The root of of evil, or the cure for all evil? 

Does anyone else ever get tired of hearing that if we throw more money at public education, it will improve? Who believes this? I mean, really believes this? While there are necessities that must be purchased, money often comes with a price tag too excessive for our children today. Discretionary funding for public education has doubled since 1996. Is the quality of education better today? No.

Read this sentence that appeared in this morning's Capital Ideas:

SACRAMENTO, CA – In his recent "state of education" speech, Jack O'Connell, California's Superintendent of Public Instruction, linked poor student performance to a lack of funding.

Really? So, when a teacher uses his/her classroom as a 'bully pulpit' to eschew their own political ideology, thereby providing students inaccurate information, that's because of a lack of funding? And, um, when a school district mis-uses / mis-understands the 2nd amendment of the Constitution, and forbids access to certain, important information, it occurs due to a lack of funding? And when good young teachers leave the profession (half of all first year teachers hired in 2000 will be out of the profession by this summer) because they are frustrated at being limited by supervisors as to what they can and cannot teach (we wouldn't want to offend someone, would we?), they leave because of a lack funding? Plu-ease.

I will begin teaching in about a year. My age (48) makes me a father-figure for many of my fellow students. They tell me things I doubt they would tell others because they know I would not judge them. I have yet to hear a single education student complain about how much they will or won't get paid, or how little their class may be funded. No, their concerns center on their future administrators (are they going to force me to teach things because they are politically correct?) and parents (are they going to let me teach things that aren't fun to listen to?).

Funding is a scapegoat. To hide chasms in an antiquated education system, administrators and education leaders use money as the reason for all ills in education. A good teacher, trusted by his or her community to do the right thing, and unshackled by persnickety supervisors, could produce outstanding students in a room with bare walls and no electricity, no books and no pencils. That's the easy part. Finding a school district somewhere that would give you the freedom ... now that's the challenge.

Please, money is NOT the answer. Placing the children above politics, personal and national, IS the answer.

Dr. Cyd Crue (Left)

KUDOS TO DR. CRUE

It's really nice when you find a professor who is passionate about their subject. It's remarkable to find a professor who is wholly fair. But when you find one that is both, well, you just have make mention of it.

Dr. Cyd Crue is a professor in the Sociology Department at Idaho State University. I have her for SOC 248, "Social Diversity." I know. The title is pretty scary. From the conservative side of the ledger (of which I proudly belong), diversity classes seem to have been created to make we white folk feel bad about ourselves. Often, those who teach these classes do just that. Perhaps that is not their intention, but it is nonetheless the result.

Not Dr. Crue. She understands how important it is to be fair when dealing with such a volatile subject as culture. She has repeatedly emphasized the importance of understanding how ALL sides feel. Dr. Crue spends less time on 'what' happened and more time on 'why' it happened and how we can keep it from occurring again.

I assume that Dr. Crue is liberal. I say assume because the way she teaches, it is very difficult to tell. Fairness seems to preclude her from using her 'bully pulpit' to further whatever agendas she might have (as we all have).

Although I have just begun taking her class, I am certain that I will learn a great deal. I may or may not change my beliefs regarding culture and diversity within the United States, but one thing is for sure: I will end this semester with a greater respect for the problems of racial divisiveness within our country. Thanks Dr. Crue.

Sometimes, I feel very much like a giraffe with a long neck. I have learned in life that in order to do your best, to make a difference, you've got to take a chance, you've got to stick your neck out. For years, I remained quiet and unwilling to be involved because of what people might say and do. Those who remain in the shadows never got made fun of you see. That worked for me. Then, when I went back to school, I began to see how much change was needed, especially in education. So, I stuck my neck out. Chop Chop.

99% of those you come in contact with will commend you for your hard work and passion. That other 1% though, can really be a pain. No one likes to create a controversy. But sometimes it happens. Ah, another teaching moment. How will I use the cuts on my neck in my classroom when I (finally!) begin teaching. Somewhere, somehow, I am going to push all of my students to stick their necks out during the year. I hope they feel the sharpness of the verbal barbs as if it was cold steel on the back of the neck. I want them to feel it, to get over it, and get on with it. Hey, I think I just made up a saying: "Feel it, get over it, and get on with it." I like that.

