With the economy in a very dire state, all areas are hurting. Businesses are hurting due to lack of revenue, families are hurting due to cuts in wages and employees, and schools are hurting due to lack of funding. Though topics such as unions and funding are commonly discussed in school-related other essays, I would like to provide teachers and parents with positive alternatives and a positive outlook for students from a student.
First off, I feel that much of the money could be applied to other outlets at the school. For example, my current high school tends to have both a class set of books as well as a home set for the students. This is because lockers were removed from the school after an overwhelming amount of vandalism and theft. In order to save money, I feel that only class sets and workbooks should be ordered. This would cut down spending on books and replacing old books extremely. Class sets would allow the students to interact with the material, and the teacher could use their wisdom and discretion about homework. One way to give students homework without checking a books with hundreds of pages is to have them copy down questions and use notes to answer them. This would eliminate the books as well as excessive copies. Also, workbooks cost a fraction of the cost and allow the student to still do work necessary to learn the material. There are many other examples of money that could be gained if certain things were eliminated, but from my experience the books are the most prominent and pricey.
Activities in the classroom are also lacking and should be viewed as a vital part of the learning environment. Though sometimes supplies are more expensive than copies, many local businesses need to make tax-deductible donations. Also, donations tend to be a very prominent way of advertisement for businesses. If all involved at a school could rally together and gather enough donations, I feel that more activities could be implemented into all classes. I have found from personal experience that the more interactive and fun students are having (to an extent), the more they will remember without putting hours of boring studying in. Activities make school enjoyable and interesting, and I feel that they have been ignored as funding is cut tighter and tighter.
Finally, student involvement and activities outside of the classroom are vital for a student to care about how their school is performing. If a student is involved in a club or extracurricular activity that looks as if it will be cut, they will work their hardest to keep it from being cut. The more that students are involved, the more that they can reach out to their communities. I feel that as the economy slowly grows worse, students will need positive outlets and will turn to the school. Also, student involvement will benefit the community as a whole. It may take a little investment of time and money initially in order to draw students in, but it will quickly pay off. In addition, I have personally found that some of my fondest memories so far are of willing working to accomplish something with my friends. When someone is given a purpose, they will grow as a person. Keeping extracurricular activities thriving at a school will become more difficult in the current economy, and backing of them needs to start in the present before it is too late.
The economy may not be great and may not be looking up. However, there are ways to save as a school and community as well as pave a way for the future. Finding small but sensible ways to save (as with the books) will quickly add up. Also, activities both in and out of the classroom will add to the overall school environment. With community backing, these supplies and donations can be very cheap or even free. The future of funding may not look great, but if a person still has a positive outlook and comes up with positive alternatives, almost anything can be achieved. Schooling is vital for a person’s future, and their experience is based on what the school provides.