The education system in Louisiana is severely lacking when compared to that of our surrounding states. I shudder to think that this statement is now general knowledge. When standing before the nations’ parent, the capitol, Louisiana tucks its tail in shame.

Stop and ponder the above statement awhile. What is the real issue here? Is it the fault of our teachers? Is it the flawed politics? Is it the dying moral of our students?

Perhaps I can’t point a finger to just one of these when it’s the entire classroom acting up. When the situation gets this bad, typically the teacher resolves to canceling recess and putting everyone in a time-out.

The apathy that the younger generation has towards reading and writing is appalling. The teachers are underpaid for the amount of effort they put forth in their attempts to bridge the gaps in the flawed curriculums.

The government pretends to care, but the budget cuts to education are still on the rise. The effects of this are felt everywhere from the educators to the students of every age and grade level. College students have lost huge chunks of their scholarships they believe to have earned.

Here is a problem. I’m an aspiring writer that hasn’t had a single lesson on grammar since my eighth grade year of high school, and that was only because my particular class was so poor at it that my teacher felt sorry for us. It wasn’t even part of the curriculum.

Thankfully, I come from a background of English teaching parents who speak correctly for the most part. Unfortunately for my peers, this isn’t the usual case scenario.

What’s more, the rules for writing have definitely changed within the past ten years, and quite a few times at that. So, why aren’t the new rules being taught? There probably isn’t a single student yet that doesn’t visit a MLA or APA website at least every once in a while.

Another sad truth is that I have oftentimes worked with ESL students who write better than many of those native to the U.S. This is not to speak against the ESL students. On the contrary, many who come to this country to study are the most advanced students.

The tear-jerking fact is that many English speaking students of Louisiana have no idea how to communicate and write effectively in their own language.

True, mistakes come out even among the best of scholars.

However, it is not a fine line that lies between a few typos every now and again and being clueless to what is correct. The difference is actually obvious to those who have to take a few headache meds and read the stuff.

Ask any professor. To go through this problem with high school students is one thing, but at a university level it is simply heartbreaking. In truth, the problem starts much earlier than that. As a state, Louisiana education has failed with a capitol F.

Many possible solutions are already in play to help fix the issue at local levels. Educators are already making efforts to encourage young students to read more, and have been for years. Professors are making efforts to contact government officials about budgeting.

So, what can the students themselves do? Just sit back and watch our elders do the dirty work? Well, no. They’ve been asked to make their voices heard among our legislatures. After all, they are the future, and they’re the ones that will be impacted the most.

Time out is over. Why sit back and let others decide our fates and the value of our educations? Let’s make our voices heard.