What if I told you the future is crumbling and most people don’t even see it happening? While governments pour billions into war, debt, and fleeting agendas, the foundation of every functioning society, education, is collapsing. Over 250 million children worldwide remain out of school. In the U.S., 54% of adults cannot read at a highly functional level or are illiterate. Kutest Kids states that “The economic ramifications of low literacy are stark. The United States incurs a staggering estimated cost of $2.2 trillion annually due to low literacy rates. This figure encompasses losses in job productivity, higher healthcare costs, and increased welfare dependency.” This isn’t just an education crisis. It’s a warning. If we allow this system to continue failing, the consequences won’t just fall on today’s students, they’ll fall on all of us.
Public education is underfunded, overwhelmed, and increasingly unequal. The Century Foundation reports that “The United States is underfunding its K-12 public schools by nearly $150 billion annually, depriving over 30 million children of the resources they need. Schools serving mostly Black and Latinx students are hit hardest, facing average funding deficits of over $5,000 per student.” And yet, while our classrooms crumble, our government continues to fund external ventures like the $175 billion sent to aid Ukraine, and commits trillions more to other efforts. And yet we remain 1.77 trillion dollars in student loan debt. Where is that same urgency for the children in our own neighborhoods who can’t afford pencils, safe buildings, or even functioning school buses? The truth is uncomfortable: money dictates who gets to learn, and who gets left behind.
This financial disparity doesn’t only affect college students. From the very first cycle of learning, children from lower-income households are at a disadvantage. They can’t access early education or private schools that have more resources. Private schools, unlike public schools, offer education at a price or tuition. These schools are privately funded and often have flexible classes and smaller class sizes. In some private schools, teachers don’t even need proper certification to teach. Public schools, reliant on government funds, are overcrowded and under-resourced. Teachers are burned out. Students are overlooked. The system fails those who need it most, those without the money to fight back. As a result, the poor stay poor. College tuition, another major barrier, prevents millions from entering the workforce in meaningful ways. And so, the cycle of poverty repeats. This is not just a personal tragedy. It is a societal failure.
But solutions exist if we choose to invest. The Economic Policy Institute urges for “a robust, stable, and consistent school funding plan that supports all children.” They stress the importance of “federal leadership” and “proportional investment” to address the massive inequalities in education. Meanwhile, Stand Together promotes “individualized education,” arguing that a one-size-fits-all model ignores the unique needs of each learner. Not every child learns the same, so why do we continue to teach them like they do? If we can tailor technology, medicine, and marketing to the individual, we must do the same for the most important system of all education.
This isn’t just a cry for help. It’s a call to action. The statistics will only worsen if we do nothing. Students can use their voices to raise awareness and demand reform, after all, many voices are better than one. Adults can support by donating, voting, and sharing this message. By donating to groups such as Save the Children or the AAE can help. Because if we don’t fight for education now, we won’t just lose classrooms—we’ll lose future doctors, artists, scientists, leaders, and innovators. We’ll lose the very people who could’ve saved us. The future is watching. What will we give them to learn?
Aaliyah Cooley – De La Salle Institute – DMSF Class of 2029
Photo Credit: Peter Zeedijk/Wirestock – Adobe Stock