We wish it weren't so, but more things matter to our son than school. His friends. His music. His dreams of playing in a rock band. Although we talk with him a lot about how his education affects his whole life, we wonder if our words ever hit the target.
So imagine our surprise at dinner the other night, when he said he wanted to go to summer school to earn an extra math credit, to qualify for the governor's scholarship program.
Math has never been a favorite or easy subject. Shock and awe! We scored a bull's-eye. Well, almost. He thought the scholarship program was a done deal.
When Gov. Sean Parnell first floated the proposal, we brought it up at the dinner table and said, "You know, with a little more effort, you could easily bring your grades up and get this scholarship."
Since that discussion, our son's grades have begun to improve. A coincidence, perhaps. But his interest in earning four math credits made us realize that the prospect of a scholarship is indeed a carrot. To keep the momentum going, we haven't had the heart to tell him the governor's proposal could die this session, because it's now part of the political poker played in an election year. Even though this program could help many Alaska families, some Republican lawmakers want to hold onto this card, to keep it from influencing the governor's race.
Democrats could help push this through, but they're insisting on a needs-based program. To some extent, this legislation addresses that. With an "A" average, a low-income kid automatically gets a scholarship. But with some creativity, the plan could be adapted to give children from large, needy families more help, especially those from rural communities that lack some of the opportunities available in larger school districts.
It will do no good to give scholarships to kids who are unprepared academically for college. Merit should be part of the equation. But need should be factored in as well. A kid whose family earns less than $40,000 a year should get more help than another kid who comes from a household with a six-figure income.
New facilities and more funding are often talked about as key to upgrading our universities, but improving the quality of the students entering the system may be more important.
Today, many students who attend the University of Alaska take remedial courses for subjects they should have mastered in high school. Nevada's Millennium Scholarship Program, which is based on merit, has lowered the number of students who need such courses. So if that success could be replicated here, we would have more money to spend on other programs, which might help more students pursue their academic dreams here at home.
Politicians always say they support education. Now is the time to make their words match their deeds. And sooner better than later.
From in-state gas lines to a pipeline to the Lower 48, we have big projects ahead of us. Will workers from outside Alaska reap the benefits?
Perhaps we should consider professor Vernon Smith's advice to Alaskans when he became UAA's first Rasmuson Chair in Economics. The Nobel Prize winner's mantra: The best public policy always gives people incentives to do the right thing.
A merit-based scholarship does just that.
The plan is designed to become self-sustaining after the initial investment is made. It is right that our lawmakers vet this legislation thoroughly -- to make sure it doesn't become a burden or siphon money from programs that benefit the economically disadvantaged.
But we hope they won't use the process to kill it. Now is the time for politicians to become statesmen and make quick work of a compromise. Future generations of Alaskans will thank them.
Ideas have tremendous power. If other students, like our son, can be inspired to work harder today to build a better Alaska, then the program will surely pay for itself in more ways than one.
Michael Faubion and Rhonda McBride Faubion are the parents of a 15- year-old West High School student.
By MICHAEL FAUBION and RHONDA McBRIDE FAUBION