This image of high school students from Coral Springs, Florida says it all:
Playing right into the stereotypes of dumb cheerleaders, this protest photo was posted online in the UK and on television and in newspapers around the U.S.
Is it odd that no one noticed the misspelling on the sign? It’s easy to brag about America and our system of rights, but seriously if we can’t educate our kids, our rights and freedoms mean nothing. The protest stems from the firing of a cheerleading coach that apparently bullied her squad. It has become a hot button issue with the school board and the school superintendent weighing in on the dismissal. The irony of course is that while the issue of bullying is front and center, the quality of our education system has yet to be challenged with such gusto. Not surprisingly, perhaps, our lack of focus on education has led to the U.S. dropping from #1 in graduation rates to #21 out of #26. For the kids learning math in America, that is not good.
“The United States used to be number one for high school graduation. But times have changed. In 2009, the U.S. ranked 21st out of 26 OECD countries when it came to high school graduation rate, according to Andreas Schleicher, Deputy Director for Education for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). ‘”Basically the completion rate is pretty low, by international standards, in the United States,” Schleicher says. Portugal and Slovenia were tied for first in the rankings, Japan and Finland hold the number two spot, and the Czech Republic ranks 17th.” – WAMU.org Morning Edition
The Democrats and Republicans keep telling women that our issue is abortion and we drive races based on those that are ‘for’ and ‘against.’ It’s time for Women to change the conversation and change the dying education institution in the U.S. Going from #1 to #10 didn’t seem to have any effect, nor did going from #10 to #20. Today, we rank #21 out of #26. When will we begin to provide better education for our children? Will it take a last place finish? Doubtful. Parents are more interested in getting the cheerleading coach fired than holding their school system accountable to provide better educational models and hiring teachers that inspire learning.
Florida gets more than $10,000 per student. That comes out to about $250,000 per class per year for grades 9-12 and our kids still can’t spell?! Hold your representatives and school boards accountable for your child’s education. Better yet, we need to get government out of our schools and into a public/private model. If anyone can effect change, Women can. We owe our children a brighter future.