Education: The tree that always goes

White Poplars outside Adlai E. Stevenson High School in the midst of Spring

Every student is like a sapling, and through a proper education that sapling is turned into a might oak tree. Yet many saplings in America are thrown out into the world prematurely without receiving care of any sort, causing them to stay stagnant, wasting their potential. The latter scenario is the reality most students in impoverished areas face. Rejected by a system designed for the rich’s benefit, they’re thrown into the cold world while being miles behind their peers. This cycle continues and the potential of the sapling is lost, and the world will never see the oak tree within.

One of the reasons students in the poorest school districts are denied opportunities to succeed is because education isn’t listed by the constitution as a fundamental right. In the landmark case San Antonio v Rodriguez (1973), the plaintiff argued that a funding system based off property tax was inherently flawed and designed to continue the cycle of poverty. Those born in poorer areas generate low property taxes, which result in underfunded public schools, drowning them in poverty with no hand to reach out to. The ruling in this historic case was in favor of the defendants, as most supreme court justices believed education wasn’t a right guaranteed by the constitution, so the equal protection clause didn’t apply. This meant that states were left with the power to determine how public schools derived funding-property taxes being the most popular.

Yet in today’s age, education is akin to the water a flower needs to bloom. Those without access to an adequate K-12 program miss out on vital skills necessary to compete in the modern world. From reading and comprehensive skills to qualifications necessary to progress in a career, education is a necessity yet those who need it most to escape systematic oppression are robbed of it. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Thurgood wrote that the outcome of the case “can only be seen as a retreat from our historic commitment to equality of educational opportunity and as unsupportable acquiescence in a system which deprives children in their earliest years of the chance to reach their full potential as citizens.”

In a broader context, Thurgood’s sentiment holds true to the treatment of education in America. According to Closing America’s Education Funding Gaps written by the Century Foundation in 2020, America in underfunding education by $150 billion each year compared to what would be needed to ensure a quality education for all students enrolled in public schools. Despite the staggering amount needed to restore the system, little to no change has been made in decades. In fact, quite the opposite has happened! As if they’re trying to make a point, the government will throw money at the Department of Defense for overbudget projects despite how in need schools are of this money.

In fact, just recently, Representative Summer Lee pointed out in a congressional hearing that the military spends $41 million each year on Viagra….to put this into context there are schools that struggle to pay teachers, afford books, provide lunch, and yet $41 million on Viagra seems to be a reasonable expense to the government. All be it, $41 million is a drop in the bucket compared to what’s necessary, however $183 billion could go a long way. One of the military’s most overbudget projects, the F-35 Lightning II program, has put billions of dollars down the drain when that money could easily solve the education gap between the rich and the poor. Yet, in the eyes of the government, education isn’t a right, so such funding isn’t necessary.

Constantly we argue on issues of abortion or gun rights, yet no one truly advocates for the importance of education. Without it, we’d have a dysfunctional society not capable of progress of any kind.

A forest of grand oak trees holds up against the cruel climates of the world as opposed to a forest of saplings. We rob ourselves of a better world when we move education down the docket of priorities.

However, opponents of this policy would have a point and this policy could open pandora’s box. Many argue that by making education a right, we make empty promises as the government does not have the proper funds. The only solvency would be in theory and rhetoric as opposed to reality and execution.

  So, although education should be a right, we must first completely rework how schools derive funds to avoid exacerbating a defective system. I propose the following model: Rather than having property taxes going directly to the school district of that area, it goes to the state’s education department. Now the education department for each state can allocate the funding accordingly from this pool of funding, so that the per pupil spending is equal for all schools. Each state would be responsible for determining the required per pupil expenditure necessary to meet proper educational standards.

Now some would argue that those in richer areas would be discouraged from going to public schools and turn to private schools-allowing richer students to get a better education. However, this misses the point of my policy, by making education a right and implementing the suggested system it ensures that at the bare minimum the students of this nation receive a quality K-12 education.

It’s time we advocate for our right to an owed liberty long forgotten by the government. The current treatment education has received the direct cause for the class system that has been integrated in our society. Let’s eliminate oppression at any rate by making education a right and see to it that every sapling can grow as high as its ambition takes it…even if its to the cosmos and back.

Just how Spruce trees never lose their leaves despite the cold winds of the winter-one aught to stay consistent to their beliefs despite how hard the world can be…