The Electric Buzz
A STUDENTS PLEA: Give Vouchers a ChanceSaturday, January 01, 2005 By Danyelle Ausick--1st Q. journalism
Every morning I wake up to hear the traffic outside my window. I wake up and get ready to go to school. I step outside through my squeaking screen door. Gun shots ring in the distance. I keep walking. I have to hurry to the bus stop because my family can't afford to buy me a coat. My whole body is enveloped in shivers. Finally I reach the bus stop. I sit down. As always I am the only one there. I am the only one who seems to care about my education. I can hear the motor of the old bus coming down the street. I stand up. Slowly the rin-tin, rust yellow bus rounds the corner. The bus driver stops the bus and I hurriedly walk in. Inside the bus it's not much warmer, but it is an improvement. I sit on the cold seat and wait for him to leave. As always he waits five more minutes before leaving, to allow any late comers to make it. Of course no one shows. He drives me to school where our teachers don't seem to know what they are talking about. We have a gym teacher as our math teacher. Our English teacher is also our health teacher. These teachers seem to know less than me. I only wish I could get the education that I deserve. According to nea.org vouchers are useless because they divert attention from public high schools. In my opinion public schools don't get the attention they need anyways. They believe that public education is more important, they say they feel it needs to be improved, but what have they done to improve it? They have done nothing but complained about school vouchers. They claim that they oppose alternatives. Yes that's what I said, alternatives, that divert attention. And what's more Dennis Kucinich states that he believes "Vouchers are no solution for students in poor families, no solution for education in America. In fact, they pose a serious threat to values that are vital to the health of American democracy." And how exactly does it pose a serious threat to the values that are vital to the health of America? Sometimes it makes me wonder if Kucinich has ever even met a poor family. If he could just remove his head from between the two bricks it's stuck in for just two minutes to look at how these programs HELP poor people, maybe he'd understand better why they have to stay. Of course he's just interested in helping the people who matter, the rich. And what's more The American Civil Liberties Union states that they applaud the striking down of the Florida voucher program. They hailed a federal court ruling that the state's school voucher program is unconstitutional because it allows tax dollars to be spent on religious schools. So the truth comes out. All they care about is religion. I say give us our rights to vouchers, or you will be taking our freedom. Give our children the education they deserve, after all they are our future. |