Utah's Education Funding Crisis
Currently the state of Utah ranks 51 out of 51 when it comes to per child spending in our public schools. The issue of public education funding is a tricky one that affects even taxpayers without children. Taxpayer funds are used for public education funding despite a person’s status as a parent of school children. Each presidential administration attempts to turn back the trend of U.S. students underachievement when compared to other nations. As a paraeducator and future teacher I have seen for myself some of the issues facing public schools today. It is in the best interest of our nation and the world to see that future generations are provided with the tools and skills needed to help them succeed. Is public education funding in need of more money or simply a reform of the funding it already has? Former president of Utah School Boards and current Utah State Senator Patricia Jones has written an article titled “Utah’s Education Funding: How Do We Get Dollars Into Classrooms?1” Senator Jones states that the biggest problem facing public education funding stems from an inability by legislators to have a long-term plan for funding and she lays out her plan to change that. Overall Patricia Jones is effective in her goal to persuade other lawmakers that education funding needs to be addressed through her use of emotive anecdote, analogy, hyperbole, and an appeal to the values common to the Republican base of Utah.
The first strategy used by Senator Jones is anecdotal and she uses this to show that she is aware of the concerns of her constituents. She begins her article with the description of an affluent neighborhood where she came into contact with a school teacher who was struggling with the students in her classroom. She uses this anecdote to highlight difficulties not just in this one school but everywhere in Utah. She states, “only five, count them, five students out of the 29 third-graders in her class currently read at or above grade level.” (pg. 1) Within the anecdote Sen. Jones uses repetition, “only five, count them, five,” to direct the readers attention to a fact that might have been overlooked. Sen. Jones returns to the anecdote later in the article. “Some schools like Mrs. McCullough’s may choose to hire more reading specialists to help struggling readers.” (pg. 2) Her anecdote was an effective way to humanize a subject which can get boring or tedious when left only to numbers and statistics. I found myself nodding in agreement when presented with this teacher’s plight. Using this strategy may remind fellow lawmakers that the decisions they make every day affect the people they are serving.
The second strategy used by Senator Jones is analogy. Based on her personal experience as a lawmaker she compares education funding, which lacks a long-term plan as opposed to the other committees that she serves on. I believe that her intention with this strategy is to encourage reflection on the issue of education funding. “It hit me when I was conducting focus groups for the Department of Transportation and one of the questions posed to respondents referred to Utah’s ‘transportation plan.’ Our state did not have a long-term plan for public education.” (pg. 1) Further along in the article Mrs. Jones compares the current open enrollment policy in Utah schools to car shopping. “Open enrollment has resulted in parents shopping for schools like they shop for store bargains.”(pg. 2) The comparison she makes paints the image of parents fighting over their child’s placement in school like one would scramble for the last pair of shoes on sale.The use of analogy has been used as an effective tool to make the situation more real for the lawmakers who may not be aware that open enrollment is an issue in Utah schools.
Senator Jones also uses hyperbole to emphasize the ignorance many taxpayers have about what laws the government is actually passing. Patricia Jones explains that the income tax was cut from 7% to 5% a few years ago. She states, “Lawmakers broke their arms patting themselves on the back while only a measly 7% of the population is even aware of the tax reduction.” (pg. 2 )She goes on to say that nearly one-third of Utah citizens believe that income tax rates have increased rather than decreased. Senator Jones is using hyperbole to bring attention to the practice of lawmakers making beneficial changes for citizens, but then not making those citizens aware of the changes that were made.She also compares the desire for school funding to be controlled at a community level by comparing it to Mayberry, the small town from The Andy Griffith Show. “While it may not be realistic to return to Mayberry, our sense of community has eroded.” (pg. 2) Her use of hyperbole is not particularly effective if you examine it strictly as a tool to encourage change because it made me feel that she was being a little bit condescending to her fellow lawmakers and their ideas. However, because of the nature of Senator Jones’ comments, it may lead to change because her colleagues may see her statement as a challenge which can be acted upon.
The last strategy used by Senator Jones is her appeal to the Republican base values which are most common in the state of Utah. Senator Jones is herself one of the few Democrats in a largely Republican state. Out of 104 legislators only 24 are Democrats2 in Utah. Mrs. Jones uses her knowledge of the Republican platform to appeal to her intended audience. One of the main complaints that Republicans in Utah have with the Democrats in Utah is that they want to make government “bigger” by giving up what the Republicans see as state’s rights. In her article Senator Jones suggests the funding for education can best be allocated not by the legislature but by community councils. “Community councils know what their own school needs most, just as they do when divvying out school trust lands money.”(pg. 2) She goes on to laud the benefits of this plan by explaining that communities benefit from working together. “Funneling new, ongoing money at the school level would strengthen community councils and neighborhoods because parents and patrons would have a significant incentive to get involved...Reforming the structure of school funding would not only infuse needed money in a targeted way into our neighborhood schools, but would unite communities.” (pg. 2) I feel that this strategy is by far the most effective of those used by Senator Jones in her article. I would question however if other lawmakers would know of Mrs. Jones’ affiliation and wonder at her motives. Because I know of her political affiliation the appeal to small community-based decisions made me immediately suspicious of her motivations.
Overall I believe that Senator Jones’ article about Utah’s Education funding is effective in it’s goal to both inform and persuade fellow lawmakers that education funding needs to be examined more closely. Through the use of emotive anecdotes, simile, hyperbole, and an appeal to the values common to the Republican base of Utah, Mrs. Jones is able to use her article to elicit many different emotions. A good well-rounded appeal should factor in the audience and Senator Jones seems to be aware that certain tactics will work on some lawmakers and not others. Through her various strategies she is attempting to connect with the many different kinds of lawmakers who make up her colleagues. The overall tone of the article suggests that despite political differences that it is possible to make change in how Utah funds it’s public education. While the article contained many things that I was already aware of in public education, Patricia Jones was able to use her opportunity to encourage discussion that may actually lead to change in her intended audience.
