While every candidate running for governor has at least mentioned education, it remains, to some extent, a peripheral issue. The economy has trumped education, and most other issues, so far. You’ve probably heard the saying, “if you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” There’s truth to that statement. If the next governor does not focus on improving Maine’s schools, our economy, as well as our children, will pay the price.
What does a potential business see when they look at Maine? They will see a high school dropout rate above the national average. In 2005 Maine had a dropout rate of 2.76%. Currently about 1 out of every 5 students will not complete high school. Maine is sitting out the first round of the Race to the Top and things aren’t looking so good for us in future rounds. A study by the Center for America Progress slammed Maine in a number of areas, including technology where we received a “D”. Maine continues to reject charter schools and despite some strong words from Governor Baldacci, we’ve yet to see any substantial change in the way we educate our children. In some ways the school experience of my children will not be that different from that of their great-grandparents.
Businesses see an uneducated workforce. They see schools that perform well in some areas, but are not encouraging students to continue their education. The see a state government comfortable with the status quo. This all has an impact on our economy.
It’s no secret Maine’s population is the oldest in the country and declining. How can we attract jobs to Maine with statistics like that? How can we convince families to stake their claim here? Our schools are a big part of that picture. Maine is not just completely nationally, but globally. It isn’t enough to continue turning out factory workers. That time has passed. We are moving to a creative economy, an economy of ideas. Manufacturing wont ever disappear of course, but it wont be a dominant force. We need workers ready for that challenge. Our schools, and this is no fault of the teachers, just don’t do that. To encourage the kind of businesses that will make Maine prosper we need to change how we educate to foster that growth.
We need an educational system open to new ideas, new methods. We need to listen to our teachers and seek their advice. The idea of learning to a bell, not mingling with upper and lower grades, having a new teacher for each year are all antiquated modes of instruction. If we can do this, Maine can grab new families to move here. Don’t think outstanding schools can boost a town or state? My mother in-law lived in Tennessee before returning to Maine. She lived in a suburb of about 50,000 just south of Nashville. The suburb has a decent downtown, quiet neighborhoods; it is a typical unassuming town. There was nothing particular to draw people to this community over other surrounding communities, except one. The schools in this town are amazing. The school district is so exemplary in fact that people would call my mother in-law and ask if she would sell her house. People must have wanted to move to this town so badly they would solicit homeowners whose homes were not even on the market. There are of course other factors that make Tennessee different from Maine, but you can’t deny the power of a good school system.
Investing education will not produce immediate results. Innovations put in place now will take time to come to fruition. As with the budget problem, this will call for some outside the box thinking. Money alone wont solve our problems. We need start talking about fundamental changes in our educational system. We need to stop being afraid of moving forward, of changing the way we do things. If we don’t take responsibility to advance our schools now we will pay and our children will pay and their children will pay. Is that a cost we’re willing to accept?
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