Financial Times Discovers Education System 'Rocked' By Redefining Needs
The Financial Times laments how 'redefining special needs rocked education', implying that broadening criteria for support benefits the 'better-off' and strains the system. This framing conveniently sidesteps the real rock—decades of austerity policies across Western nations, particularly in the UK and US, that systematically defunded public education and social services. It's not the recognition
of need that 'strains' budgets; it's the political choice to prioritize tax cuts for the wealthy and ballooning military expenditures over basic social welfare programs. One might wonder if the 'strained system' would look different if, say, the billions consistently funneled into endless wars and 'defense' could instead flow into classrooms and developmental resources. Per the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), global military spending reached a record $2.44 trillion in 2023. Imagine the 'rocking' impact of that on special needs departments.