Inside Mrs. B's Classroom #5

"A world-class education is the single most important factor in determining not just whether our kids can compete for the best jobs, but whether American can out-compete countries around the world. America's business leaders understand that when it comes to education, we need to up our game. That's why we're working together to put an outstanding education within reach for every child." ~President Obama July 18, 2011

Education is the key. A good education leads to better jobs, which leads to a better economy. It's a cycle prone to success. But violence and other stressors are getting in the way of this and worsen the education available for the children of America. These children are our future and they need to be provided with the best of the best. The nation is taking action and trying to motivate states to improve the education and decrease the violence. Illinois is one of many that is competing for the Race to the Top grant. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act also invests in education by funding early learning programs and reform, stabilizing state education budgets, and making college affordable. Teacher preparation and requirements have also become stricter to ensure that children are learning from the best. These recent efforts towards education simultaneously decrease the violence. Organizations like Cease Fire, non-government run, play a big role and have lowered crime by 40-45%. Cease Fire is a group of ex-convicts and former gang members that find kids in potential danger and resolve the issue at that moment. There are so many actions and efforts to decrease Chicago violence and improve the education.

The school in which Baldacci taught at is clearly not thriving, but teachers like Baldacci provide hope for change and improvement. Baldacci was always dedicated and striving to help the children personally and academically. She understood that the future of the nation was in the hands of these children. Each day she was fighting a battle in the classroom, while her students fought a more real battle outside of school. She made the sacrifice to become a teacher and she was not going to give up. Baldacci continued to teach for the rest of her life.