We are all convinced that the state of education in America is in shambles.  Schools are closing, districts are cutting teachers and other vital staff, and students are finding themselves in classes of 40 and more students.  It's sad, isn't it?  It's sad that with all of these things going on that there isn't more determination among the American people to protect the free-public system we have.  While in earthquake-shattered Haiti students, parents, teachers, and community members are fight to keep the doors open.

The New York Times reports on one such school that is facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles.  However, when faced with the possibility that their school might close the students and other concerned parties make sacrifices and adjustments that will still give them access to education.  They have learned to drop the fluff.  They are seeing things from a new perspective.  Their physical space has been determined unsafe.  Their fellow classmates have lost loved ones and homes.  Their teachers have been without pay for months.  But the general concensus is that the education of the next generation is worth it.

So what can we learn from this?  While it is unlikely that a natural disaster will happen on such a scale as to affect our entire country, we can learn to appreciate the Haitian perspective.  We can start eliminating what is not vital and essential to the education of our students and begin focusing on what is.  We can teach our students that education is not just an obligation but an opportunity.