Put that census money to better use, in the Philly schools
by Guest blogger on Apr 15 2010 Posted in Community voices
Another guest blog this week. This is from the April 14 SRC meeting where Shaquille McKnightof E. Washington Rhodes High School spoke about the census. She was the second place winner in the Citywide Student Government Census Oratorical Contest. Here's her speech:
The United States Government census will take place this year. A census counts the current population in each state to determine how much government funding each state will receive. The 2010 census money will go to jobs, schools, health, buildings, transportation, and education.
Schools are one of my city’s biggest problems. Students attending school in the School District of Philadelphia have limited opportunities because of poverty in our neighborhoods. Many schools lack supplies of books, qualified teachers and enough space for the many students that attend, and the quality and quantity of the food is a disgrace.
Without enough books students are unable to learn the necessary concepts. We cannot practice skills at home because there are not enough books to take home and we have to sometimes share books in class. Because our education is not equal we are not getting the same opportunities as students in other schools and our performance in the world may not be as good as possible if this problem is not fixed.
We also have a problem with teachers. We do not have enough teachers and