I’m pro-teacher. My English teacher in the rural public K-12 school I grew up in was excellent, and I credit her with teaching me how to structure my opinions and arguments in an essay format, the single skill that has benefited me most in my career. Without her, my passion for writing may have died after I left school.
That’s why I was disheartened, especially now as a parent, to see my local city school district in Helena recently choose to cut nearly 40 positions, mostly educators. Many school districts across the state also cutting educators due to budget woes. How many kids are losing their inspiring teacher?
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My support for quality teachers is one of the reasons why I support school choice. As it stands, Montana’s public education status quo prioritizes funding school bureaucracies over teachers and students. School choice — as in giving teachers and students more choices to explore different learning environments, class structures, curriculums etc. outside of the traditional district school setting — would create more competition and promote true accountability, incentivizing our public education system to focus resources on what matters: educating students.
