” with what we have, and if you’re a good teacher, you should be able to adjust the way you teach to accommodate change in educative trends. What most don’t realize is that additional professional development must occur to ensure success. Thing is, most training receives very limited resources.
To add to Pennsylvania’s educational woes, public schools alone will benefit. According to the Institute for Public Policy for the PA Catholic Conference, “although funding for public schools is proposed to increase, deep cuts are proposed for the few education budget line items that benefit nonpublic school students. An 11.8% cut is proposed for textbooks, materials and equipment, and services to nonpublic schools.”
Further, while Governor Rendell and our representatives are at a stalemate, which may last until next spring, money is not going to schools to purchase necessities to aid students and teachers in the classroom. And, non-public schools are at a particular disadvantage with their prospects looking even dimmer.
Noam Chomsky, one of the fathers of modern linguistics, states in his “The Responsibility of Intellectuals” that “intellectuals are in a position to expose . . . government . . . their causes and motives and often hidden intentions. In the western world, at least, they have the power that comes from political liberty, from access to information and freedom of expression.”
Olivia Harper Wilkins, junior at Delone Catholic High School, writes a poem in response to all the political fallout as she has experienced it. Here, a person who is supposed to be the focus of all budgetary concerns, a student, reveals who gets hurt the most when all sides cannot agree to support our most precious resource and best investment for our collective future.
This Poem might not be Politically Correct, but neither is the Governor
It’s been two weeks.
I couldn’t go to camp this summer
because the governor
is cutting back on programs
while wasting more on toys.
When the middle class
will finally be repaid,
the rug is pulled out
from under their feet.
They can’t reap
the once available benefits
that would enrich the future
of the state
while the policemen
get a new playground
hidden
in the middle of nowhere.
It’s been five weeks.
I’m sitting in the lecture hall
listening to the speaker
as he explains the correlation
between the free enterprise system
and the government
and how small businesses
would suffer
from tax increases
and new healthcare policies.
They are safe for now
because the budget
is still unsettled.
If I were five weeks late
to hand in a report,
I’d be failing high school.
It’s unconstitutional.
I’d be in jail.
Yet he is above the law,
choosing his own paycheck
and deadlines
and only helping
himself in Philadelphia.
It’s been seven weeks.
The books haven’t come in
so I can’t embrace things
like vocabulary
and Spanish
because my school
doesn’t have
enough money
to purchase new textbooks
with their own savings.
Only 600 or so people
rely on the administration
and they still have their budget
established on time.
Over 12 million people
rely on the state government;
however, they can’t settle
their disputes
by the deadline.
Put them in jail,
give them an “F”.
Used car salesmen should not be governors.
Please send comments and your poetry to michaeljhoover@gmail.com. Critique starts up Sept. 21 at The Reader’s Café, 7:30-9:30. Fourth Monday series kicks off on Sept. 28, 7:30, with Marilyn Tenenoff from Harrisburg.
Governor Rendell says he won’t budge on his budgetary position with respect to education. He believes that Pennsylvanians have benefitted by student achievement in test scores and by schools increasing their AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress). ''We've come so far, we've come so fast,'' Rendell said. ''Why would we think for a minute we would stop this progress?'' Meanwhile, the state budget is months overdue, and education continues to be a mainstay of contention.
Opponents to Gov. Rendell’s proposal say that PA’s share of stimulus money from the federal government will only require about half of what Rendell is asking for education. They assume that as things recover, more money can be allocated. However, even if that happens, property taxes may have to be raised to make up the difference.
The chief political irritant seems to be the age-old argument over whether more money equates with better educational achievement. Some people still believe that implementing ideology should be free. That once teachers and administrators are in place, and books and schools have been purchased, then education becomes putting to use good ideas. And, ideas don’t cost money, right?
We can “make do” with what we have, and if you’re a good teacher, you should be able to adjust the way you teach to accommodate change in educative trends. What most don’t realize is that additional professional development must occur to ensure success. Thing is, most training receives very limited resources.
To add to Pennsylvania’s educational woes, public schools alone will benefit. According to the Institute for Public Policy for the PA Catholic Conference, “although funding for public schools is proposed to increase, deep cuts are proposed for the few education budget line items that benefit nonpublic school students. An 11.8% cut is proposed for textbooks, materials and equipment, and services to nonpublic schools.”
Further, while Governor Rendell and our representatives are at a stalemate, which may last until next spring, money is not going to schools to purchase necessities to aid students and teachers in the classroom. And, non-public schools are at a particular disadvantage with their prospects looking even dimmer.
Noam Chomsky, one of the fathers of modern linguistics, states in his “The Responsibility of Intellectuals” that “intellectuals are in a position to expose . . . government . . . their causes and motives and often hidden intentions. In the western world, at least, they have the power that comes from political liberty, from access to information and freedom of expression.”
Olivia Harper Wilkins, junior at Delone Catholic High School, writes a poem in response to all the political fallout as she has experienced it. Here, a person who is supposed to be the focus of all budgetary concerns, a student, reveals who gets hurt the most when all sides cannot agree to support our most precious resource and best investment for our collective future.
This Poem might not be Politically Correct, but neither is the Governor
It’s been two weeks.
I couldn’t go to camp this summer
because the governor
is cutting back on programs
while wasting more on toys.
When the middle class
will finally be repaid,
the rug is pulled out
from under their feet.
They can’t reap
the once available benefits
that would enrich the future
of the state
while the policemen
get a new playground
hidden
in the middle of nowhere.
It’s been five weeks.
I’m sitting in the lecture hall
listening to the speaker
as he explains the correlation
between the free enterprise system
and the government
and how small businesses
would suffer
from tax increases
and new healthcare policies.
They are safe for now
because the budget
is still unsettled.
If I were five weeks late
to hand in a report,
I’d be failing high school.
It’s unconstitutional.
I’d be in jail.
Yet he is above the law,
choosing his own paycheck
and deadlines
and only helping
himself in Philadelphia.
It’s been seven weeks.
The books haven’t come in
so I can’t embrace things
like vocabulary
and Spanish
because my school
doesn’t have
enough money
to purchase new textbooks
with their own savings.
Only 600 or so people
rely on the administration
and they still have their budget
established on time.
Over 12 million people
rely on the state government;
however, they can’t settle
their disputes
by the deadline.
Put them in jail,
give them an “F”.
Used car salesmen should not be governors.
Please send comments and your poetry to michaeljhoover@gmail.com. Critique starts up Sept. 21 at The Reader’s Café, 7:30-9:30. Fourth Monday series kicks off on Sept. 28, 7:30, with Marilyn Tenenoff from Harrisburg.