Hafsah Syed
Hafsah is a rising senior at UC Berkeley and summer intern at Evolve CA.
Why should fully-funding public education be a priority?
When I was in middle school, there was one year where we had multiple furlough days because of teacher strikes; it seemed like we had a three-day weekend every week. I wasn’t surprised by any of this. Despite San Francisco being such a wealthy city, the lack of funding in my majority-POC school was obvious to me the second I began attending it. Every year, all of my teachers paid for their own supplies or asked for donations. It was rare for any of my teachers to live in the same city they worked in; most commuted on public transportation for hours from all over the Bay Area. This always seemed unfair to me and the injustice only became more evident as I grew older.
In high school, one of my teachers told me that I had the potential to work in the United Nations. The support of my teacher meant so much. My confidence skyrocketed and I began to see more possibilities in my future career. Teachers are more than educators—they are sources of inspiration that can change students’ lives. The encouragement of a teacher who believes in you can transform you and motivate you to reach for higher aspirations. This is especially significant in regards to POC and marginalized students. It is why teachers deserve more resources and higher pay. They are a prime vehicle through which education breaks down institutional barriers and systemic racism.
My belief in the power of education and commitment to racial equity led me to intern at Evolve California. My experience as a public school student has informed my desire to support marginalized students and reduce obstacles to student success within the education system. Evolve’s mission of fully funding schools is one that resonates with me because educational inequality stems from lack of funding. It is only if we invest in teachers and subsequently education as an institution that future generations will flourish and achieve unheard-of accomplishments.