I am a student.  In the conventional terms, I am a junior at Oberlin College, where I am a major in History, and tentatively Middle East & North African Studies.  In the more abstract, I am a student of ideas about our past and future.  History fascinates me, as I think that understanding the human past is crucial not only to understand the world that we live in today, but more importantly, because it shows the power of thoughts and actions over time.  The sum of the choices of individuals over time and across time are what we regard now as history.  As for the future…well, that outlook can be rather gloomy, but what is important is to crystallize and spread the principles that will continue the progress of the human mind, with particular concern for the looming environmental crisis that we face as a species.  Books, conversation, formal education–each of these is a crucial part of learning as a whole, and I consider the thirst for knowledge to be a central part of the essence of my being.

I am a gambler.  Everything about life is a risk, from the first time that we tentatively ask someone on a date, to the chances that we may be struck in the street by a car.  Money is one of the most powerful yet meaningless social constructions that has ever been devised–what better thing is there with which to take chances?  I gamble not because it is profitable, but because there is something supremely potent about taking a chance on the roll of a die or turn of a card, with pure chance determining the fate of something that is both utterly irrelevant and massively important.

I am a visionary.  Rather than simply dealing with ideas, I want to effect change in the world.  The multitude of problems that we face on every scale is daunting, but I have faith in human ingenuity.  It’s not impossible to dream of a better future, and to hope that through the hard work of my generation it may be realized.

I hope to use this blog to record some of my thoughts.  Whether or not anyone reads it, I think it’s important simply to write.  Too often, I have interesting ideas, but have no outlet for expressing the thoughts streaming from my mind.

The reason for my moniker on here, as well as the title of this blog, is clear enough to anyone who knows me.  I love the music of the Dave Matthews Band, and have long found inspiration in their powerful songs.

Rather than simply point out the problems though, I wish to make two suggestions.  It is my firm belief that if these two policies were enacted, the overall quality of education in America would improve, and at an insignificant cost.

Property Taxes

With property taxes being the basis for education funding across America, there exists a fundamental problem of inequality.  Poorer communities pay lower property taxes, and thus have lower funds available for school budgets.  A wealthier district pays more in property taxes, and thus can easily invest far more in a local educational system.  What I propose is that the allocation of education funds take place on the state level, with each district receiving a budget commensurate with the number of students enrolled in that district.  While this is far from a perfect solution, it would go a long way toward closing the gap between the richest and poorest schools–whether or not students have textbooks and quality teachersshould not be dependent on the economic situation of the surrounding district.

Helping Elementary and Post-Secondary

In my first semester of college, I worked as a tutor for an organization called AmericaReads.  It pays college students to work in their local public schools, acting as reading tutors and generally assisting teachers for several hours a week.  However, I was only a volunteer since I was not given federal work-study as part of my financial aid.  My second proposal (which I can’t really take credit for, since my friend Liz gave me the idea), is for the federal government to invest a significant amount of money in the federal work-study program, particularly in programs like AmericaReads.  Teachers are often overworked, and students aren’t able to receive the individual attention that they need.  By sending America’s college students into the classroom, teachers can receive some much-needed assistance, students can receive more personal help, as well as have more exposure to positive role models.  With the rising cost of a college education, this benefits the college students as well, being able to earn more financial aid by contributing in a significant way to their community.

Those aren’t solutions, because I don’t believe that the public education system can be “fixed” in any fundamental ways.  But I believe that those would be a step in the right direction, and improve the quality of education for countless young people.