Education Budget Cuts and Its Negative Impact - Essay Example

Ming Yue Mather Philosophy 25 12/14 Education Budget Cuts and Its Negative Impact Budget cuts on education have become a serious problem, which has affected the majority of American institutions. This is due to the onset of the global financial crisis, which began at the end of 2008. An educational budget is a resource allocated by the state or local government, which is used to assist students who are willing to undertake academic achievements or complete their education, before stepping into the workforce. In most cases, the following are the two common ways in which the resources are used. Firstly, the resource is used in public schools to pay their workers salaries or to help with general upkeep of facilities. Secondly, it is for students, the budget is used to provide financial aid or scholarships to students from low-income families. As the United States owes a large amount of debt, a consequence caused by the global financial crisis, which began in 2008, the current economic situation has led to education budgets being cut by state and local governments. Even though, there is a strong reasoning behind this decision, budget cuts negatively impact society in a number of different ways. Some of these include; denying students access to higher education, reducing the quality of education in offer, lowering the number of skilled workers available for the workforce, and keeping low-income families trapped in poverty. A reduction in the education budget is harming the U.S. educational system by not letting tomorrow’s leaders grow in knowledge. First, the reduction of education budget causes schools to offer less class. According to the Pasadena City College (PCC) admission office, as of fall 2010, there were 32,000 credit students and 8,000 noncredit students studying at the community college (Kleinbaum 1). The college had many complaints from students that, they could not register for future semesters because, either the classes were full or they were cancelled due to budget cuts, in order for the school to pay general expenditures. In fact, I became a “victim” student at PCC after a budget cut to education in association with my registration experience. Being an international student, I always pay the highest amount of tuition fee in comparison to the local students, and I have to maintain above 12 units for every semester. However, even though I paid almost $8000 for every school year, I still did not get any priorities to register classes I wanted in the first two years. Since school, did not provide many alternative classes, a lot of my primary choices were either closed or were conflicted by the time I registered. As a result, I had to change my strategies and search others in order to maintain 12 units. Some classes that I chose were not related to my major, which economics. I had to take them since all the vital, required courses were full. Such an experience has affected me, and I have had to spend one more year at a community college, which has delayed my working years work. As a result, I was extremely uncomfortable, and I knew lots of my friends had the same feelings. This impediment particularly affected students who had 40 or fewer units. Additionally, each school year, the school leaders and student association members debated whether they should open classes for the following short-term semester. The main issue was how to accomplish this, with a much smaller budget than the previous semesters. The shortage of classes proved to be a problem for students who either wanted to transfer to a four-year university or were about to graduate. Specifically, for transfer students, the reduction in classes caused many problems because it became more difficult to transfer quickly. If the classes they needed for transferring were not offered, then they were not able to get a transfer. This denied students access to higher education and impeded on their educational development. Second, a reduction in the education budget, results in poor quality education for many students. According to NBC LA news, education budget cuts cause problems, such as shrink in number of classes provided, and increase in the number of students. The problems result into classrooms looking like clown cars, with overflowing kids and students sitting on the floor or standing at a corner. This is happening in California right now. In some schools, overcrowding has gone to the extent of three students sharing a desk. John Collier, a teacher, who has 48 students in his U.S. history class at Fairfax High School, told the media that; although the students in his honors class are good learners, it is difficult for him to provide attention to everyone. If a teacher is not able to help students in his class, how can he receive feedbacks and improve his teaching quality? Meanwhile, students get worse educational outcomes from the overcrowded classes. According to news from, New York Daily, schools in New York, for a decade have experienced the worst levels of overcrowding. Although, the classrooms had a maximum of 34 students at one time, 25% of classrooms exceeded the city-mandated size limit. A quarter of the students have at least one class daily that exceeds the limit (Lawrence 1). Therefore, not only are the students and parents complaining about their situation, but also the school administrators and some lawmakers have joined the protest to let governors in charge know their problems. The National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is the only national representative of continuing assessment of Americas students, determines what they are familiar with and can practice it in a number of subject areas. According National Assessment of Educational Progress, in the states where some students have lower average grades, all have high Pupil-Teacher Ratio, which demonstrates how many students a teacher has to teach in one class, as compared to the states where students get a higher average (Kleinbaum 1). This shows that, if teachers are able to give more attention to students, the results are more effective. However, after many teachers have been laid off and the size of classes increased due to budget cuts, it generates bad consequences, so education quality is hardly improved. A good example is China, which has in a decade converted its poverty-stricken situation to become one of the richest countries in the world. An old Chinese proverb describes the importance of education. “If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people” (Chinese Proverbs Quotes 1). China’s educational spending used to be 2.2% of its national GDP