Opinions

Alaska's largest resource, and potential liability, is its children. Let's act like it

Across the state, children are returning to school this month, shoes laced, lunch boxes in hand. But not in Bethel. There, a group of childhood vandals allegedly managed to inflict an extraordinary amount of damage on the school, tearing through the kindergarten classroom leaving a wake of destruction in their path.

The photos are disturbing. It's hard for any parent of a 10-year-old to imagine a child doing that much damage intentionally. It goes way beyond childhood pranks. That level of destruction seems like it could only come from a place of rage.

Whether or not that was the case here will likely be something only the people involved will ever know, but suffice it to say, for many in rural Alaska, schools are a far cry from the nurturing environments we all envision for our children. Young, inexperienced teachers come from faraway places, managing to stay in these remote areas for only a few years, if that. They are drawn by the opportunity, and the money and likely some idealism about life in a village in rural Alaska à la Northern Exposure. The reality can be quite different. Administrators are often the same, rotating through year after year, providing little continuity for students.

But while we can likely have sympathy for the difficulty of new teachers and administrators coming into remote locations and tight-knit communities, it is the students for whom most of our compassion must be reserved. Alaska children -- all Alaska children -- deserve wonderful schools and exciting teachers who will encourage their natural inclination to learn and absorb as much as possible. If done properly, schools can even be a refuge for the tough issues many youth face at home. And those who are lucky enough to come from supportive, encouraging families will only blossom wider with a great education.

So while the state wrestles with its current fiscal crisis and whether or not to introduce another revenue stream other than oil money into the state coffers, students right now are paying the price for any indecision on the part of lawmakers. While today's classrooms may look fancy and modern, the most important asset in any classroom is the teacher. There are programs afoot in Alaska right now to encourage Alaska teachers to stay right here in their state, to train teachers from rural villages, and to offer them support as they transition from school to the classroom. These programs could be a huge boon to our state if they are supported and there is follow-through. Imagine if even half of Alaska's rural educators were actually from the communities they teach in. Those teachers could provide support for the new fresh-off-the-boat teachers, and the dynamic would surly shift dramatically. It's hard to imagine that such a scenario would do anything but improve the chance that children in rural Alaska would love their schools as much kids in the bigger cities do, if not more.

It's often tossed around that Alaska is a resource state and that's true, but not in the way we think. Our largest resource, and also our largest liability, is our children. Teach them well and they will grow up to support and expand our economy and our communities. Treat them poorly and they will be a burden to our social support programs most likely for life. What does it cost to feed an inmate for a year? What does it cost to provide food stamps for a young mother and her children? Probably a lot more than investing in our education system for a brighter future.

Maybe the children in Bethel who damaged district vehicles and ripped smart boards from the wall were just caught up in a childhood prank gone way, way too far. We can hope so. It's hard to imagine that they, like so many other youth in rural Alaska, were so disconnected from their school that they didn't consider that what they were hurting with their vandalism was actually something that could help them, that they could enjoy, that was there entirely to build them up and enrich their lives. We need to make Alaska schools a place children rejoice in returning to each fall. If we can, it will pay dividends that make the Permanent Fund dividend look paltry by comparison.

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Carey Restino is the editor of Bristol Bay Times-Dutch Harbor Fisherman and The Arctic Sounder, where this commentary first appeared.

The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.

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