I want my students to feel both the good and the bad that comes with service early in their lives. The ego bruises are less apt to stop a young person then someone way old like me. Come on world; my neck's still out there....

College of Education at ISU

T H E N I F T Y 2 5 0

All too often, students in the many Colleges of Education across the nation are taught all they need to know about being an effective teacher in a classroom. That's great. But the 'nuts and bolts' of being a teacher are seldom covered and almost never discussed.How much money will I make? How is the payscale structured? Do public school teachers get tenure? What are and are not appropriate topics to discuss in class? How should I expect to be treated by my students?These are the questions that first year teachers need answered. Theory is fine, but Dewey won't help you unlock the classroom door each morning. Students need a way to find the answers to these questions BEFORE they enter the classroom.

Idaho State University offers a class that answers just these sort of questions. EDUC 250 is a one credit class that acts as an introduction to the world of teaching. Teachers are brought in from the 'real world' to address the class. Time is spent explaining the 'hot button' issues of the day. This semester, 250 students will create their own education blog to help them become more acclimated to the technology teachers must understand in today's world.

Education 250. A great class and a great idea.

Dr. Beverly Klug is an expert on Native American studies. I was lucky enough to take an independent study course with her last year through the College of Education at Idaho State University. Unlike most professors who teach diversity, Dr. Klug strives to be inclusive of all cultures, and not just the ones that are considered 'politically correct.' She made me appreciate the plight of Native Americans not by disliking my culture, but by appreciating theirs. I highly recommend reading 'Widening the Circle' - - it is both fair and fantastic

One of my favorite sayings comes from an ecclisiastic leader of a half-century ago. "What 'er thou art, do well thy part." He saw this etched on a stone in front of a small church while traveling through Scotland in the late 1800s. It doesn't matter what you do for a living, just do it to the best of your ability. What a wonderful concept to pass along to our students. You won't be temporally judged by what you were, i.e. lawyer, doctor, retail clerk. Rather, your peers will judge you on how well you did that job, on the effort you put it into it. Talk about a teachable moment.

Every school year, a school district somewhere goes on strike. While the reasons and justifications may differ, the underlying cause is always the same: more money and more benefits.

Please understand, I believe that teachers are underpaid and overworked. I will start my teaching career in 2006, and as a new Idaho teacher, I will earn $27,500. In a year. Really. I haven't earned $27,500 a year since the mid 1980s. The way that educators are treated by many state legislatures and school districts is borderline abuse. But a strike?

No one currently studying to be a teacher believes that they are entering a profession that pays well. No one believes the old axiom about teachers working 'bankers hours.' So why do veteran teachers support and participate in strikes - often illegal - for more pay and better benefits? I have never taught. I have yet to deal with persnickety administrators and angry parents. I haven't graded papers through a movie night at home with my wife. These teachers have. They are tired and angry, and I understand. But a strike?

Over the years, when I grew weary of an employer, or could not get the pay package I thought fair, I simply walked away and found another place to work, sometimes in the same field, sometimes not. But some teachers, through their unions, have decided to bring their school districts to its knees rather than shop their services elsewhere.

Being a teacher isn't like being a pipefitter or iron-worker. When employees at Ford's assembly plants go on strike, the production of cars and trucks are simply delayed. But a school year is finite, and lost days cannot be pushed into the next school year. Knowledge is halted, and children are harmed.

Some call teaching a 'calling.' The priesthood is a calling is well. This term denotes an acknowledgement that these occupations are difficult and harsh, but are for the betterment of others. Does teaching then stop becoming a 'calling' when we've taught a few years and become worn and weary? No. It remains a calling especially when we've become worn and weary. By doing our best, by being the best teachers we can be, we make it difficult for school districts to restrict our income and benefits. Regardless of the fairness to ourselves, the needs of the young ones come first. That is what callings are all about.

James Garfield 

I was doing some research on James Garfield this morning (I know, not much of a life) and came across a quote of his that is reflective of the kind of teacher I want to be:

"I love agitation and investigation and glory in defending unpopular truth against popular error."

