Dear Editor:
My name is Conor Gormally and I’m an 8th grade at Washington Middle School in Seattle. I have been reading your publication (editor’s note: we have not published a paper in almost 3 years) and I would like to hare my opinion on why our revised state and federal budgets both now and in the future should not include cuts in education.
Washington state’s recent budget deficit was over $4.8 billion dollars and the state legislature was considering making some major cuts to education. I was appalled to hear this. As we are slowly recovering from this recession, the education of the next generation of thinkers, innovators, teachers and leaders should be the highest priority. If our generation is not readily equipped to tackle the issues of the future, what can we say for the generation after ours?
This also applies to advance learning programs. The APP (Advanced Placement Program) at my school was barely able to escape budget cuts this time around. Youths, when allowed to learn at an accelerated and challenging pace, can become smarter students, people and problem solvers.
With all of the budget cuts, schools are becoming unable to give teachers that account for yearly inflation and even have to ask them to do more with no pay. While much of learning is student initiated, it takes a good teacher to bring out the best is their students. If we can’t pay them well, then how can we assume their full and active participation and commitment to bettering education.?
The quality of education also applies to the economy. Even now, the lack of educated workers to fill important technical and administrative jobs is forcing companies to postpone new growth, pay higher wages, or settle for training someone who doesn’t know what they are doing. Our economy relies on the jobs that people with higher education hold.
We cannot afford to make major cuts to education in our budgets. The next generation will have even tougher problems to solve and we need to be prepared for the major problems that might and will occur in the future. Our economy, our country and our planet are depending on us.
Sincerely, Conor Gormally
Thank you for your letter Conor. I applaud your efforts and those of your teacher who is having your class to write to local media.
That said, as a word of advice, this is 2012 – please send any future correspondence or submissions by email. Many media outlets would be happy to post or print your letter – but you should try to make it easy on them. Nobody has the time or desire to retype submissions.
FYI – our submission guidelines can be found here on the site.