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School Infrastructure

Article Title: US Schools Need an Infrastructure Upgrade

Source: California Educator (CTA monthly magazine)

Date: 2021, month unknown (I tore it out of the magazine months ago)

    Okay, both an obvious and boring opening topic, I know. This is also not really breaking news, and I wanted the stories I wrote about to be more recent than last year. This is news because I have only just left the teaching profession in part because of this issue, and the infrastructure issues featured in a graph in this article clearly demonstrate how critical this issue is to the future (of everyone, not just the kids who have to learn in these conditions). When I say school infrastructure, I mean the basics that include running water and roofs that don't leak, let alone mental health services and internet access.
    
      The article itself is only a few paragraphs, but it is the graph that tells the real story. The key takeaway is that at least 20% of public schools are missing at least one of the following: heating, ventilation, air conditioning, indoor or outdoor lighting, bad roofing, plumbing, windows, doors, phone lines, or electricity. This blew my mind. I knew that the basic needs of schools were not being provided, but this is far worse than I anticipated...half that, honestly. This is the 6th largest economy on the planet (in my lifetime it's been between 5th and 8th), and this is the state of the public school system.
    This breaks my heart when I think of all the dedicated teachers, students, staff, and parents who work daily to overcome these basic obstacles that it is the responsibility of the government to provide. I believe creative thinking is in order for a solution like this to happen with any real speed or efficacy. Schools need to be reimagined, just as our lives have been reimagined since the dawn of industrialization, when these systems were put in place.
Why Bring This Up?
    I am a fan of big ideas and want people to share theirs so we can work together to enact meaningful change. What kind of infrastructure changes can be made so that it will adapt with society and last for generations? There will have to be a large time, money, and manpower investment up front, if only because of the size of the project. The benefit to us all, let alone the children, is worth the investment. What is stopping us? Start the conversation with me through the comments and survey I made to start collecting data on solutions that will make a real difference in education (and society generally).
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