FDR’s words help in time of crisis
By By Rep. Ronald Grantland, Guest columnist
We’ve been hearing a lot about Franklin Delano Roosevelt lately. The economic troubles now facing the president are the worst for a new president since FDR entered office in the middle of the Great Depression. As people debate what can be learned from FDR’s experience, one quote from Roosevelt stands out.
Roosevelt said, “It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.”
We must do something to get the economy moving again. Alabama’s unemployment rate shot up in the last three months. Small businesses are having a harder time making ends meet. Banks are teetering, and for state government, the faltering economy has blown a huge hole in the budgets for critical services. It is especially bad for education, and revenue from the Education Trust Fund has dropped at a historic rate.
That is why the stimulus package is so critical-there are emergency funds in it for Alabama education that would prevent teacher layoffs and the massive cuts that could hurt our children.
Another Roosevelt quote comes to mind: “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”
Today’s economic turmoil should not mean we hurt our children’s future by crippling their education. Although nobody jumps for joy over the need for Washington to help shore up the state shortfall, it is certainly better than destroying the progress we’ve made in our schools.
Through the efforts of thousands of teachers and students, Alabama has made tremendous gains. Last year our state recorded the greatest gains in an eighth-grade writing assessment by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. We still are behind the national average a little, but the trend is undeniable-we are catching up and moving forward.
The writing gains are augmented by the massive gains in reading scores for our fourth graders. The National Center for Educational Statistics said Alabama’s gain in fourth grade reading scores is higher than any other state. between 2005 and 2007. For the first time in our state’s history, the number of students who scored “advanced” on the national reading assessment equaled the national average.
The gains didn’t happen in a vacuum. The Alabama Reading Initiative is the homegrown program to improve teaching practices and provide support for struggling readers. The program is now in every elementary school in the state, and has become a national model.
Even in the higher grades the progress is readily apparent. Last year a record number of students took the ACT, the college entrance exam favored by most students and southern colleges. According to the Alabama State Department of Education, Alabama students scored a combined average of 22.3 on the English and Writing test. The national average is 20.9.
What these scores and numbers mean is that more students are confident in going on to postsecondary education, and that they have the skills and knowledge to thrive.
It is clear that when we invested in our schools we gained huge dividends in student achievement. If we slash funding and fire teachers, then our progress, like so many other dividends in this economy, may suddenly collapse or disappear.
Roosevelt also said: “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” He was right. We shouldn’t let today’s doubt rob our children of their tomorrow.
