By the time you read this, it is possible that the election will be decided, and the knotted ball of emotion in my stomach will have blossomed into one form or another of wildly flowing feeling.
Most of that will be determined by the outcome of the presidential election, but I am also curious to see how state and local races turn out in Arizona, not to mention budget overrides. After the robust public debate surrounding Proposition 123 last spring(using the state land trust to temporarily boost education spending and settle a lawsuit), I am anxious to see if Arizonans voted for education this fall. I hope they did, but I am not sure most people are well informed about the issues and agendas.
Many candidates and commentators have mentioned the deep divides in our country that this election season has only gouged deeper. Maybe I am overly optimistic, but is it possible that public education is a cause that can unite us? If we use the Proposition 123 vote as a measure, we can see that it was extremely close. But I’ll tell you what: There were passionate public school advocates and involved citizens on both sides of that vote. Most of the people I debated with online were friends who wanted a secure state with well-educated citizens. We were all passionate, but had come to different conclusions about what measures would best serve the children (and adults) of our state. However, rather than create rancor after the election, I felt that a useful dialogue was begun, and continued after election day.
If you voted (or are voting today) for education, thank you.
If you vote for edu
cation, though, don’t let your civic efforts stop there. Education makes up a large percentage of the state budget, and rightly so, but that also means that in hard times, education is cut, and in good times, that funding is often only partially restored. And meanwhile policy is often made for highly political reasons without concern for the majority will.
Voting for education is only the first step. The next step is to pay attention. Read the news, watch the votes our leaders make on issues, check out the school board minutes, or even attend a meeting. And keep the pressure on at the state and local level.
We all benefit or lose based on the success of our public education system, whether or not your own children utilize it.
Election Day will be an emotional one. But afterward, get to work. Maybe I’ll see you out there!
Amethyst Hinton Sainz
Amethyst Hinton Sainz is National Board Certified Teacher in Adolescent and Young Adult English Language Arts, and is constantly trying to live up to that standard! This year she will begin teaching at Westwood High School in Mesa, Arizona as an interventionist. She has taught junior high ELD and high school English in Arizona for 25 years. She has been a Stories from School blogger since 2012. Amethyst’s alma maters are Blue Ridge High School, the University of Arizona and the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College. Her bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing and Philosophy led her toward the College of Education, and she soon realized that the creative challenges of teaching would fuel her throughout her career. Her love of language, literature, and culture led her to Bread Loaf for her master's in English Literature. She is a fellow with the Southern Arizona Writing Project, and that professional development along with, later, the National Board process, has been the most influential and transformative learning for her. As a board member of the Mesa NBCT Network, she works with other NBCT’s to promote this powerful process throughout the district. She supports candidates for National Board Certification, and loves seeing teachers realize and articulate their teaching and leadership power! She enjoys teaching students across the spectrum of academic abilities, and keeping up with new possibilities for technology in education. Last year she had the privilege of running our school garden, and will really miss that this year. She is currently learning more about social and racial justice and is striving to be an antiracist educator. She lives in Mesa, Arizona with her family. She enjoys time with them, as well as with her vegetable garden, backyard chickens, and the two dogs. She also enjoys reading, writing, cooking (but not doing dishes), kayaking, camping, and travel, among other things.
Comments 2
Amethyst this is a great post for election day! I appreciate the call to action for those that vote for education and believe in the power of education. After the votes have come in, it appears many districts have had bonds/overrides pass!
Thanks for sharing we have to do more than just vote for education, but that we also must get involved!
“…in hard times, education is cut, and in good times, that funding is often only partially restored.” So true for Arizona! We need to dig deeper to find effective ways to persuade our politicians to fully restore it!