Believe It! NPR Shows How K-12 Policy Can Lead to Sugary-Sweet Goodness

Stop nagging me! Yes, it’s true I haven’t added much to the blog this week. Too much time making my Christmas list for Santa… up to 30 pages so far. Now it’s Friday and I’m tired. But I couldn’t retire into the weekend without at least a nod to something education-related here.

National Public Radio did a cool little feature interviewing kids my age about a new proposal that would give needy students in Cleveland, Ohio, the token of college-bound hope:

Every Cuyahoga County kindergartner would receive a $100 college savings account under a plan county Executive Ed FitzGerald says will create a “culture of college attendance” for children and their parents.

Now assuming that the Cuyahoga County Council adopts this plan, the investment of $100 each in accounts for all local 15,000 kindergarteners would hardly begin to pay for the costs of college in 2025 but would give some kids hope for postsecondary learning that otherwise might not have it. Is that a good thing? Writing at the Flypaper blog, Aaron Churchill thinks so:

We applaud efforts to promote the expectation that our youngest students will attend college, while simultaneously encouraging their parents to think about the economics of college early in their kids’ lives.

Since it’s Friday and fatigued, I’ll refrain from cranky discussions of annoying little questions, like, “What happens to the money if the child doesn’t go to college?” and “How much weekly investment from low-income parents would be needed to ensure a four-year college education is paid for when the time comes?” Instead, I’ll crack a big smile at the answers some of my fellow 5-year-olds gave NPR reporter Ida Lieszkovszky.

When asked what he would do with $100, one child from a Cleveland charter school said, “I will buy a bike, a Reese’s Cup.” A Reese’s Cup? Mmmm. Me, too. Hard to resist that chocolate-peanutbuttery goodness. After all, we can’t enjoy any more cream-filled Twinkie delights.

Now who still says that education policy can’t be fun, sweet and induce precious minutes of hyperactive bliss? Wish my poor mom and dad well, and see you next week!