When eight-grader Ty’Sheoma Bethea sent a letter to Congress asking for help rebuilding her school she never dreamed it would make it to the eyes of the president of the United States. But that it did, and as a result she became one of the faces of the stimulus package and her school, J. V. Martin Junior High School, in Dillon, South Carolina, became a symbol of the kind of crumbling infrastructure that President Barack Obama hopes the stimulus bill will improve.
Not only that but Ty'Sheoma Bethea boarded her first plane with her mother, Dina Leach, and flew from to Washington, D. C. and was seated next to First Land Michelle Obama as her guest for the president’s first speech to a joint session of Congress.
Ty'Sheoma was inspired to write the letter by President Obama, who mentioned her school in his first presidential news conference on February 9. After visiting the school, he referenced J.V. Martin as evidence of educational institutions that would benefit from school construction funding in his multi-billion dollar stimulus package. In her letter, Ty'Sheoma described the rundown conditions plaguing her school, which was built in 1896, saying the funds would improve the building and the quality of education.
In her letter she wrote, "We are just students trying to become lawyers, doctors, congressmen like yourself, and one day president, so we can make a change to not just the state of South Carolina, but also the world. We are not quitters."
Poorly maintained and ill-equipped schools in South Carolina's "corridor of shame" (some of the poorest counties in America) were an issue during the Democratic primary as evidence that education reform had to be an imperative for the next president. South Carolina schools became an issue again recently when South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford said he might turn down some of the money in the stimulus. And South Carolina Representative James Clyburn, the highest-ranking Black American in Congress, answered that turning down money was an "insult" to Blacks.
"We have legislation here now with the money to do something about the schools, do something about water and sewage along that corridor in these 12 counties. And now the governor says, 'I don't want to accept the money. 'That's why I called this an insult, that's why I said this is a slap in the face, because a majority of those counties are, in fact, inhabited by African-Americans," Clyburn said on CNN.
Education has become the new civil rights issue. Take note of the states that are fighting educational improvements are states with the worst education in the country (South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Nebraska, West Virginia) and all Republican strongholds. It’s really not an issue of the color of your skin – its all about economics. There are not very many poor educated people anywhere in the world. Whether you can do a job exceptional or not does not make a difference today if you don’t have an education. You must get the best education possible to be able to compete in this era. I went to my twin grandsons eight grade graduation last June and there were people screaming and cheering like it was a degree from Stanford. My daughter and I looked at each other and said to each other, it’s just the beginning people. You can always break out your education when all things are equal.
In his speech, President Obama said that education is among the top priorities of his administration and urged Americans to take advantage of the promise of an education. In an economy, where we have to compete with people from around the globe, the most valuable skill you can present is your knowledge. And a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity. It is a prerequisite. In past generations you needed a high school diploma to get ahead, now you need at least a college degree. We all need to continue to educate ourselves daily to stay in the game.
In his speech to Congress, the president asked every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. Even if you can not afford that kind of training, you can at least take a self-help course. A high school diploma will barely get you in the door today.
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