It is not anything new to say that we are spending more on prisons than on education, but statistics and quotations illuminate what we know in a very general way
In an article that appeared last year I found out that "California spent more on prisons than on higher education" and "according to study by the Rand Corporation, California will spend 18% of its state budget on prisons by 2000 if it continues to lock up its residents with such zeal. That would leave just 1 per cent for Universities."
The year 2000 is not that far away -- and in that year 18% -- that's close to one out of every five dollars -- of the budget of the State of California will be spent on prisoners -- people who have committed crimes. While people who have not committed crimes -- people who are trying to improve their lives, educate themselves -- will receive one per cent of the state budget.
And again it is only with specific examples that we can understand such behavior. In another article I found out that the California budget proposed in 1995 was designed to get rid of 1,000 jobs in higher education in order to fund jobs for 3,00 prison warders."
And all this is summed up in a wonderful quotation: “The young spend their days in cheap schools taught by belittled drudges.”
Of course our schools are cheap. You don't read about beautiful new schools being built. Building prisons is a growth industry in America; buildings schools is not. We are not spending 18 per cent of our budget to build beautiful, well equipped schools to educate the young. You do read about 18 per cent of a budget being spent to build beautiful new prisons to incarcerate criminals
If we spent money on them when they are young -- if we educated them well -- maybe they wouldn't turn to a life of crime -- and if there were fewer criminals we wouldn't need so many prisoners.
But the second half of the quotation is just as relevant: belittled drudges. We belittle our teachers. We don't show them respect; we don't pay them highly. We can't afford to pay them highly because we are spending all our money on prisons, on criminals. But even if we were not spending our money that way, we still would not pay teachers high salaries. We belittle them.
I will never forget a letter to the editor that appeared in the local newspaper when the teachers were striking. The letter said we should fire all the teachers and hire new teachers to replace them all. The writer thought the students would not suffer at all -- would get just as good an education from a school full of raw recruits -- rookies.
The contempt for professional teachers is amazing. Imagine firing all dentists and hiring new ones the next day. No one would go to a dentist for years. Imagine fielding a professional team full of rookies. No one would dream of suggesting that.
And teachers have become drudges -- we overwork them, demand far more than just teaching duties from them.
"The young spend their days in cheap schools taught by belittled drudges."
Copyright © 2004 Henry Morgenstein