Clueless Policy Makers

The State of Indiana is proposing some absolutely terrible changes for school systems. Some of these are offered as "suggestions" and others will unfortunately become law. My career is almost over, so I have nothing much at stake anymore. Depending on how you look at it, that makes my opinion either extremely valuable or next to worthless. If you choose the latter, now would be a good time to bail out and hopefully you'll return to the blog in the near future.

Assuming that someone is still reading, I would just like to say I'm sick and tired of reading in the paper about how teachers are doing a terrible job. I've always maintained the only thing wrong with public education is that it's open to the public. While that's an exaggeration of the situation, the fact remains that public schools do a very good job of educating the masses. Every day millions of kids report to school from all walks of life and socio-economic backgrounds and bring all their excess baggage with them. It makes no difference if the kid comes in hungry, tired, stoned, depressed, has physical or mental disabilities, was up all night because the cops were at the house because dad was drunk and slapping mom around again, or the kid is just passing through on the way to the next crop that needs to be picked or awaiting sentencing for sticking up the gas station. And while it would be so much nicer if they spoke English, that's not a requirement either.

So the schools do what they can to educate the huddled masses with the resources they're given, which in the Sate of Indiana was $300 million less than promised last year. In addition to the 3R's, the schools also offer club activities, vocational programs, athletics for both genders equally, and way too often, grief counseling. And if a kid goes to a private or charter school that does not offer these things, he's entitled to play on the football team or join the band anyway.

Private schools and charter schools have much more freedom to deal with the most difficult of students to educate. Their answer can be as simple as go away. If you're a trouble maker, we don't need you. If you're a private school, you don't always have to make "reasonable accommodations" for a severely disabled student. If a private or charter school has the freedom to educate students without the burden of excessive regulation and be able to be much more selective with their clientele, they should be giving the public schools a good old fashioned ass kicking. But they don't. Private schools maybe, charter schools, no way. In the State of New York, the graduation rate in 2009 for public schools was 77%. For charter schools it was 49%. Don't believe me? Look here.

There is a lot of room for improvement in the public schools. There are some absolutely terrible teachers who should be run off. Do not, however, blame the unions or tenure for preventing that from happening. Nobody gets tenure over night. If it takes six consecutive contracts, that means the administration had at least five tries to either help the teachers get better or to get rid of them. Nobody takes a job like teaching with the intention of knocking them dead for five years so they can coast the next thirty-five. The real question is: why do so many good teachers leave of their own free will within the first five years?

Assuming then that at least 90% of the teachers are doing a good job, what is the problem? How about piss poor leadership at most all levels of education? How about the same thing when it comes to parenting skills? How about our lawmakers who know next to nothing about most topics they are asked to vote on? You really think those mopes understood the 2000 pages of the health care bill? You really think they read it? If they are authorities on health care, you think they are authorities on all matters military, infrastructure, economics, education and all the rest? Most matters now boil down to some childish pissing contest between red states vs blue states with the winners position be decided upon by what some lobbyist told them in the first place.

What can we do to fix this? Stay tuned for another stimulating diatribe with extremely simplistic solutions.