School Choice Bill Moves Arizona Toward Destruction of Public Education

I was absolutely horrified the other day when I read this article, "Arizona's New School Choice Bill Moves Us Closer to Milton Friedman's Vision." I cannot imagine anything nearly as awful as moving closer to a privatized school system, where our great public education system is cannibalized for funds to go to private schools. And something that moves us "closer to Milton Friedman's vision" is abhorrent. Friedman's "free market" economic policies were on full display in Chile following Agusto Pinochet's coup. Friedman's "vision" is a dystopian one, incompatible with democracy and lending itself to autocratic, despotic governments. The word "fascism" comes to mind when thinking about Friedman's economic policies.

The article celebrates the "school choice" bill, which involves giving individual parents about $7,000 in vouchers per child to spend at private or alternative schools. The vouchers, known as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts or ESAs, will be available to use at private schools, religious schools, and alternative schools. What this means for public education is the loss of revenue and funding.

Other conservative sources included similar articles, praising the new Arizona school choice bill and celebrating moving closer to Milton Friedman's vision for education (see https://tennesseestar.com/2022/07/03/commentary-arizonas-new-school-choice-bill-moves-us-closer-to-milton-friedmans-vision/ for example). 

Opponents of the program and its expansion say it will siphon tax dollars from public schools when parents decide to take their children elsewhere. Public schools are largely funded by federal, state and local government on the basis of attendance.

Milton Friedman’s “vision” sees a privatized education system where those people with money can afford the best education for their children while poorer people are stuck in an underfunded public education system that is failing because those with money have abandoned it. As early as 1955, Friedman advocated for vouchers so parents could choose their children’s education. While it sounds good (who would be opposed to parents being able to choose their children’s educational opportunities?), Friedman’s vision is based on the destruction of our egalitarian public education system. Public education serves everyone, rich or poor. As it is, the funding for public education is already unfair; funding comes from property taxes and thus, public schools located in wealthier areas are better funded.

In addition, Arizona already ranks either 49^th or 50^th in spending on education.

In 2018, Arizonans overwhelmingly voted down the expansion of school vouchers by defeating Proposition 305, which would have expanded the ESA program. Yet the Republican Arizona legislature has gone against the will of the people of Arizona and passed this school voucher bill.

In a critical article on the legislation in Salon.com, Beth Lewis, director of Save Our Schools Arizona put it this way:

"The Republican universal voucher system is designed to kill public education," tweeted former Arizona House Rep. Diego Rodriguez. "OUR nation's greatness is built on free Public schools. The GOP goal is to recreate segregation, expand the opportunity gap, and destroy the foundation of our democracy." 

This is indeed Milton Friedman’s “vision” for our education system.

The article in Salon.com also notes: the new law also speeds up the same sort of death spiral that has afflicted public schools across the country, by steadily draining funds away from public education. While the immediate cost of ESA expansion — for students already outside the public school system — will draw on Arizona's general funds, the money to cover children who leave public schools in coming years will be deducted from public school budgets. 

As Charles Siler notes, “One of the things people never fully comprehend is how far privatization advocates want to take things," he said. "They want to get rid of all public funding for education. Eventually vouchers will die off too." What will remain, he argues, will be a self-funded primary education system, funded by a lending market much as colleges are. Or as Lewis says, a "system of haves and have-nots.”

And that is the true "vision" of Milton Friedman: a "free market" for education as for other businesses, which will sacrifice a free public education for all children in favor of a market funded, privatized system where those with means will be able to find good education for their children and those without will be relegated to failing schools and overcrowded classes.

Aging

I've been thinking a lot lately about aging now that I've turned 60. I would like to think I have time left on this earth but to be honest, I don't feel that way. I feel my time is short, even if I have 20 or 30 years left (my parents and grandparents all lived into their 90s with the exception of my grandmother who had heart disease and even she lived to nearly 78). I don't want to put off things anymore; who knows how long I have to do something.

It's not a morbid thing to think about the time you have left. How could you help it at this age? You've entered your 6th decade of life on the planet and there are things you can't do anymore. You see a tightening of one's options, a shrinking of one's horizons. That is not to say that one should simply fold up and wait to die. But it is to recognize that there are fewer possibilities that stretch ahead of you, and more memories that spool out behind you.

I feel like there's a shrinking of my world as well. It has narrowed to my days at work and endless piddling at home (cleaning, cooking, straightening up). There's a shrinking of my family as my kids prepare to go out on their own. I always thought my world would widen as I aged but it is the exact opposite. It has become small and condensed.

I look to the universe to go forward as I age. How can I do it with grace and composure rather than fear and sadness? I don't have a choice about aging but I do have the choice of how I deal with it. And I am choosing to deal with it as gracefully as possible.

This is just a test.

This is just a test post. I haven't written a blog post in 2 years or more and it's time to wake up the blog again. I don't have much to say today, just a lazy Sunday afternoon in November, but I wanted to say hello to my old blog and hopefully start up chronicling things again.

