Children in the Field School System would like to have an opportunity to learn and excel in school. I believe in the principal "you reap what you sow." I would like to thank all the hard working staff at the school that have poured their lives into offering a good education to the children in the community. I hope that the excellence ratings the school has received will be more than history. I hope that it will be a tradition that is carried on for the future children and grandchildren of this community.
The community must embrace the challenge that is being brought forward. The school needs funds to run and provide an excellent education. I want to believe that the community would support a levy that will provide for the needs of educating their children. Financial misfortunes and failures in the past have led to poor community support for additional funding. I don't believe it is the current administrations fault we find ourselves here. Unfortunately, without additional funding the school will only have a history of providing excellent educational opportunities.
Currently there is a blame game going on in the district of who is at fault for the current educational environment. The teachers threaten a strike, the board threatens cuts to ease the financial burden, and the community threatens no support for funding. If this community cannot come together soon we will see students that get a poor education and feel less valued. Will this lead to an increase in depression among the students and less desire to put forth effort to be successful? Will it be a less desireable community to live in? Will we see more students getting into the wrong crowd and/or threatening teachers? We tell the children we love them and then take away educational field trips to Washington, D.C. Since we seem to be forgetting about the values this country was founded on we might as well not value such an educational opportunity for our children. Is this community only willing to step up when it knows the State will take over if nothing is done?
The whole community (parents, citizens, board members, teachers, and administrators) must become accountable for the children for they are the future of the community. Levy after Levy for additional funds fail because the community is failing it's children, not because of administrative failures. Parents and citizens of the community whether or not they send children to Field, St. Joseph, St. Thomas, or elsewhere should consider their home values if they are not going to consider the value of each child in the community. Teachers please consider all those in the community that are not working or have taken pay cuts during this recession. School Board and Administrative Staff please recognize the need for additional funds so that our teachers are not one of the lowest paid in the county. We may need to explore new ways of raising funds.
A parking lot, a tennis court, or a new track will not improve our children's education. Let's forgo these projects and make sure the children are given good teachers and technologies to learn from. Wasteful spending will drive more people out of the district. Big buildings and nice facilities without an education to match is not a school. When I went to high school that school had a gravel drive, a cinder track, and no tennis team. This was two decades ago and I cannot see how that impaired my education.
This brings me to my main point. Parents, Citizens of the Community, Teachers, School Board Members and Administrative Staff need to quit keeping up with "The Jones." Valuing money, prestige, and popularity instead of the future of our children, our community and our wonderful nation will lead to a poor quality of life for future generations. A Community that is committed to a better life for its children will be a better community for its entire people. Think about what is good, the children, in our community and don't run from the problems and challenges we must face. Think about the great future we can create! We are each given such a small period of time to contribute to society so please get involved.
I hope my children will have greater opportunities to contribution to mankind than I have had. If our children are of little benefit to society what legacy have we left?