Education rant

There are few things in life that really get my blood boiling.  One of them is public education and the lack of funding.  I grew up going to private school so I am still trying to figure out the "whole public school thing".  I have this perpetual feeling that I am somehow failing because my kids are and will be stuck in a failing system.  I really WANT to love public education and yet everyday when I drive by the local private school I feel a little grumble in my heart that has nothing to do with what I ate that morning.  I am so angry that the schools aren't better and that there are so many people, lets just call them Republicans, that think that education is secondary.  Why is it more important for CEOs to have their multimillion dollar bonuses and that we pay for multi-billion dollar wars in other countries where they don't even want us while our kids, OUR kids are basically marching into a screaming mess.
When I was a kid I had french twice a week and art and music and a science lab . We had a gymnasium with balance beams and trampolines, carpeted hallways with clean lockers lining them.  If it rained it was dry and warm, if it was sunny and hot there was air conditioning. That was 30 plus years ago.  My daughter's school is considered one of "the better ones" as far as the public schools in Los Angeles are concerned. They are learning the basics- math, reading etc but it seems that it is all test/numbers driven.  The whole thing with accountability and testing is just not working- The kids aren't interested. My daughter doesn't enjoy school that much. I don't remember not wanting to go to school when I was in second grade. "It's all about the numbers" is the wrong way to approach our kids.  The better the numbers the more funding the school gets. Test test test. Just what every 7 year old wants to do.  What happened to making education fun? We should be looking for ways to make education more creative and diverse, and to make students more well-rounded and independent. And such things as learning another language- French....To these kids french is either a kind of toast, a fry or a mustard as far as they are concerned.  Why isn't learning another language not important? Should we be so arrogant to assume that everyone in the world speaks English and if they don't then their schools can teach them how to talk like us? Is this what our kids are going to think?
Funding has been cut and then cut and then cut. There are 24 kids in my daughters class- one teacher and as far as I can tell not much extra help. It smells musty and its damp from a leak. These kids are our future and sometimes it feels like no one gives a shit. How is this approach to education going to make our children great adults.  Is it only up to us as parents? Is it 95% of it comes from home?
Last year my daughter had the MOST fantastic first grade teacher. She had more energy and enthusiasm then most of the other teachers combined. I was THRILLED with her. When budget cuts rolled around last year she was given her pink slip and this was all based on seniority.  So all the excited new teachers would leave and the old grouchy burnt out ones could stay. Not only was about 25% of the teachers given pink slips but the libraries were in danger of being closed down as well. And the school nurse was going to be itinerant.  This is ridiculous.  The teachers' job  as well as the libraries AND nurses were eventually saved due to parent driven fund raising for the district. But again this year the system is facing more cuts. And why should it be the responsibility of the parents to clean up after a shitty government?
On Jon Stewart the other day he did a monologue about the budget cuts and how Educators are expected to take pay cuts and benefit cuts while CEOs still keep all theirs intact.
See monologue here
Rather than ending tax cuts for the wealthy or closing corporate tax loopholes, Republicans want to get money from the teachers. I just can't figure it out. I am at a loss for words when it comes to the values of some Republicans.  And teacher salaries. Yes, my husband is a teacher and I'd love if we had a fatter bank account but really- teachers deserve to be paid more.  They are shaping our future.  This is a rant- I know but hey- mid life crisis has its rants- I am trying to make MY immediate world and reality better for me. And as for my future- isn't that sort of in the hands of all these kids that are in sub-par schools learning how to take timed math tests?  So will our taxes that we pay to the schools now go to buying more flat screen TVs for inmates or maybe to help bail out a fallen bank?  How do I keep from feeling like I am failing my kids? I should be able to trust public education. I really should. and I don't.  As snobby as it sounds I wish my kids could have the carpet lined hallways and science labs. But that ain't gonna happen.