I'm stable now, in a more or less balanced mood, although I've had some depression and panic attacks recently. I'm worried about money, as always, but my kids are more or less healthy and they remain the light of my life. We still have a roof over our heads and food on the table and a car that runs, so I can't complain too much. I have a job that I like tolerably well and up until recently I was writing again. Maybe if I visit this blog more often, I can start up my writing again.

Here's to new posts and new challenges and more happiness and ease in the future.

Cycling again

Ah, my old friend Bipolar Disorder. You've reared your ugly head again. What I love/hate about this disorder is its unpredictability. Just when you've spent years believing you're fine, wham! it rises up again and swoops in like a plague of locusts.

I had had no real issues since 2008. I don't know what triggered that cycle but I ceased to need sleep and on top of a full time job I decided to teach a Saturday morning English class for high school students who were in danger of failing but wanted to go to college. I loved doing it but I don't remember sleeping much at all during that time. My three children only remember mom always busy, either working or grading papers. I was also doing housework and cooking and generally trying to hold everything together. I finally recognized this manic cycle when I started flipping through my journal and saw the changes in what I was saying and doing. Thank goodness for that journal; it may have saved my life.

I found myself a good psychiatrist (my old one was in Tucson and I was now living in Phoenix) and got back on medication, which I had been off since I started having children in 1998. I somehow had thought that with pregnancies and hormones I'd been cured but apparently not.

With my psychiatrist's help, I received a re-education in bipolar disorder and began again with my medication. (I was on Depakote as a mood stabilizer and Celexa as an antidepressant. There's quite a bit of argument about whether people with bipolar should take antidepressants but I can't address that here. I can say they did work to keep me out of deep depression.) In fact, I was so compliant and stable, that just last year, in 2015, I asked if it was possible that I would be able to get off my medications.It seemed as though my psychiatrist might laugh but he takes his job and patients much more seriously than that. He explained to me that I would never be able to stop; there was no telling when any kind of episode would occur. I didn't believe him but I did take my meds.

And then in November I began seeing things out of the corners of my eyes. Strange things: on the right side, I saw a large block of marble that seemed rather like a sheet except I knew it was cold stone. Behind that, a fleeting glimpse of a head, also made of marble. On my left side there were dark figures dancing. These actually have a name: shadow people. They were moving stealthily but in rhythmic motion.

I saw my doctor and explained what was going on. He prescribed Geodon and said I was having a minor psychotic episode. It didn't feel very minor to me but ever compliant, I took my medication home and took some that night. It made me feel as if I wanted to crawl out of my own skin.

The next day was even worse. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. My chest hurt, I was breathing fast, and I could actually feel my heart beating crazily in my chest. I went to Urgent Care and they did an EKG. No heart attack, everything normal. Except me. I wasn't normal.

That manic episode lasted through the middle of December. My doctor gave me another antipsychotic, Saphris, to help with the hallucinations. I don't know if it helped or not because the hallucinations stopped when the mania began to subside. We agreed that I could quit taking it but I should keep it around in case the strange visions began again.

And now, today, another manic episode is beginning. I felt it today as my pupils were dilated and I felt the thoughts racing. I want to do everything at once: write articles, write in my blog, do my freelance editing job, even clean the kitchen (okay, not so much).

I had thought I was stable or at least on the road to stability again. And now this.

So what can I do to help anyone else going through this? What can I say to make anyone else's struggle with bipolar disorder any easier?

First of all, accept that you have it and there is no cure. It's not cancer and you're not going to "beat it." This is frustrating because our instincts tell us we should go out and find a cure for things, make things all better, keep them from coming back. But this doesn't go away. You'll have to accept it in order to move forward at all.

Second, see a qualified psychiatrist you feel comfortable with and trust. It may take some time for this one. And insurance. But even without money (I'm broke, trust me, and applying for my state's Medicaid program), there are good psychiatrists there for you. It's important to find one who is right and who will be there when you call. Because I can almost guarantee you will have to call.

Third, TAKE YOUR MEDICINE. Yes, I was yelling that. Many people, myself included, feel stable and think we can stop our medicine. That is one of the most dangerous situations with bipolar disorder. It can result in very risky behavior during mania and such intense depression that suicide seems like a bright and shiny option. If your meds are not right for you, talk to your doctor. But don't just stop taking them. There may be no cure but stability is possible.

Fourth, don't give up. I know that sounds so trite. Why bother if there's no cure, or the meds make you sick? Well, you are important. You need to grow into believing that. The world needs you. It took me a long time to learn to believe that about myself. I still have a hard time. But when the strength comes from inside, you will have the ability to survive and thrive.

So, even though life is a roller coaster with bipolar disorder, you can learn to ride it without falling off. I'm going to hold on tight during this new manic episode and take my meds. I'll get frustrated and irritated and angry and find ways to deal with it that don't involve yelling at anyone or attempting to harm myself. And when this is gone, I'll probably be depressed. And I'll survive that too, even if I have to keep the crisis hotline number right next to me at night. I'll survive and I'll thrive. And I know you can too.

