Youth Policy Action Center Blog: Anna's Message to Congress

"Would you please fund the future of our public education? I went to Ruskin with your niece, it was in despair then. I still hear and see that Ruskin is not improving in quality. There are no words to describe how poorly funded that school, in addition to many other schools here in the state of Missouri are. Our schools are getting worse and you can't just sit back and watch them get worse. So please do something about it.

The crime rate in this district, in addition to several other districts, is deplorable. SO many businesses are going under, and now, so many of us college students are having trouble finding local work, in addition to high school students here are trouble finding work and after school programs, which helps them stay out of trouble. Part of the problem facing children and our schools is that the poorest and least advantaged students go to school in districts and states without sufficient resources to sustain excellent educational opportunities. And until the federal government steps up and treats education like the true national priority it ought to be, these children will continue to suffer from the cruel lottery of where they happen to be born.

For instance, when I went to Ruskin and graduated in the class of 2002, we were using virus-ridden compaqs running windows 95 then, even for just the technology factor, for beginners. Yet even worse, when I was in 9th grade, most of my class did not know their times tables.

My sister, Dawn Palmer, taught at Ruskin for a few years. Every year, the incoming freshmen students' English has gotten worse. Also confirming my sister's suspicions, are college instructors here at MCC-Longview, such as the instructor of Music of the Worlds Cultures, Denise Flahive. Many times I hear her speak in the music office at Longview about how students writing abilities have gotten much worse over the years, yet she can't drop the bar lower, considering her class is writing intensive. These students are not prepared to face the world as it is, and need more attention to their learning. We need your help!!"