Education: Why do we keep throwing good money after bad?

I had a quick exchange with someone yesterday regarding education. They had stated that it is tragic that all these teachers in multiple states are being laid off. She mentioned California and a handful of states, including New Jersey. I shared with her the background on what was happening in New Jersey, and she thanked me for the information and mentioned that it was nice to have the other side of the story so you get a full picture. It was a pleasant exchange compared to some others I have had, particularly on a topic that is considered the Holy Grail, Education.

So, where am I heading with all this?

Several people are up in arms and screaming about cuts being made in education. Well, let us look at it like this. When times get tough for you financially you cut back on your expenses, right? Even if it is something that you really enjoy, you make the cut. I have hit hard enough times where I had to sell new game systems we’d had for only a handful of months. At one point we sold our extra car and made the necessary sacrifices to be a one car family. They are things that weren’t necessarily popular with either me or my wife, but we did it because it had to be done. It’s the same case with education. The money is not there, states have to cut the money. I know the last thing they would want to cut is education. You do however need to make cuts when necessary. It’s the responsible thing to do.

I know people are going to argue back and say, you can just raise taxes. Uh huh, that’s working out really well for New York and New Jersey, along with California. People are fleeing New York and California to escape the higher taxes; therefore you are going to lose even more revenue. In New Jersey, they elected a governor who promised to cut their high tax rates. Even a campaign stop from Obama and pressure from the unions in New Jersey couldn’t salvage the incumbent democrat.

I previously mentioned discussing the situation in New Jersey with someone. They need to cut $819 million from the school budgets. The Governor proposed that the teachers take a 1 YEAR pay freeze and pay 1.5% of their salaries towards benefits. At this time they pay nothing towards their benefits. This would save the state $800 million. So, that would mean no teachers laid off and no programs cut. A large number of the teachers are willing to do this, but the union isn’t having it. They are refusing and would rather see their members, whom they are supposed to represent, be laid off then cooperate with the Governor. In fact, one of the unions local presidents “jokingly” prayed for the death of the Governor in an email sent out to union members. Is that the kind of third grade discourse we have come to?

The union would rather have the Governor raise taxes. Hello, he was elected because the people recognized they are overtaxed and he promised to cut taxes and spending. Throwing good money after bad, particularly in education has never worked. In 1965 we spent $12 billion dollars in federal funds on education. In the 2011 budget we are set to spend $94 billion. Here’s the clincher. Between 1973 and 2008, achievement scores in math went up just two points, and reading scores just one point. If I was an investor, which we are when it comes to our children’s education, I would have serious issues with the return on investment here. All of the stats above are courtesy of the U.S. Department of Education.

We need to make several reforms to fix this, some of them I have mentioned previously, some I have not. I feel a comprehensive post on those ideas coming soon. Please take part in the education of your children. Remember that WE are responsible for teaching our children. The teachers are there to assist us, not the other way around. Be involved in the school boards, and take a good hard common sense approach to fix the issues in your own community. The future of our children and our nation depend on it.

Remember, keep yourself informed and don’t be afraid to speak out.

Core Education Programs

I've been thinking about this recently. One of my coworkers has sacrificed for years to ensure her daughter could attend private schools. It has really paid off well. In our discussion we chatted about core programs in education. She noticed the one thing that the private schools had that public schools don't is a good core curriculum. It was mentioned a bit in my last post regarding progressive education.

I think their are a couple reasons why the private schools are so much more successful than the public schools. I would say free schools, but public schools don't come cheap to the taxpayer.

1. Private schools can get rid of teachers that don't teach or don't measure up. They can reward those that do well based on merit. This is something that the education unions have killed in the public schools.

2. Parents are paying and have a choice. The schools know that the parents will vote with their feet if the programs don't measure up. When The Washington Post asked George Parker, head of the Washington, D.C., teachers union, about the voucher program there, he said: "Parents are voting with their feet. ... As kids continue leaving the system, we will lose teachers. Our very survival depends on having kids in D.C. schools so we'll have teachers to represent."

John Stossel wrote a good piece on the above two things recently.

3. I believe that the charter and private schools are successful because they not only have the ability to form their own programs and curriculum, but they have a core curriculum. They teach things like US History, The Constitution, Government, and concentrate on the three R's as well as science.

By having a core curriculum that EVERY student has to pass, it ensures that students have the base knowledge necessary to make decisions. In instructing the kids, they aren't being taught what to think, they are being taught how to think. They then use those skills to evaluate what is out there in the world and form their own opinions.

My homework assignment for my readers in blogo land today is, what types of courses would you include in your core curriculum? If you were to set up your own charter school, what kinds of courses would you want EVERY student to take and be competent in?

The public school system is dumbing down a lot of our kids, teaching them "what" to think instead of "how" to think. It is failing the very communities it is supposedly supposed to be lifting up. Join the discussion and lets get involved to help future generations get an education that will serve them well through life and will serve to protect the future of our great nation.

Remember to keep yourself informed, and don't be afraid to speak out.

Progressive Education

My carpool buddy mentioned something to me at the beginning of this week that just made my skin crawl. She was at a meeting of the textbook committee for our local schools. The committee is made up of 15 people. Of the 15, 7 of them wanted to eliminate any books in the curriculum that mentioned the Founding Fathers, the Constitution, the Fourth of July, Christmas and any other religious holiday. What a travesty! She said she thought of me at the meeting because somebody behind her said something to the effect of "Freakin Progressives."

In the coming months as I read more history and do more research, I believe that I will focus a lot more on the progressives and the agenda they have secretly been pushing for over the last 100 years. It seems to be the direction my blog is starting to head. Of course I will share why their agenda is so damaging and try to enlighten as many people as possible as to how we can work towards keeping strong conservative independant values and freedom at the forefront.

It has been plain from the outset of my research on Progressivism, which started with my school paper previously posted, that Progressives do not like the Constitution. They think the Founding Fathers got it wrong. The issue progressives have with the Constitution is that it limits the powers of the federal government. That was one of the biggest reasons the founders included not only a separation of powers but eventually the 10th ammendment as well. The Founding Fathers spent a LOT of time reviewing the governments of the past. They looked for what worked and what didn't. Their conclusion? No previous system of government had worked. That is why our Constitution and other founding documents are so unique. They are originals.

Our nation's founders were well read and educated. They understood that if you do not learn and understand history you are doomed to repeat it. The history of our nation's founding is something that progressives have been trying to obscure for a long time. It started with changes to the education systems as far back as 1880. The university system in our country does not cover much curriculum on our nations founding and civics. The Intercollegiate Studies Institute released its fourth annual national Civic Literacy Report entitled "The Shaping of the American Mind: The Diverging Influences of the College Degree & Civic Learning on American Beliefs." One of the scary things mentioned is that 60% of respondents could not identify on a multiple choice test several bits of basic knowledge that are REQUIRED knowledge for passing the citizenship test.

All of this fits in with the progressive model. If people don't know their history and the miracle that the founding of our nation was, then the progressives that push for more and more government can tweak that history to whatever they want it to be. Progressives have obviously on a Universtiy level been distorting our nations history and eventually working to not teaching it at all. This of course has trickled down over the years to our K-12 system. I remember as a kid learning about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independance, The Constitution, and the great sacrifices our forefathers made to establish a truly free society. That's what our history classes pretty much were. These days its hard to find a school that teaches actual American History, not the slanted progressive view of it, and apparently based upon the efforts of some in my community, to have a school teach it at all.

Remember to keep yourself informed, and don't be afraid to speak out.