Works Cited:
1. Senator Patricia Jones “Utah’s Education Funding: How Do We Get Dollars Into Classrooms?” published in the Hinckley Journal of Politics, vol. 12, 2011
2. http://le.utah.gov/asp/roster/roster.asp 2013 Legislators
The first strategy used by Senator Jones is anecdotal and she uses this to show that she is aware of the concerns of her constituents. She begins her article with the description of an affluent neighborhood where she came into contact with a school teacher who was struggling with the students in her classroom. She uses this anecdote to highlight difficulties not just in this one school but everywhere in Utah. She states, “only five, count them, five students out of the 29 third-graders in her class currently read at or above grade level.” (pg. 1) Within the anecdote Sen. Jones uses repetition, “only five, count them, five,” to direct the readers attention to a fact that might have been overlooked. Sen. Jones returns to the anecdote later in the article. “Some schools like Mrs. McCullough’s may choose to hire more reading specialists to help struggling readers.” (pg. 2) Her anecdote was an effective way to humanize a subject which can get boring or tedious when left only to numbers and statistics. I found myself nodding in agreement when presented with this teacher’s plight. Using this strategy may remind fellow lawmakers that the decisions they make every day affect the people they are serving.
The second strategy used by Senator Jones is analogy. Based on her personal experience as a lawmaker she compares education funding, which lacks a long-term plan as opposed to the other committees that she serves on. I believe that her intention with this strategy is to encourage reflection on the issue of education funding. “It hit me when I was conducting focus groups for the Department of Transportation and one of the questions posed to respondents referred to Utah’s ‘transportation plan.’ Our state did not have a long-term plan for public education.” (pg. 1) Further along in the article Mrs. Jones compares the current open enrollment policy in Utah schools to car shopping. “Open enrollment has resulted in parents shopping for schools like they shop for store bargains.”(pg. 2) The comparison she makes paints the image of parents fighting over their child’s placement in school like one would scramble for the last pair of shoes on sale.The use of analogy has been used as an effective tool to make the situation more real for the lawmakers who may not be aware that open enrollment is an issue in Utah schools.
Senator Jones also uses hyperbole to emphasize the ignorance many taxpayers have about what laws the government is actually passing. Patricia Jones explains that the income tax was cut from 7% to 5% a few years ago. She states, “Lawmakers broke their arms patting themselves on the back while only a measly 7% of the population is even aware of the tax reduction.” (pg. 2 )She goes on to say that nearly one-third of Utah citizens believe that income tax rates have increased rather than decreased. Senator Jones is using hyperbole to bring attention to the practice of lawmakers making beneficial changes for citizens, but then not making those citizens aware of the changes that were made.She also compares the desire for school funding to be controlled at a community level by comparing it to Mayberry, the small town from The Andy Griffith Show. “While it may not be realistic to return to Mayberry, our sense of community has eroded.” (pg. 2) Her use of hyperbole is not particularly effective if you examine it strictly as a tool to encourage change because it made me feel that she was being a little bit condescending to her fellow lawmakers and their ideas. However, because of the nature of Senator Jones’ comments, it may lead to change because her colleagues may see her statement as a challenge which can be acted upon.
The last strategy used by Senator Jones is her appeal to the Republican base values which are most common in the state of Utah. Senator Jones is herself one of the few Democrats in a largely Republican state. Out of 104 legislators only 24 are Democrats2 in Utah. Mrs. Jones uses her knowledge of the Republican platform to appeal to her intended audience. One of the main complaints that Republicans in Utah have with the Democrats in Utah is that they want to make government “bigger” by giving up what the Republicans see as state’s rights. In her article Senator Jones suggests the funding for education can best be allocated not by the legislature but by community councils. “Community councils know what their own school needs most, just as they do when divvying out school trust lands money.”(pg. 2) She goes on to laud the benefits of this plan by explaining that communities benefit from working together. “Funneling new, ongoing money at the school level would strengthen community councils and neighborhoods because parents and patrons would have a significant incentive to get involved...Reforming the structure of school funding would not only infuse needed money in a targeted way into our neighborhood schools, but would unite communities.” (pg. 2) I feel that this strategy is by far the most effective of those used by Senator Jones in her article. I would question however if other lawmakers would know of Mrs. Jones’ affiliation and wonder at her motives. Because I know of her political affiliation the appeal to small community-based decisions made me immediately suspicious of her motivations.
Overall I believe that Senator Jones’ article about Utah’s Education funding is effective in it’s goal to both inform and persuade fellow lawmakers that education funding needs to be examined more closely. Through the use of emotive anecdotes, simile, hyperbole, and an appeal to the values common to the Republican base of Utah, Mrs. Jones is able to use her article to elicit many different emotions. A good well-rounded appeal should factor in the audience and Senator Jones seems to be aware that certain tactics will work on some lawmakers and not others. Through her various strategies she is attempting to connect with the many different kinds of lawmakers who make up her colleagues. The overall tone of the article suggests that despite political differences that it is possible to make change in how Utah funds it’s public education. While the article contained many things that I was already aware of in public education, Patricia Jones was able to use her opportunity to encourage discussion that may actually lead to change in her intended audience.
Works Cited:
1. Senator Patricia Jones “Utah’s Education Funding: How Do We Get Dollars Into Classrooms?” published in the Hinckley Journal of Politics, vol. 12, 2011
2. http://le.utah.gov/asp/roster/roster.asp 2013 Legislators