In Disfavor of Philadelphia Budget Cuts

I was intently hunched over my laptop at a table of four. Like the 20-odd other students in the room with me, I was hoping to finish my work before the period ended. The brightness of my screen was turned way down to conserve battery; programming with Alice eats up charge like no other software. We were given a difficult project to work on - which I was close to finishing. I ran my code... it worked! The hint the teacher had given helped perfectly. 

This class, computer science engineering, was not something I thought I would like. However, high school is a time to explore my options and all the fun things out there.  

Right now, I want to try new things and enjoy school, and electives fulfill both wishes. Unfortunately, the Philadelphia School District can not pay for people to teach these classes based on proposed budget cuts. This also translates to no language classes, no clubs, sports, counselors, nurses. Classes will be expanded while teachers are laid off.  Learning does not just take place in core classes; this proposed future is not an acceptable form of education. 

Instead of shutting down extracurriculars, the state and other decision makers should prioritize education. No matter what else is going on, education should not bear the brunt of it. Instead, trying to manage funds more delicately and procuring money to close the gap through other means would be much more acceptable.