The Impacts of Budget Cuts &Equal Opportunity on Students I never really gave budget cuts much thought. It only fully hit me when I first decided to walk into USM’s campus library to check out some “popular reading.” I was so excited because I had just bought a new book from Barnes and Nobles and it cost me a small fortune, so free books were a melody that sores my ears. So I walked through the front sliding doors of the campus library with an excited little bounce only to find out that the popular reading section had been cut a long time ago, so the books were old. I informed the librarian that I loved old books, and asked to be directed in the right direction. She then crushed me even more when she said that all I would find good to read was Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Pride and Prejudice is not considered popular reading, but is a part of basic school curricula. What’s a girl to do? The librarian told me to shimmy on down to the Hattiesburg library. My question is, where does all the money go for school funding? Even in high school there are budget cuts, but football players still have brand new shoulder pads with matching cleats, and freshly painted grass to run around on. This was not at all fair for the average Sally and John of the school who were more than likely putting forth more effort toward their education than the average football player. Those areas are usually “The Arts” or what they feel is less important like the “popular reading” in the campus library. Students should have equal opportunity in school. If Fred can run on freshly painted grass, then Sally should be able to practice theatre at school rather than off campus. School funding is important in molding students for the future; the lack of it brings a rip in the system where as the two section should meet.
We all know that some of the budget cuts are here because of the recession we've been through. But why should that put a hold on students who are willing to learn? Those budgets are unfair because the variety of books that should be in the library, are not there. There are many students like myself who love to read and because of the big cut; I couldn't read what I liked because it wasn't "popular" anymore. There are also many students who attended poor high schools that are academically challenged. It's not because they choose to be unskilled in certain areas of education, they just didn't have the proper resources: books, teachers, etc., to attain a good sense of knowledge. As said before, schools make sure that athletes have new uniforms, clean gyms, clean fields, etc., but the academics have a budget to uphold. That sounds like complete nonsense to me.
In the movie Lalee’s Kin: A Legacy of Cotton school funding is at its lowest. The school district is stricken with poverty and so is the way of life of the people. This documentary about life in the delta of Mississippi is based on the life of an elderly woman whose children have put away their responsibilities and given their children to her to care for. Lalee, the grandmother and main character is trying to raise the kids, make a living, and keep the children in school while their parents frolic around and could care less if they get an education. The movie also focuses on the poor school districts of the Delta. The following from the movie states that the school is not getting what it needs in order to give the kids of the community the opportunities they need. “The law says that every child has the right to an equal and just education. We’re not getting it? These kids deserve better. We can’t find certified teachers; we can’t find anything that we need to remove this level one situation (Lalee’s Kin).” In the movie it was also stated that some of the kids come to kindergarten not knowing their colors or how to spell their name. Equal opportunity for all is what the students deserve, but this is something they are not getting. The government should step forward to help out, but