Sunday, August 12, 2012

Honestly curious...

I'm posting this knowing it has the potential to become something I don't want. Yet, I'm turning to the blogosphere for some insight. Mitt Romney has announced his VP running mate, Paul Ryan. I suppose I'm like many people and when it comes to elections there are several issues that I pay more attention to than others. Some it's foreign policy and others it's health care. I have two; education and women's health. Both Ryan and Romney have said, if elected, they will cut Pell Grants. Yet, on his website he says, 

"Post-secondary education cannot become a luxury for the few; instead, all students should have the opportunity to attend a college that best suits their needs. Whether it is public or private, traditional or online, college must be available and affordable."

I'm confused. How does cutting Pell Grants make post-secondary education more accessible for students? According to this Washington Post article, Ryan's proposed budget would spend 33% less on education. Romney's website says "the long-term strategy for getting America’s economy back on track is ensuring a world class education for American students." Tell me, how is that going to be possible if we're cutting spending on education? I'm a teacher. I have a minimum of 30 students in my class and my largest class is pushing 40. Forget about a textbook for every student, I don't even have a classroom set of textbooks for my students. We can get grants for the fun and shiny new technology (we got Smart Boards installed last year) but we can't get the money for textbooks? 

I'm honestly wondering what the logic is and what does he plan to do, specifically, to help boost education in America.

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