Wednesday, April 8th the Texas HOR passed House-bill 4 proposed by state-rep Dan Huberty R-Houston. HB-4 which is modeled after New Gov. Greg Abbott's pre-kindergarden plan, passed with a vote of 129-18. The proposed bill would help bolster school's pre-k program with a supposed sum of $130 million, which averages out to about $1,500 per student. I was enlightened to hear the news of the sudden importance of childhood education on one hand because finally our state is attempting to fix our broken state education system. Starting from the roots up we can ensure that our students are educated in a justifiable manner. The early childhood education years are some of the most important in regards to the academic development of students. If we invest in the foundation of our future, we can ensure the students will have the resources necessary to become successful members of society. At the same time, however, it is important that we do not disregard the students who are current victims of the education system and who will not be receiving the benefit of this legislation. I believe the next important step in education reform would be to seek resources available to current students that engage them in critical thinking and problem solving rather than robotic training for a state test. Although it is unfair to ignore the current cycle of students, providing a string foundation from which to build upon for a new and improved education system could yet begin with the step taken at the capitol today. Hopefully this is the first in many new legislation to come to boost funding, and restructure Texas's education system from K-12.
2 comments:
Educational funding is extremely important and it's truly embarrassing that Texas has lacked interest in devoting time and money into tomorrow's future. I agree with the unfortunate side of this, that it isn't helping any current students. However, the voting turn out on this is amazing! Compared to our past regarding education it's nice to see the majority care about K-12 education. The statement concerning teaching beyond prepping the students for a standardized test couldn't be more accurate. If we could utilize that $1,500 per student into what the students are actually learning, that would be so beneficial to the next generation.
Glad to hear that we will be putting our money toward something that will only benefit our future. The next generation can either make or break us considering the fact that they will be preceding us. I'm sure we all hope that every child takes advantage of this.
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