The Cost of Failing to Educate our Kids

Franklin Schargel* was interviewed on Eye on New Mexico on Sunday, February 20th, 2011. The show was broadcasted all over the state and in El Paso, Texas.  The interview touched upon legislation and Franklin's personal opinions and ideas, but focused on real data in light of New Mexico's new educational and political landscape. At the end of the segment, Franklin made this summarizing point:

"But the reality is education, even though it's taking over 50% of the state budget or close to 50%, is not expensive. Ignorance is very expensive. The U.S. Department of Justice says that 82% of all of our prisoners are school dropouts. Well, as a society, we can either pay for education upstream or the lack of education downstream. As a society, not just here in New Mexico, we are more willing to spend money downstream in incarceration. The average cost of incarceration in the country is $41,000 a year. Per inmate, per year. I don't know of any school system that is willing to spend or capable of spending that much money on education."

Schargel recently spoke at a graduation workshop held by the United Way of Cass-Clay in Fargo, ND. Over 100 community leaders listened as the author identified the top reasons students quit school: alcohol or drug use, poor teacher quality and curriculum planning, and low parental involvement. His advice was for policymakers to "recognize that we have a very severe problem," adding that teachers should make an effort to get to know their students.

Schargel is the author of many books on dropout prevention, including 152 Ways to Keep Students in School: Effective, Easy-to-Implement Tips for Teachers and co-author of titles such as Creating School Cultures that Embrace Learning:  What Successful Leaders Do.

*Franklin P. Schargel

Educator, Author, Motivational Speaker, Trainer, Consultant

Franklin Schargel, a native of Brooklyn, New York now residing in Albuquerque, NM, is a graduate of the University of the City of New York. Franklin holds two Masters Degrees: one in Secondary Education from City University and a degree from Pace University in School Administration and Supervision. His career spans thirty-three years of classroom teaching, school counseling and eight years of school supervision and administration.

Wisconsin Just the Beginning

By the American Association of Educators

Governors who swept into power in state houses this year with promises to cut spending and bring business to depressed states are now beginning to usher in a new era of labor relations that could result in the largest reduction of power to public sector unions in generations.

But as the massive protests, strikes, and legislative boycotts in Wisconsin have shown, the call to derail compulsory unionism can be fraught with risk and unpredictable turns as newly elected legislators try to transform campaign promises into action.

As everyone knows, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is going for it all — the elimination of compulsory unionism for public employees and increases in their health care and pension payments. His plan has advanced quickly to the Republican-led Senate, despite several days of protests that drew tens of thousands of demonstrators to the Capitol. Then Senate Democrats then fled the state bringing the legislative process to a total standstill. Wisconsin is the first battleground, but it will surely not be the last.

A similar proposal to restrict public employees collective bargaining was just proposed in Ohio over the past week, with protestors expected to begin demonstrations on Tuesday. Hundreds more have demonstrated in Tennessee and Indiana, where newly elected Republican-led committees have advanced bills to restrict bargaining rights for states teachers' unions. Governors from Nevada to Florida to New Jersey have been advocating for weakened union powers and larger financial contributions to healthcare and pensions from government employees to help balance budgets.

As these other plans unfold in states across the country only time will tell if they will experience the same chaos as Wisconsin. Despite the controversy and the mayhem in Wisconsin, Governor Walker has refused to back down. The Governor's spokesman said that instead of stimulating the Illinois economy, Democrats should come back to Madison and vote on the bill. Democrats maintain they won't return to Wisconsin unless Walker is willing to make concessions to the bill, something he has maintained he won't do.

AAE will monitor the situation in the states as they unfold. The road to choice may be difficult, but teachers need to know they do have options. Let your colleagues know the truth about what this legislation will mean to them.