Money Money Money Money Money. Money
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.
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.
