With our economy in the state it’s in, much debate has arisen on whether or not President Obama’s stimulus package should have as much support for education as it contains. At a time when millions of Americans are jobless and many are in fear of losing their homes or going without basic necessities, why should so much money go into our schools and not elsewhere to have an instant impact? History may provide some insight.
My hometown-Fort Worth, TX-is sister cities with a scenic place in western Japan called Nagaoka. Over 140 years ago, it was a flashpoint in the Boshin War, one of the most destructive domestic conflicts in that country’s history. The city’s leaders, having decided to stand against the emperor, were on the losing side of the war and, in the end, watched their homes reduced to rubble, and their people made destitute from the ravages of battle.
In the aftermath, a domain sympathetic to Nagaoka showed charity in donating a large shipment of food for its starving population. Before it could be consumed, however, one of the city’s leaders suggested that the food be sold to help finance education. Many argued against the idea, but he countered, stating famously that if one-hundred bags of rice are eaten, “they are lost instantly, but if they are put towards education, they will become the ten thousand or one million bags of tomorrow.” The plan was put into action and, through determination and hard work, the city recovered, grew, and now thrives.
This story has given birth to a play, and a popular anecdote in Japanese culture, Kome Hyappyo.
There is an intimately relevant lesson to be learned, here. Like Nagaoka, our nation and others are suffering, and we are, admittedly, in need of a lot of immediate relief. However, the causes of our recession are plethora and occurred over a long period of time. Fittingly, any solution requires a long-term perspective. Our plan of action, though it needs a focus on the here and now, must have an equally important investment in the future. If we allow ourselves to act on a purely subsistence mindset, we will, in the end, condemn ourselves to the economic doldrums that we are so desperate to avoid.
Education must not only be held to the status quo but expanded upon because the infrastructures of our primary, secondary, and higher education systems are untenable. Many school districts across the country find themselves in the red and lack the funds to hire the extra teachers they require, purchase the materials necessary to satisfactorily educate their students, much less provide above-average, competitive academic programs. Many high school graduates have had to watch their opportunities for a four-year, quality college education become more and more out of reach. Without a well-educated workforce, the United States cannot hope recover from its losses. It will, in time, suffer an ever-larger disadvantage in the world labor market.
So, let’s keep our perspective. We need instant dividends, to be sure, but education has never been a bad investment. The school-oriented allocations within the current stimulus bill are our ‘one hundred sacks of rice.’ Let’s remember history, and take solace in that any financial support for educational programs, used correctly and coupled with a determined will to succeed, will bear fruit for those patient enough to harvest it.