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Crowson: The Insight of a Third Grader

Ah, the end of the school year. I remember the giddy anticipation of those last days before summer vacation. My head was filled with visions of sandlot baseball games, summer camp and a later-than-normal bedtime after going on a lightning bug hunt. Waa-hoo! Three months of no school!

I’ve heard teachers talk about the children who don’t look forward to summer’s long absence from school. School is their safe place - the only place in their lives with comfortable predictability.

But change is in the air in our classrooms. School districts are having to slash budgets, impacting classrooms because of the governor’s tax cuts to the wealthy and to businesses.

I know an elementary school librarian who is a dedicated and caring educator. She works hard to provide a safe and nourishing learning environment for our little ones daily. She was surprised the other day when a third-grade girl came up to her at the school’s library with an outstretched hand. The student’s little fingers were holding a dollar and 27 cents.

“So we can have a librarian next year,” said the little girl.

Why can’t our Governor and Legislature have the insight of this third-grader about the importance of education?

The uncertainty and outright despair that clouds the close of this school year contrasts mightily with the sunny, carefree mood of the last days of school when I was a little boy. Sure wish a dollar and 27 cents could solve our problem.

Richard Crowson is not only a editorial commentator for KMUW. He's also a cartoonist, an artist and a banjo player.