There is very little left to argue for any continuation of our public education system. It is a broken machine that is beyond repair. The only argument made is that the teachers need the money so let’s not change it because it might cause teacher unemployment. That’s a lousy reason.
For 3 years I have predicted and hoped for the demise and rebuilding from the ground up of our terribly failed public education system nationwide.
I won’t point you to my writings per se, but they are available on the link to the right, particularly the Re-Vision Dakota link.
So this isn’t new. A news story I read today ticked me off.
We live in the Chicago area. CPS is one of the worst school systems in the nation; Expensive, incompetent, futile.
Now, the school board is basically deciding to turn over public education in whole or in part to Catholic Schools. Hooray. I’m not catholic but this is a good first step. Private schools work, pubic schools do not.
In short what is slowly being realized is:
Methodology for teaching up to grade 6 must be completely different than that from 7-12. Small form education works very well in elementary. Little classes, few students, home school enhanced. Churches do this well. Little cottage schools. But, no public education for young kids. This doesn’t mean you don’t financially help them, but you allow the best and brightest schools to prosper in teaching willing eager to learn children. There will be entrepreneurs to take the others. There will be a few recalcitrants who elect NOT to be in school. There are ways to deal with that short of dumping these dumbing down dunces into the pool. And special needs kids need to be dealt with in a special needs way.
It will become be a privilege, again, to be educated.
Then, when a person comes out of elementary, they go directly to a high school. Sometimes there will be a long bus ride. Sometimes it will mean being housed at the school in dorms.
Going to High School will be a privilege. There will be more than one option. Abolition of empire like mega school districts will be essential. Getting into a good high school will mean something. Excel or die will be the mission and purpose of these schools. You either will produce a good educational outcome or padlock your doors. The market will determine this.
My wife works in the school system. The other day a teacher was complaining that there is a national website, rateyourteacher.com. He wanted his name off the list. They refused. His complaint? People might say negative things about his performance. In fact some did. WAAAAA.
Bluntly, what we need is accountability. We need to quit protecting teachers. Let them compete for good jobs by merit. Pay them well if they are good. If they are lousy let them go to work at KFC. That’s the way the world works. Our teacher unions have become the worst form of educational disimprovement ever.
If they ever make me King, (and you need to hope they don’t) I will abolish the Department of Education, a Carter innovation that Reagan should have destroyed. I will put education in the hands of people who want to teach. Much will be private. Public education has failed. It’s our fault for not taking it back from the bad teachers and their paid protection racket.
By the way, stop please feeling sorry for the low pay teachers get. Do the math. Figure how many hours per YEAR a teacher works. Divide that into the amount they get paid. The national average is, you ready for this?, $31 per hour. Your state might be less or more. But a Master’s degreed Biologist, a physicist, most manufacturing jobs, in fact most jobs in America are paid less than that.
Don’t let the whine that they have to take work home at night and don’t get paid for that fool you. I have worked around the world and can tell you that anyone who gets paid any significant amount carries a briefcase home at night and does work at home. I’m not impressed. Don’t let the, “” we are required to attend meetings off hours and attend extracurricular events to keep our jobs”” tip you either. That happens all the time in corporate America. We all hate it but it’s part of the cost of having that job.
And, continuing education requirements. Every professional in America does this. It's just that most of us do it because we want to get better, keep current, get a better job or promotion. I taught Dale Carnegie long enough to see the motivated get better and grow.
Teachers of America, grow up, teach our Children and quit complaining.
If that's not ok with you, KFC is still hiring.
This is a mess. Let’s take back our Schools.
No comments:
Post a Comment