I Went to a Job Faire Today for Teachers

Last year about a thousand teachers in attendance, this year's attendance seemed to double that. Schools in California are ranked 47th in the nation in per student spending. Pretty poor for the nation's richest state! I read a report a few years ago stating that if California were a nation, it would have been the seventh wealthiest nation in the world! And we can't make our students a high enough priority to at least put them somewhere above average?! Much less at the top?

I think our state spends too much money trying to take care of every last need, to the point that now we can't balance our budget. While I have nothing against taking care of people, we have to make sure that welfare of the state is met in the process. We can't do everything that makes us feel good. We can't pay for everyone's college, including illegal immigrants, as I've heard suggested. We have to meet the needs, basic needs, of citizens first. Make sure we have a healthy budget, that income exceeds expenditures (creating income that won't frighten off business) so we can meet obligations. Then we look at what we can do to lend a hand, not just hand out to everyone.

I get the sense from time to time, that what used to be considered as privilege is now seen as entitlement. I see raising a generation of people with the sense of entitlement is very dangerous. People who feel entitled to something don't feel the need to work for anything, and they don't feel they should have to wait for anything. And I believe people who feel entitled to something are much more likely to take what they feel entitled to if it is not given to them.

Another sad thing about our state's budget... education is about 40% of the state's budget, the single largest expense in the state. Where does that money go, that this state is 47th in the nation on per student spending? How do we fix this? A lot of teachers are already having to look at other districts for work because they have received pink slips. Many districts in my area don't know what their funding will look like for next year until several months from now, at least.

At what cost do we gamble with the education of our children? How long will this state be blessed with the dedication and self sacrifice I have seen in the teachers who teach our children?