. The DMV is one of the most visited places in the United States not only due to being home to the nation’s capital, but also for it’s historical landmarks, fine arts, museums, restaurants, parks, and nature reserves. Despite this, one of the most important things that any such location has to offer is falling behind other areas in funds:
. Education.
. According to a report to the Governor and the General Assembly of Virginia, Virginia’s public schools are significantly underfunded when compared to the national and regional averages, receiving 14% less funding when compared to other places across the United States. Maryland and D.C. are no different, with schools in Maryland’s most populous city, Baltimore, being chronically underfunded for years. According to an assessment done by the state of Maryland in 2017, Baltimore County Public Schools are underfunded by 342 million dollars. District of Columbia schools also face funding gaps, with this problem only increasing throughout the years. Compared to the budget in 2022, the budget in 2023 was much, much lower.
. This begs the question: if the DMV– one of the most visited places in the country, home to the nation’s capital —does such a poor job of providing resources for its schools, then are we, as a country, really putting our money where our mouths are?
. People, usually adults, are always talking about the importance of school, and the importance of getting a good education, so you can go to a good college, and in turn, get a good job. If this is a sentiment shared by almost everyone, then why are our schools so poorly funded? Why are some of the student’s most basic needs not properly addressed? Everyone has seen the memes online about public schools in the U.S. If you were ever a kid that went to school in this country, you’d know that the way we are taught, and the places we are taught in can be far from ideal.
. So what should we change in our public schools? What do teachers feel would be beneficial? What do students feel would be useful? To answer these fundamental questions, I interviewed Westfield High School staff and students from all different grade levels.
. Author’s Note: Some students wanted to remain anonymous, and they have been assigned pseudonyms.
. “Probably like… the paint? I don’t know man, I’d probably choose the paint.” muttered “Jack,” 12
. “I mean, I think this school is hella lit to be honest. I wouldn’t change a thing. GO BULLDOGS!!!” yelled “Joey,” 10.
. “I’d renovate the school and make it look newer cuz’ this old shit makes the school feel boring. Gotta make me pay attention more or something.” said Marcus, 11
. “Um… I would change the system for bullying and stuff like that, cuz you have some teachers that will come and help but others just punish you.” reflected Zion, 10
. “I hate that there’s no lock on the bathroom doors, like– it’s so annoying, I’ve been complaining about it for two years now and it hasn’t once changed.” stated “Kelly,” 10
. “I’d make the hallways wider.” remarked “Jamie”, 9
. “I’d want more windows” suggested “Charles,” 9
. The students may have scored multiple creativity points with their answers, but the staff were a bit more realistic with theirs.
. “If I had extra money– one of the first things I would do is get more staff– teachers, so that I could reduce class sizes, more clinical staff, school social workers, counselors, but then it gets crazy, because with more teachers, you need more space, which means you need to renovate or create new buildings, and renovation is hard. You can’t just close a school that thousands of students attend, so what do you do? You renovate around it, and everyone is okay with that in theory but nobody really likes it when it’s actually happening.” stated Principal Antonio Dibari. “I have a whole wish list of things I’d like for this school, but sometimes we need to remember how much we have in comparison to other areas. The DMV may be less funded than some other areas, but think about all of the places that don’t receive as much as we do. Like, for example– the fact that all of our students can have laptops? Nobody would even think of that being a possibility in a lot of other schools.”
. “One thing I would love to fix is all the old furniture, because a lot of wear and tear is happening and a lot of stuff is really old. It would be cool if we could update the bathrooms, all gender bathrooms, floor to ceiling stalls, better sinks, no door, just open, better quality of appliances, green certified– very efficient.” brainstormed Jazmin Ferdinand, Administrator “I will say though, that Fairfax County is ahead of the game in comparison to other counties, because every 30 years there’s a renovation, and since this school is 24 years old we’re going to be next in line because the schools are all cued.”
. “I’d start with things that are small and easy to fix, like the WiFi,” said a Guidance Counselor, who chose to stay anonymous. “As easy as it is to think of all the things in this school that need to be fixed, actually getting a lot of them fixed really isn’t all that easy.”
. “Honestly, the thing I hate most is students who wander around and don’t do what they’re supposed to. A lot of the times it’s them destroying things, like in the bathrooms and stuff. I really just don’t like students like that.” noted English Teacher, Hilary Loder
. With all these differing opinions, it’s no wonder that our education system here in the DMV isn’t ideal.
. How can it be, when even in such a small group, everyone’s opinion differs so vastly?
. It appears that the way a school operates is not only dependent on its structure, but on those who inhabit it– What’s the point of having a fancy, well-built school, if students are going to destroy things anyway? What’s the point of extra funding and fancy bathrooms and nice sitting places if teachers are strict and don’t connect well with their students? Maybe the key to improving education isn’t in the economy.
. Maybe the key to improving education is working together as a community.
. Of course, schools should be funded enough for them to have basic resources and be able to prevent issues from occurring– but maybe, just maybe, we’re being too harsh on the individuals providing these resources.
. If we want change in our schools, we have to work together as a team to take care of our environment, and we need to work together to push for the change that we all individually demand. It’s easy to sit back and criticize the system, but you have to think– how am I contributing to this system?
. So yes, schools are underfunded, and there needs to be a change in that. However, before we make that change, we need to focus on maintaining what we have. It’s simply impractical to misuse what we have and expect to be given more.