Brooke is a freelance writer and blogger, living in Arizona. Check out her personal blog (brookesworldofword.blogspot.com). She will be starting a new blog shortly about Tea and Organic Food.

Follow her on Twitter at @bfred58

Facing uncertainty

Last summer I had choices. I was at a company that was closing and I was offered a large retention bonus for staying, as well as an excellent severance package. I was determined to do that and then begin my freelance writing and editing business after that.

But I thought I should also be responsible and look for work. So I did and I found a very good position as a Proposal and Grants Writer for a K-12 educational software company. I spent 6 months of stressful work there, with no real acceptance and no encouragement and no training. And just 3 days ago, on January 12, 2016, I was let go without any explanation other than "I was not a good fit."

And now, my choices are gone. It's no use looking back but I really could have done far better if I had stayed and collected my money from my former job. But I can't go back. And going forward is frightening. I have possibly enough money to pay my rent and bills through February but unless I find work--and fast--March will be a month where I'm facing homelessness.

So, if any one of my friends and former colleagues reads this post, perhaps you can look around for some freelance writing and editing jobs for an unemployed Ph.D. who needs the work. I'm going to take some of my own advice and apply for grants for starting a small business and try to build my freelance writing and editing business.

Wish me luck folks!

I'll be writing a lot more in the near future.

Summer in the desert

Ah, it's been a long time since posting. I have some poems I've written but I don't want to try them out on people here until I've gotten them in better shape. I'm a little shy about my writing that way. Until I'm ready to share it, I keep it to myself, in a journal or in a file on the computer so I can work on it and make it what I want it to be. It's somewhat the same with fiction except that I will try to write that all the way through and then go back and edit. Otherwise, I'll get obsessed with what I got wrong and never get past that spot.

It is so hot here that I have a difficult time thinking. Whose brain can work when it's 112 degrees or higher. It doesn't matter that my office, my apartment, and my car have air conditioning. You can feel the heat penetrating through every window everywhere into every pore of your body. I've been home for 3 hours and I'm still uncomfortable.

And I'm preoccupied about what I can do to make money after my job ends. I've never been very comfortable leaping off into the unknown without a way to make a living. It's frightening, I have to admit. There are things I can do now, like promote my grant writing and try to get some small jobs but I feel exhausted when I get home (see the paragraph above regarding heat!) and I also haven't gotten my name out there yet.

Complain, whine, bitch, kvetch. I get sick of hearing myself. Just jump already. Go. Do. Be.

Okay, that's my motto for now: Go. Do. Be.

Next time, more writings.

Buidling Confidence

I have always been very self critical. It's difficult because it results in sabotage of my writing and my sense of self. I've worried what others think of me, which is really a ludicrous point of view. All that matters is what kind of person I am, the confidence I have in myself to create, and how I treat others.

I remember feeling so lost when I was 15 and 16 because I felt no one encouraged my writing or my art. I used to paint and draw and write and teachers would basically just look at my stuff and not say anything. They would encourage others but my work was somehow not good enough, not interesting enough, etc. What I should have done was ignore that and simply go on creating but I let it affect me, first by not continuing in art and second by doubting--continually, even to this day-- my own ability to write. I even make a living at writing now and I still doubt my abilities. It's pathetic.

A person cannot depend on others to decide their worth or their abilities. It is up to each of us to believe and to practice and to do, to create, to be who we are with all our strength and dedication and all the joy we can muster. I truly believe that. It has taken me many years to learn that lesson, not just in my head but in my heart. I did feel like I was approaching it, I was writing a lot and feeling good. But my marriage was a long, 13-year slide into doubt and self criticism again. I let someone else tear me down; I allowed that. But never again.

It's such a first world problem; I think of all the people struggling for food and shelter who have no time to ponder their self-consciousness. And yet I believe that even those people have to believe in themselves in order to continue on in the world, in order to survive and hopefully one day to thrive.

I am writing now again. I am planning on writing for a living (see my wordyandwise.wordpress.com grant writing business site). My ex laughs at me because he's convinced I can't do that and survive. Well, perhaps the woman he was married to couldn't, but the woman I am now can do anything she wants--create, work, write for a living, maybe even paint again. Will it be easy? No. Nothing that is worthwhile is easy. But for me, sitting in a cubicle working for someone else is not easy either. It is depressing and spirit killing. With my own freelance work, I can also do something I love: establish a local food program to help inner city people get good, organic food at low cost. That's something I feel passionate about.

I am scared. How would it be possible not to be scared about not having a "regular" job after Dec. 31? But I will get by. There is severance pay, retention bonus, regular bonus, insurance through next March, unemployment, insurance through ACA afterwards, cheaper rent, refinancing my car to a lower rate. And I know how to make money. And I know how to write. And I will have a business and do what I love. And determination is part of having confidence.

And now I know how to be confident again.