A California Republican

One of the many solutions that the Governor put out at his press conference on 12/31/2008 was to give school districts the “leeway” to cut the school year by 5 days.

You must be out of your mind Governor.

California ranks almost dead last (I think Alabama and Mississippi are below us) in math and reading education. Half the kids in the LA school district drop out and don’t graduate from high school. Kids graduate without being able to read. California cannot put out enough qualified engineers and computer scientists, so we have to bring people in from outside the US to work on some of our most sensitive projects.

The school year in California was made to fit the agrarian calendar so kids could be home to help out on the farm. We aren’t that involved, as children, on the farm anymore. We need more school - not less- to bring children up to standards that will help them in the world when they have to go get jobs - to teach them skills.

And you want to cut the school year?

The teachers are happy (I am sure) because it means 5 days less of work with the same pay. School district will be happy because this will allow them to cut 5 days worth of bills from the school. But what about the single mom who relies on the fact that her children are in class so she can work? What about those who have to pay more for daycare those 5 days (if you think 5 days of daycare is cheap, take a look at the costs in CA)? What about students who want to learn? Or the kid who needed those 5 extra days to learn math, reading or writing?

Who does this cut really serve?

No one.