in 2001(OCLC 1). The GDP has now risen to 4%, and China has now become one of the richest nations in the world. It owns $1,148 billion in debt and is it America’s biggest debtor (OCLC 1). The improvement in China’s education system is a useful source for America to exploit. This is so because, within ten years, China, has almost doubled its educational spending, and its budget has been close to other well-developed countries in the world, such as United Kingdom (4.5%), Italy (4.6%), Germany (4.5%), Spain (4.5%) and the U.S. (4.8%)(Kleinbaum 1). The Chinese vice-president, Jiabao, in 2011, announced that the country would promptly begin to apply China’s National Plan, which will ensure the achievement of the medium and long-term education reform and development (2010-2020). The plan had the objective of modernizing China’s education in the coming 10 years, in relation with China’s overall strategy of reform, and opening up the socialist modernization (OCLC 1). This reflects that Chinese governors have given a high attention to the quality of education within the nation. They have also understood that the major reason that causes poverty is being disqualified from pursuing education. Chinese governors, today try to transform the past negativity in education that had poor consequence. If America could learn from China’s example and keep investing in education instead of cutting budgets, then there would be immense benefits to the country’s development in the future. Everyone within the education system will benefit from the results. First the students will take their desired courses and get admittance in higher-level institutes. Second the teachers will convey knowledge efficiently through giving attention to everyone. Third the school administrators will not be overly concerned about their educational spending, and finally, parents become gratified when they see tomorrow’s leaders grow. Lastly, making budget cuts in education may lower the number of skilled workers and cause long-term poverty. It is a fact that a well-educated workforce is likely to earn more. Data from 1973 shows that high school graduates earned about 15.7% more per hour than high school dropouts. This number rose to 15.9% in 1989 and 16.1% in 2000 but decreased to 15.5 % in 2006 (Bernstein 1). There is a concept in economics called Opportunity Cost, which basically demonstrates that, whenever a person makes a decision, he or she has to give up the best choice. Once the concept applies to a person who gives up chance of studying and is ready to enter the job market, this person also loses the chance of earning a higher wage in the future due to lack of skills, even if he or she can make limited money now. If somebody wants to earn a high salary, it is better first to get educated since being a well-educated person is the key to enjoying a higher standard of living. However, some people always argue against the above statement in terms of Kobe Bryant. He is an example of a high school graduate, who earns $25 million a year, and he is among the top earners in NBA, but he did not receive a higher education. It is interesting to note that Kobe is a talented player; talent is not common in everyone. He made a choice of establishing himself in NBA and got a high income so that he would not depend on studying. As a top player, he is successful in his field. Kobe’s example does not conflict the concept of Opportunity Cost, or the idea of being well -educated as a key to enjoying high standard of living. According to Greg J. Duncan, the president of Population Association of America for the year 2007-2008 and president of the Society for Research in Child Development for the year 2009-2011, investments in early childhood have immense benefits for children (Bernstein 1 1). However, budget cuts affect the quality of education and restrict the number of students being educated. Most of the students, who miss education due to budget cuts, come from deprived economic backgrounds. The students, as a result, are forced to seek for part-time jobs, which ensure their survival. The budget cuts on education, directly affect students’ financial circumstances because they cannot learn the skills required to compete in the job market. The students continue to suffer the cycle of poverty since these students are unable to find a way out of their miseries. Conclusion Education is very fundamental in 21st century since almost every aspect of life depends on it. Budget cuts are inevitable because the local and state governments need to balance the financial books. However, education should not be sacrificed because there are other, different areas, which are not engaging and budget cuts can be applied. Education is an essential part of any society, and it needs to be helped as much as it can. If local or state governments choose to cut the education budget, then there will be a number of dire consequences. Some of these consequences include restricting students from higher education, lessening the quality of education, reducing the number of skilled workers in the workforce, and limiting the chances of low-income families getting away from poverty. Work Cited Bernstein J. "Is Education the Cure for Poverty?" The American Prospect. 18 Nov. 2011. Print Retrieved from: . "Chinas Budget for 2011- Economic Observer News- China business, politics, law, and social issues." Economic Observer. 13 Dec. 2011. Print . “Chinese Proverbs Quotes.” (2011). ThinkExist.com. Retrieved from :http://thinkexist.com/quotes/chinese_proverbs/2.html "Fact Sheet." Pasadena City College. 14 Dec. 2011. Print . Kleinbaum J. "Overcrowded Classrooms About to Burst." Southern California (2009): 1. Print Retrieved from . Lawrence J. "Parents, Teachers Protest in New York City Over Class Sizes." Education News (2011): 1. Print Retrieved from . OCLC. "Worldwide education and library spending." Envirironmental Scan (2003): 1. Print Retrieved from . "Overcrowded Classrooms About to Burst | NBC Los Angeles." NBC Los Angeles - Local News, Weather, Traffic, Entertainment, Events, Breaking News Los Angeles News, Sports, Weather, and Traffic. 14 Dec. 2011. Print "State Profiles Home Page." National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a part of the U.S. Department of Education. 14 Dec. 2011. Print . Shanker A. (1992). Vouchers: Do We Want to Risk the Consequences?. New Republic, 207(21), 2. Print The American International Encyclopedia, J.J. Little Company, New York 1954, Volume 9. "The Birth of the Outline of China’s National Plan for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development_MOE.GOV.CN." 中华人民共和国教育部 门户网站_MOE.GOV.CN. 14 Dec. 2011 Read More