OK, now I'm just angry

[/rant]

I read a Los Angeles Times article earlier in the week about the treatment of Los Angeles public school librarians and was by turns sad, angry, and ever more firm in my conviction that the United States is so far off the rails, it might just be irreversible.  The issue is that the LA school district wants to fire all the librarians because in the district's view they are, in a nutshell, superfluous.  To add insult to injury, the librarians were grilled by attorneys in a make-shift courtroom, made to defend their worth because the choice was either lose your job, or prove that you could be transferred into a classroom.  Disgraceful.  Where were the court appearances for the greedy folks that leveraged us in to this mess?

Our leaders no longer even attempt to look at what they are doing because the pressures from the "no tax could ever be good" folks have blinded them to the point that they can't see what tools are necessary to achieve even their own (the politician's) stated goals!  Just looking at the federal level, how do you build a strong STEM education if students don't learn to research a topic?  Ask any college instructor today and they will tell you that the multitudes of HS graduates coming to them are ill prepared for advanced study.

I can tell you that my experiences with school libraries all the way back to early elementary grades were the only things that kept me interested in learning.  I got the chance to go to this place, once per week, that was filled with new avenues and I could choose which one I took.  In fact, there was this person there who, over time, learned what I seemed to like and would suggest other similar books.  Sometimes she would suggest things that were just OK, but sometimes she would suggest a book or author that would (as I have found to date) stick with me forever.

Children in Los Angeles, in other states, in Kansas, and potentially even in Hutchinson will miss this guidance because of a glaring ignorance regarding the importance of not the collections of information but the people who know what is there.  School librarians are being fired everywhere.  They have taken big hits in Kansas as school districts cope with drastic budget cuts.  I know, times are tough.  They were made tough by rampant greed and you and I and our kids and grandkids are apparently expected to suffer for that greed.

Back to my original point, the political leaders need to make up their minds.  They can't have it both ways - funding cuts and no revenue increases.  As a parent, I am for any education-related tax increase needed to adequately staff our schools.  I am not oblivious to the fact that I am in a minority here.  But I want the United States to regain an even keel.  I want a nation full of opportunity and competitive spirit.  And I know there are 2 things that will get us there - ingenuity and education.  I am convinced that librarians play a crucial role in the education and development of children and that cutting them out of schools further cripples an already overburdened educational system.

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