Georgia must invest in public education to bridge the state’s divides | Opinion.

Anyone who plays tennis is likely familiar with the term “running around your backhand,“ a move exhibited by players who try to avoid their weakest stroke. Players who are guilty of this maneuver are encouraged to overcome the habit.

I don’t know if Gov. Brian Kemp plays tennis, but I know that when it comes to confronting the issues that blight the lives of everyday Georgians, Kemp is a master at tackling those that fit his agenda to the neglect of others.

Currently, Georgia’s leadership is working to use state funds to enable students to attend private academies, thinking that this measure will get students out of failing schools. The true problem is students who live in “failing neighborhoods.” Certainly we don’t wish for anymore fissures in our society.

I have read that Georgia recently has more people living in counties that were in the bottom national quartile for per capita income than any other state. The 147 Georgia counties outside the 12-county metro region would comprise the second worst educated state in the country, while the metro Atlanta region would constitute the second best educated “state” in the country. Our state can be similarly divided along health care lines. Some 83 of Georgia counties place in the bottom national quartile for health outcomes.

It is plain that there are two Georgias, and Gov. Kemp cannot be regarded as a successful leader as long as our state is so divided.

Connected with our slate’s problems with education and health care is our corrections system. When our education system fails, our students encounter problems, and when they become parents, the cycle is perpetuated. A child’s first teacher is his parents. Ideally, parents prepare their children for formal education, but for various reasons this pre-education does not always occur.

This failure is nothing less than a tragedy. If little children are to be successful as they come of age, it is imperative that their love affair with reading is well underway by the time that they start school. Students who don’t read well in the early grades will soon adopt the tragic position that reading doesn’t matter.

Former President Jimmy Carter – a naval officer, former governor, peanut farmer, and extraordinary human being – said at his 1971 inaugural speech: “I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over.”

Carter was right back in 1971, and sadly he was still right on the day of his death. The recent proposals to subsidize private schools are merely another form of discrimination. An influential legislator recently observed wrong-headedly that we can’t expect public schools to offer such things as the arts. He is dead wrong.

If we want public education to prosper and reduce crime, it is essential that kids have the opportunity to play an instrument, sing, debate, perform, paint or engage in other such pursuits. Even more so than sports, these activities will keep kids engaged in school.

Rather than abandoning kids in struggling neighborhoods, we must provide those students with the advantages found in the finest schools. Let us give them these resources.

In the December issue of Georgia Trend, the lead opinion piece declares that “Georgia Needs a Reset.” For 11 years, Georgia has been named the best state to do business, but it hasn’t been cited as the best place to live, work or learn.

Part of the blame must be placed at the feet of our governor. If our leaders would address health care and education, much of our correctional woes would dissipate.

In 2025, I suggest we start with education. Let’s pay our teachers like the road to prosperity and fulfillment depends upon them. In truth, it does.

Larry Fennelly can be reached at larney_f@hotmail.com.