Free College?

Why do we have public education?  Seriously.  Why?  And why provide it essentially from age 5-18?  Again, it is a serious question.  Obviously, it is not free.  We provide teachers who incur salaries and benefits in buildings that are particularly expensive.  Then there are books and supplies.  All of which cost serious money (even if less than one might reasonably expect)... money that comes from the general public in the form of taxes.  We don't tax only those who are parents... why?  Why should I pay taxes to send someone else's children to school?  I'm finished raising children.  I paid for mine (and my own extended education).

I pay taxes to support education because I want to live in a society wherein the citizens are educated at least enough to be contributing members of society.  We provide education for our children because we require at least a minimally educated population or things get very ugly very fast.  So why through age 18?  I would argue that education has historically been provided in the amount required for an individual to be a productive member of society.  For a long time - during the agricultural age, 8th grade was enough.  That meant an individual could read and do enough math to be sure they weren't getting cheated when they sold a cow at market and that they could make reasonably informed decisions at the ballot box after making judgments regarding the claims of politicians.  We provided that for every child in every family and the broader society absorbed the costs.  An individual family that wanted to send their child further could do so on their own dime but the minimum was provided "free."  A child with an 8th grade education could become a fully functional and contributing member of society.  He or she could have a family, a home, and make a contribution.

When the industrial age took hold and life became more and more technical, 8th grade was no longer enough.  More complicated math was often required.  The world was becoming smaller so citizens needed to be able to reason a bit more to understand international issues.  One needed to read better to be able to understand manuals for complicated machinery.  As a society we added 4 years to what was provided "free."  It was clear that 8 grades was not enough but 12 seemed to meet the requirements.  A high school diploma was enough.  Again, a family that wanted to send their children to college or technical school could do so, but society both required and funded through high school.  An individual with a high school diploma could make a good living, raise a family, be a part of society...

A high school diploma is no longer enough.  The vast majority of jobs available to an individual with only a high school diploma could just as easily be done by a machine and it takes more training than just high school to run those machines.  We also live in a world that is becoming more and more complicated and ignorant populations do not make wise decisions.  Either college or technical education after high school is required for an individual to become a fully functional member of society.  If we as a nation do not provide those educational requirements, we run the risk of having a larger and larger underclass without any ability or hope of ever becoming a fully functioning member of the society.  That is a recipe for disaster.

So... Bernie Sander's call for "free" public education is not a pie in the sky dream.  It is a requirement for a healthy society.  "But it is so expensive.  Where will we get the money to pay for it?"  We get the money to pay for the things we think are important.  When the government decided we needed to go to war in Iraq & Afghanistan, almost nobody asked how we would pay for it.  When my county decided they needed a new county jail, questions of money came up but almost nobody seriously said, "let's leave the criminals on the streets."  So where do we get the money?  Raise taxes?  Perhaps.  Cut the military?  Perhaps.  Make it happen one way or another?  Absolutely.

Now how about the folk who incurred huge debts at exorbitant interest rates in order to become fully functioning members of society - taking on costs that the broader society took on in the past?  I would argue that at the very least, the government should take over the private loans and convert all student loans to 0% interest.  They aren't charging that much more than that to big banks that borrow money from the government... why not free a generation of young adults from that burden, allowing them to truly become fully functioning?

I'm embarassed

I was looking at some friend's blogs today and visited Fernando's Desk. He had a link to a test that looks at your blog and assesses the reading level. Fernando blogs on some fairly sophisticated theological topics but his still came out as a high school reading level.

Mine on the other hand came out as junior high!

My only comment is that the test must know some junior highs that I've never met.

Christmas giving

Back in seminary my Hebrew professor once mentioned meeting an elderly man in Egypt who was illiterate in 7 languages. He was making a comment on our US education where we don't learn languages. It has often come back to me as a lesson regarding those who are able to learn without formal opportunities.

While in India, we encountered a number of children begging who were fluent in multiple languages. Most of the time we saw them, they should have been in school but instead were out trying to work the tourists to stay alive. I found myself wondering what would become of them... and what could become of them if they had the opportunity for education.

Some months ago I remember vaguely hearing about some Silicon Valley types dreaming about a $200 laptop that would run via a crank and bring wireless computing to children in the developing world. It sounded like a good idea but it seemed a bit crazy and impractical. Well, they have done it! Check out this link to learn about the project.
and this link to give a laptop to a child in the developing world. Plus, if you do it before November 26, for a donation of $399, one XO laptop will be sent to empower a child in a developing nation and one will be sent to a child in your life in recognition of your contribution. $200 of your donation is tax-deductible (your $399 donation minus the fair market value of the XO laptop you will be receiving). Plus Tmobile with give you one year of free wifi access.

Wanna know what is on my Christmas list? One XO laptop fr a child somewhere in the world who's name I will never know.

India

My daughter, Alexis, is working on a masters degree in the international studies department at UCSB and has been looking for a place to do some required international work. Door after door seemed to close in front of her and I was more than a little worried that nothing would come together. She wasn't concerned. She reminded us that doors open when they are supposed to. An example took place during her undergraduate work. One week, a speaker from The Institute for European and Social Studies in Szombatheley, Hungary spoke at her school and impressed her. Within a few weeks, she was in Hungary for a semester. It turned out to be a formative time for her.

She seems to have done it again. This time in a place equally as surprising. Alexis is headed to the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution in Chandigarh, India. Assuming that she can work out the visa issues, she'll be there in about 6 weeks. The current plan is that she'll spend about 6 weeks in Chandigarh and then move on to Delhi for about 5 more months.

I have to say that the possibilities both excite and frighten me... it is amazing how much smaller the world is than when I was her age, how many more opportunities there are, and the possibilities for growth and for making a difference in the world.