When I drop my daughter off at her high school, I love to watch the kids walking in. Some are carrying coffee and seem full of energy, some are goofing around with friends, some preoccupied and some half-awake. I’m always curious about what the future will hold for them and would like to tell them that for those of us far removed from high school, we anxiously wait.
There are very few states that aren’t facing serious budget crises and in our state education looks to be in for some very rough waters. I have watched money all of my adult life. I’ve never had enough of it to make me worry less but my husband and I will not compromise on our kids’ education. That always has come first and so we save and fret and save and worry and save some more so that all of them will be able to go to college. We could use a vacation from that worry but that is many years away.
To hear education discussed as a long-term problem (like an in-law who’s over-stayed their welcome) instead of an investment with huge payoffs down the road is disturbing. If educating our youth is not the top priority of any society, what does our future look like? When those kids with all that potential walk by us, are we to tell them that their plans and dreams and future are up for grabs because instead of saving for their future, we took the vacation?