The perky lady with the video camera made her way around the tables at the high school reunion. She explained that she was making a YouTube video.
“What would you like to say to the kids in school today to inspire them?”
One by one, each attendee said the same thing, “Stay in school.”
In a city a hundred miles away, in a poorly publicized election, 2 per cent of the population defeated a tax increase that would have balanced the local school district budget. The proposed increase would have raised taxes on a $100,000 home from $1040 to $1090 per year.
While it is entirely possible that the people in this community do want their children educated, they are certainly not walking the walk.
Being a teacher of Latin, I am in the unique position to share ancient wisdom with my students. “The greedy man is always in need (Horace).” “Money excites greed, rather than satisfies it (Publilius Syrus).” “No abundance of money satisfies a greedy man (Seneca).” If not for these ancient Roman proverbs, some of my students’ only knowledge of the word “greed” might come from the American proverb, “Greed is good.”
In fact, my daughter once appalled me by agreeing with that last statement. “Greed makes the world go ‘round,” she told me cheerfully. At that moment, I felt like a failure as a parent. Despite what the economists and the ad managers and the free-marketeers say, greed is still one of the seven deadly sins, and one that threatens to make the American Dream extinct.
When society fails to recognize greed as evil, people give themselves permission to be greedy. It becomes acceptable to think only of oneself. The American myth of the pioneer spirit only exacerbates the problem. People do not need to pull together because they are busy taking care of themselves. Looking out for number one replaces helping one’s neighbor or the greater good.
Here is yet another face of the teabaggers’ fury. According to them, all taxes are unjust. Part of the neoconservative agenda is dismantling the public school system in this country, starting with the U.S. Department of Education. The fastest way to accomplish this is to cut funding.
Americans claim to want their children educated, but they balk at paying for public education. When schools do not perform well, they blame the students and the teachers. They blame the administrators. They blame anyone and everyone except the people who withhold the money from the schools. People who can afford private schools pay to educate their own children and other people’s. The rest suffer through the public school system the best they can.
Not all public schools are bad schools, but the odds are against an underfunded school being an excellent school. The local school district here has dismantled several programs that turned out competent students with saleable skill sets. The excuse is always funding. The one program that has survived is cosmetology, where the hours are long, the work hard, and the pay fairly low. When communities begrudge their children an education, why bother telling the children to stay in school?
Yes, there is a recession going on. How exactly does graduating students who lack basic skills help to relieve it? In education, as in everything else, one gets what one pays for. Blaming schools for being bad while refusing to fund them is like blaming a patient for being sick, while refusing to give her treatment.
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 68
No, George. Actually, the Tea Bag movement is totally orchestrated by obscene corporations hiding behind a TOTALLY fake grass roots mask of trumped up indignation. Well...that and blatant RACISM!
The nursing program is always full and isn't easy to get into. The mechanic program is in high demand too. Students want to get their paper and get to work.
There is a transfer program. We also have programs with 4 year schools so students can get a bachelor's degree on our campus. Those courses have low enrollment.
In Arizona, we have school districts for primary schools, middle schools and high schools. We also have strong local control. That means there is no standard curriculum, so students arrive at high school with widely varying skills. It's a highly inefficient mish mash of backgrounds.
IMO, there is far too much local control.
Califirnia had the best schools in the US until a few loud curmudgeons passed that referendum that essentially shut off funding. Now they're a laughing stock.
They are trying to create the next generation of "sheeple" people with their No Child BS.
But, we have Ashcroft and Blunt mentality in Missouri.
Thank the Goddess for Claire McCaskill....in an effort to balance the militia-minded mentality.
We are hurting, in Missouri, and not just in education.
We are being marginalized.
And that, educationally speaking? Really hurts.
It hurts the whole nation.
Wilka
If you are talking strictly about the teaching of creationism, and avoiding evolution altogether, and other such measures that help rid the line separating church and state, then I would say you may have a valid point.
