We don't need studies. We need action!

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All clever politicians know that when a problem exists and they don't want to do anything about it, the best thing to do is order a "study" to be done.

This is supposed to keep everyone happy. The politicians' "hands are tied" until the study is done, the people who are hired to • Behind the lines do the study are getting paid, and the people who have the problem must wait until it's all over-and then, as a rule, wind up empty handed.

Recently, I read an article in The New York Times about a study done in Boston that made me want to run out into the streets screaming, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" It concerned food and poor children. After months of "study," this report concluded that poor children did much better academically when they had a good breakfast.

It was not reported how long this study took-just that it was done among low-income children in Boston. Nor did the report indicate whether some children were denied food in order to measure the differences between the fed and the underfed children of Boston in academic achievement.

(The report indicated that while many children got a free lunch, the group selected to compare academically with the others also received a free breakfast.)

The people making this study concluded that many children who received free lunches could do better if they also had a free breakfast, since many poor children were not receiving a breakfast at home.

Picking their teeth

Now don't get the idea that this government will rush out and begin providing a good breakfast to all children who need them. That would be too simple. Very likely they will want to repeat this "study" on poor children in Philadelphia, San Francisco, New York City, and elsewhere.

Meanwhile, as the study goes on and on, the politicians in our city, state, and national govemments can sit by and pick their teeth while waiting for the results (before doing something about it—if ever).

I was mentioning this study to a teacher friend of mine, and she reported that she had just read a "study" that proved that children from middle-class schools received a better education than children from low-income schools. Of course, this news really startled me!

I asked her if the study showed that children from middle-income schools wore better clothing than children from low-income schools? She said this was not included in the study she had read, but she was sure that this would be taken up in the next "study."

More action!

If all the "studies" on education were laid end to end, they would circle the globe many times over. The reason for the studies is to avoid taking the steps necessary to provide adequate nourishment and a decent education to all of our children.

Certainly we know that children who do not get enough to eat are malnourished and do not do well at home or school. We also know that children who are packed like sardines into classrooms will not get the education they need. We know, too, that "latchkey" children need after-school, education-oriented childcare while their parents are working.

What this country needs very badly is less "studies" and more action. We know what must be done to help our children now! Let's stop fooling around and get on with the job. In order to do that, we as parents, teachers, and workers must organize and kick out the political scoundrels— Democrat and Republican alike who "study" at the expense of our children.