My Letter to the President

When my wife lost her teaching job, I started sending a letter to the President on a semi-regular basis. Here is the letter I was sending him.

Mr. President,

As we continue to hear about bailouts and bankruptcies in the news, it alarms me that we are "bailing" on the future of this country by cutting our spending on education. I keep hearing that we “cannot afford to let these companies fail.” How then can we afford to let our education system fail? Our children are the leaders of tomorrow; the future CEOs of GM, Chrysler and the banks that we are currently bailing out.

Here in California, education spending has been cut to the point that many teachers have received pink slips and our children are being forced into classrooms with the maximum number of students allowed. The overworked teachers will not be able to give the students the individual attention they require, and you and I both know that many of these kids do not get the proper help at home either. What then are we teaching them? Are we teaching them that they are not as important as mismanaged businesses that are being run by corrupt or inept CEOs?

I personally know many teachers and have two school-aged children. My wife was a first year 6th grade teacher this past year in a school located in a known gang infested area of our town. She loves teaching and helping every one of her students. She spends a lot of our personal income on supplies and special treats for her students because many of their parents cannot afford to buy these items for their kids. She spends a minimum of 3 extra hours at her school every day, for which she is not paid. She is truly dedicated to helping these kids become better people. Of course, she received her pink slip this year and may be forced to become a substitute teacher, without health benefits, next year just to help us pay our bills.

I believe that education is the key to becoming successful and that the future of the country rests on the shoulders of our teachers who are preparing the next generation of great Americans. I believe that we need to change our government spending patterns and focus more of our national and state budgets on education. I believe that we need to cut our spending on prisons and inmate care. I believe that we can cut our spending on law enforcement in general and get better results. I believe in change. I believe in you. Please help our children by providing an education "bailout" plan.