Many classrooms are ruled today not by historical fact, but rather by political correctness. We as teachers must be willing to stand up to "popular errors" and teach not what we think happened, or what we wish happened, but rather simply what did happen. For example:

Less than 24% of Southern families owned slaves In 1860. 75% of those who did have slaves owned less than nine. Yet many history books depict a 'Roots' environment where slaves were regularly beaten and starved by ruthless corporate farmers. Would a farmer today slash the tires and cut the spark plug wires of a tractor that wouldn't start one morning? Of course not. So why would a farmer in 1860 beat his slave -- keeping him out of the fields for days or even weeks, leaving the slave-owner to do the hard work. It most certainly did happen, but not to the extent that are texts would suggest.

Students deserve the whole truth, and not just a slice of it

Bias in the classroom is the largest problem facing our educational system today. Teachers, especially in the social studies curriculum, and predominately in the more liberal east and west coasts of the United States, have taken to teaching their political ideology as the gospel truth. What is most vexing is not why they do this, but rather why the school districts and parents allow it to happen.

Idaho, where I live, is not immune to this phenomenon. Over the decade, my children have brought home some of the most factually inaccurate information I have ever heard. When I ask where they got this 'information' from, they would always say, 'from my history teacher' or 'from my government teacher.' Here are just some of the things my children told me during some of our dinner discussions:

1) Theodore Roosevelt was a racist and anti-women because there were no women or people of color in his cabinet (the government teacher somehow failed to mention that women and minorities didn't appear regularly in a president's cabinet until almost seventy years later)
2) One of the main reasons Roosevelt supported the Spanish-American war was because of the 'dark skin' of our enemy (never mentioned was Spains horrific treatment of the Cubans)
3) In history class last fall, one of my daughter's history teachers said, 'Those of you who are old enough to vote better vote for John Kerry. George Bush has a plan to reinstitution the draft in January.' (this was taken directly from the democratic talking points from the DNC website)
4) That same teacher told his class last month that they wouldn't have social security to fall back on because 'George Bush was going to privatize and destroy it.' (again, never mentioned was the fact [and this is a fact acknowledged by everyone] that without changes, Social Security will cease to function in thirty or so years unless drastic changes are made to the system)

At no time did these teachers tell the students that these were subjective observations, leading them to believe that the teacher's observations were based on fact. They were not. I have no problem having liberals and Democrats teach my children. I have a problem with liberals and Democrats indoctrinating my children.

Our children are our future, and should be given objective facts and then be allowed to make their own decisions, regardless of whether it matches our own political ideology. I, as a conservative Republican, should never interweave my politics with history. Although the Republican in me may have trouble speaking positively about Bill Clinton, the teacher in me had darn well better portray his accomplishments right along with his mistakes.

I voiced a concern to a teacher friend recently, saying that I was concerned as to how to bring up 'hot' topics such as abortion fairly. She told me that she always framed the discussion about abortion as how the individual students would work to keep abortion 'safe and available' to women, as the Supreme Court ruled that it was a right supported in the Constitution.

It is teachers such as this that concern me the most. Using this thought process, then she would also have had to teach in 1950 that 'separate but equal' was a just law because the Supreme Court agreed with it in 'Plessy vs Ferguson' in 1896. She further would have to tell her students that 'Brown vs Board of Education' was an attempt to undermine states rights, and should therefore be voted down by the Court.

I am in no way suggesting that abortion is or isn't a right contained within the Constitution. I am simply saying that an educated teacher should understand that a Supreme Court decision simply means that today, now, a particular law is or isn't constitutional.

In no way is this a slam against the profession. I will be a teacher in a little more than a year, and believe there is no greater calling that being a teacher. But in accepting this calling, all of us must check our personal beliefs at the door. The children deserve no less.

My, we teachers have a difficult job.

This is the College of Education at Idaho State University in Pocatello. While brick and mortar hold no sentimental value, the people within this building are very dear to me. I am not the same person that I was the first day I stepped into this building. I have those within it to thank.

Hi Everyone. I look forward to posting in-depth opinions and information about our educational system soon