They are the future.

I first volunteered for Philly Cares a number of years ago. There is a day once a year where a large number of volunteers from all around Philadelphia goes into the public schools and helps paint, organize, and do various cleaning jobs that need doing. One thing this gives me is a yearly benchmark on some facet of public education. It’s a feeling more than any quantitative measure, for sure. Whatever this benchmark is, I can say that I do not see progress and I’m very scared for our Nation. When I’m scared for our Nation, I am invariably worried about the free and democratic “Western” world, as the United States is a cornerstone of this way of life. Enough of the dramatics…

The group I was with, which was organized through my place of work, spent the day in a North Philly school named after Philadelphia administrator from the 19th century.

It’s mid-October. Almost 30 school days have passed in this school year. Why is it that only now the Reading Room is organized? The supply closet, which is where kids get their pencils, was fully impassable prior to the volunteer day. A new library was just built for this school, which is wonderful, but the teacher does not have a computer. And, as I said before, a month of school days have passed for the kids and that time will never be regained.

What else? A warning is painted in the restrooms warning children “Do Not Drink from Sinks.” This, in a school that has kindergarteners.

This is the crux of my concern with volunteering and charity: one should always help his or her neighbor. Being kind is the key to a peaceful, prosperous and democratic society. However, too much of our social infrastructure has moved back into the realm of charity. If budgets are tight, which they (always) are, we cannot cut from our long-term security. More than the military, well-educated citizens is what makes our Nation secure.