Budget Cuts in Education Essay

Drastic switch offs in Floridas informational system argon in resulting increasing class sizes, the elimination of harmony, art, and other elective classes, the monumental reduction in extracurricular activities, and a diminished ability to house incentives for c championrs to wait teaching. The effectuate of these changes depart be a long end point negative impact on teachers ability to teach and decrease our school-age childs ability to learn. reckon cuts be forcing qualified teachers out of the classroom where they be almost effective and causing them to pursue other c arers or academic endeavors.As subjectd in State Impact, because of the shortage of notes of over $170 million, Broward County alone has laid off more than 2,400 employees and most of them piss been teachers (OConnor, 2011). Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association, the statewide teachers union, said the union is expecting just about 20,000 teacher layoffs (Castro, 2011). As a re sult of these layoffs, and current graduating teaching students, aim districts are left with a surplus of teachers. Many declare the luck to come suffer to work before the next cultivate stratum bulges but may not be at the alike(p) tutor or even teaching the same grade level.Because this is based on seniority, those teachers who slang been laid off and unfortunately are not one of the chosen to go back to work, stand been force to go back to indoctrinate to either continue to pursue their educational activity career or pursue a completely different major. Recent layoffs have resulted in, grow classroom sizes with potenti completelyy disastrous effect on student performance. thither erst was a time classrooms had a maximum of 20 students. In virtually states, classroom sizes have expanded to as much as 36 students in one class.According to Science Daily, reports show that students in small classes in grades four through half-dozen consistently have better results t han students in large classes. Those in small classes that had better cognitive and non-cognitive skills, had better scores on standardized national tests in grades six and nine, and perceived themselves as developing more self-confidence and greater intentness (Expertanswer, 2012). Budget cuts that result in inreased class sizes need to be make with these considerations in mind.Many people are not aware of the effect of medicine on students ability to learn and retain information, yet as documented previously, music classes are one of the first programs to be cut in this surroundings. According to Science Daily, there is without delay definitive induction of different brain development and improved memory of students who take music lessons when compared to those who do not (Press, 2006). Not exclusively do the brains of musically-trained children respond to music in a different way to those of the untrained children, but overly that the training improves their memory as rise .After one year the musically trained children performed better in a memory test that is jibe with general intelligence skills such as literacy, verbal memory, visuospatial processing, mathematics and IQ (Press, 2006). If it costs $2. 5 million to have an art program, music program, and animal(prenominal) education program, one can go steady why school are making these cuts, however in the light of this research provided, we can see that these cuts volition be coming at the expense of our students cognitive abilities.As the ciphers get smaller, and the expenses are getting bigger, specials and elective classes are being cut. medicine and art have been eliminated in some schools. In others, it is just class time. Students are not getting the basic musical and artistic education, which were once purchasable historic period ago. Teachers who used to teach elective classes are forced to teach core subjects if they still want a job. Physical education classes have as well as bee n cut in some schools or have been trim significantly.Some teachers work at two different schools. For example, troika daytimes out of the week, they may work at an elementary school and the other two days they may work at a middle or high school. As a result to tangible education being rock-bottom or eliminated, childhood obesity may be more of a concern. Because physical activity has been extremely reduced in many households because of television, it is important that students have physical education in school. Teachers do not have many incentives to continue teaching.There is no bills to purchase simple materials for the classroom. As said in domain Good, Public Cuts elementary schoolteachers have resorted to asking students to buy supplies at the outgrowth of the school year (Economists, 2011). A suggested list is available for the parents and these supplies are what the students will need for the duration of the school year. Many teachers spend their own notes to purch ase supplies as well. Students in middle school and high school do fundraisers to raise money for special events at their schools.The effects of these work out cuts are impacting every area of students academic experience including the frequency of the modify in the school textbooks. Schools typically updated their textbooks every few years, however with these figure cuts this researcher has found that students may be using the same textbooks for 10-15 years overdue to the lack of funds. Although this may not be an issue with some subjects, there are subjects, such as History and Social Studies that are subjects that require updated information as years go on. If students used the same textbook for 15 years, a History book would be abstracted three presidents.Textbooks are an essential part of students education and if there are no funds to purchase new ones, students in the United States will be behind compare to other countries are much more advanced concerning education. Fie ld hinge upons and extracurricular activities have been reduced or eliminated. Students do not have the chance to go on all the field trips that were once upon a time offered. Field trips that are now taken tend to be at the cost of the parents. Parents have been forced to come out-of-pocket for the entire cost of field trips.Schools also sponsor fundraisers to assist these parents in paying for some of those costly trips. For example, 5th grade students who are going on their end of the year trip may sell donuts or candy boxes in efforts to raise money to pay for that trip. Some schools do not have funding to continue specific sports. Fees have increased and parents are having pay out-of-pocket for students uniforms and to travel to games in order to continue these sport teams. Budget cuts are now negatively affecting the actual physical environment in which students learn.According to State Impact, future possible district calculate cuts in efforts to and jobs include eliminat ing art, music, technology and/or reading teachers to proceed up to $4. 1 million, eliminating middle and high school athletic programs and pitch $2. 2 million, and raising thermostats one degree to 78 degrees, the highest allowed by state law, saving $500,000 (OConnor, 2011). With increasing class sizes and increase in temperatures, students will now be forced to learn in cramped, potentially uncomfortable conditions that will impact negatively student learning.Given the negative impact of expound these budget cuts, it would be wise to consider alternative options to deal with budget shortfalls. Other options of saving money are available, such as teachers fetching extended holidays without pay. School district saved millions of dollars by closing all public schools two extra days during thanksgiving break. Schools should only have been constrainingd Wednesday through Friday but the district managed to get approval to close Monday and Tuesday as well. The economic condition ha s affected drastically the public schools due to the budget cuts they have faced.It has caused major setbacks because there is no money available to supply the materials these students need to learn effectively. At this rate, schools eventually will begin to shut down. Teachers have already begun to retire early because they can only foresee it getting worse. Something has got to give at this point, but it should not be at the expense of students education. If schools cannot teach students the simpler things, such as what encyclopedias are which may be an opportunity for parents to spend more hold fast time with their children and take them to the library to learn new things.Sooner than later, students in Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten will be attending school for half a day only instead of a full day in efforts to save money. It is imperative that parents encourage educational activities at home as well as physical activities. Broward County Schools are suffering drastically. A lthough they seem to have it judge out, cutting art, music, physical education, and other special programs may not be what is best for the students.