By connecting the current economic downturn to The Great Depression of the late 1930s, North Texas teachers were able to engage their students like never before. In Dallas, Mountain View College students compared Franklin Roosevelt and his New Deal with President Obama and his stimulus plan.
In class, these past-to-present comparisons make history a little more relevant, a little more real. But outside the classroom, educators have been forced to face the grim reality of the recession, which has been wreaking havoc on the nation's education system.
Despite federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that have been trickling down to the nation's school districts, the bad economy refuses to relent. In some areas, voters have committed to paying parcel taxes to fund local schools. Other districts have been less fortunate, and the tough financial times have led to teacher layoffs, program cuts and the threat of school closures.
But perhaps no state has been devastated by deficits more than California. It is the nation's most populous state and the eighth largest economy in the world, but the budget crisis threatens to ravage its public education system, which now ranks as one of the lowest in America in school funding and academic achievement.
"California used to lead the nation in education," U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said last month during a visit to San Francisco. "Honestly, I think California has lost its way, and I think the long-term consequences of that are very troubling."
After lawmakers missed the 2008-09 fiscal year budget deadline, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency, giving the Legislature 45 days to solve the state's ballooning deficit. If lawmakers fail to act, legislative matters will be brought to a halt until the budget issue gets resolved. Now the Golden State is drowning in $26.3 billion debt that will deepen if lawmakers don't find a solution. In the meantime, California may have to pay its bills with IOUs.
Deep budget cuts are putting California schools in an unprecedented position, forcing districts to lay off thousands of teachers, increase class sizes, cut bus service, eliminate summer school programs and take other drastic measures to stay afloat.
For instance, at Richmond High School in Richmond, Calif., some classes will expand to more than 40 students, some electives will be scrapped and the school could lose 10 percent of its 80 teachers.
"It hasn't even gone into effect yet and it's already putting a strain on our teachers," said Assistant Principal Jen Bender. "They're feeling the stress of knowing that they're going to have, in some cases, 150 students that they're seeing in a single day."
