It was sad to read about the classes used for job training at the San José Unified district to be axed from next year on. As the San José Mercury News reports: Faced with choices ranging from tough to terrible, San Jose Unified School District officials are considering making drastic changes in 2011-12, including slashing adult education.
To the hundreds of adults struggling to get by while trying to reach the starting line for job training, proposed cuts to their basic skills and English classes feel like the last dream-crusher.
Now since San José is the capital of Silicon Valley which is the incubator of many start-ups which have gone to make billions in the last decade or so and to the many philanthropists who run many such organizations; it is sad to see none of them are standing up and contributing to the core requirement to uplift the economy – to generate jobs. If such centers provide job training to those who need the most and the state /city has to ax them – it’s mighty disturbing. Would a large organization rather give up the holiday bash this December and instead donate to a larger cause?
Perhaps this might move you: Irene Gonzalez, 34, who’s endured ups and many downs since her husband died 2½ years ago, is barely getting by while she learns to become an administrative assistant. “We’re practically homeless,” she said about herself and her four children. “We really need this program.”