Well we all know how well abstinence only education does NOT work. And what's wrong with teaching about Islam? Yeahhh, I know. There are only 1 billion Muslims, what do they matter? (for those who don't know me, please not the sarcasm)
If you teach all about one religion that is teaching religion in school and against the law. Eric. Try to mention the jewish, or christian religions in school and that can't be done. History is history and should be taught but not to the exclusion of Christianity and the emphasis on Islam. Both have had an impact on history. Even back a bunch of years ago I had to go to a theological institution to get the history of the Christian religion. Of course I got the history of Islam at the same school. (slanted but the basic facts of history were straight)
That class my son was taught was in the curriculim for Washington State schools. Back in ancient history when I was in school there was a chapter or so on several religions as history. It was interesting to learn about the history but doctrine was not taught. Of course back then you could mention Christianity without getting into trouble. In fact that's where I learned you can't study history if you don't know about the various religions. They have had a great impact on history.
:O\
An educated WOman?
Say it ain't so...
This country sickens me more every month. Not THIS admin, but the Shrub years.
We are the laughingstock and pity party of the world, thanks to W. Europeans and Asians saw right through him, but .....some redstaters follow the cult of insane cults.
Featured in the Triple Name Club.
not to mince words.
When did Bush CAMPAIGN ACTIVELY TO PROVIDE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL AMERICANS. When, for that matter, did Bush do as much for Education as Obama is doing. Arne Duncan is not much in the news...mostly because he is doing his job as Secretary of Education without creating huge controversy. When for that matter did Bush do as much for the AVERAGE WORKER as Obama is doing. My opinion, what Bush 2,m Bush 1 and Reagan did about labor was much more done TO working Americans than done FOR them.
I may be bitter though. My son got the shaft. He was going to a perfectally fine public school in kindergarten and first grade. He loved it.
Then they did a redistricting. That forced him to go to the largest elementry school in Indianapolis Public schools. It was a Back to Basic school.
This was a school with a three year waiting list to get into the Back to Basic program. My son was not placed in that program.
He was placed in a throw away program. Back to Basic teachers were hand selected. They had to file weekly progress reports per student.
Each student must keep an above b average grade. The teachers were held to a high standard.
Then there were the other classes and teachers. Scott was shy so I sent a note right away telling the teacher that Larry and I were there to help. Please let us know how we can help. Not once did I hear anything. I requested meetings several times.
We would spend three hours a night doing homework.. When we finally got a meeting. Her only comment was"I don't know what Scott does with his time. He never finishes his morning work."
He's making a c so that's ok. I have never in my life heard a teacher say a student is making a c and that's ok.
Don't even get me started on high school. The teachers actually told them they were there to keep them alive. If they got an education in the process that was great.
Scott is now at age 32 going for his bachelors degree. I paid my taxes and got very little for it.
It cost over $600.00 dollars to put my niece and her two brothers in school this year. That is public school.
I care deeply about education. I just know we need to start teaching subjects and quit teaching them how to take tests.
#2 - you have no idea what Tea Party Patriots think or feel or want, obviously.
For your information, Tea Party Patriots are against excessive taxes and big government. I know that's hard to grasp, but if you try really hard you might get it. We are for free market capitalism. Practice saying that over and over and you'll get that as well. And we are for fiscal responsibility. It's really pretty simple, Ann. Keep practicing and you'll learn the words and concepts real soon.
Here in our area, we also voted down an increase for the schools. Why? Because there is so much unnecessary spending going on that it's time the school district clean house. No, that does not mean getting rid of teachers and classes in the arts. But it could very well mean getting rid of a few administrators.
Most schools would do well to have the old efficiency experts come in to figure out where money could be saved.
I know this is hard for you to grasp, but greed, particularly the brand you advocate is evil. Practice saying this list over and over: Gluttony, greed, anger, envy, sloth, lust, and pride. They are evil, soul-destroying vices, for individuals and countries.
When a new millage comes up for a vote, the trick is to threaten to cut art and music from the curriculum. The millage passes and the fat gets split up.
The students have nothing more.
Teaching is not about money. (Although it is critical to have sufficient funds to manage programs and offer extra curricular skills for the kids) Teaching is all about community.
The community needs to support the schools. Show up at the drama / musicals / football games. Sponsor the football team, join the soccar booster club, offer to volunteer at the Elementary or Junior High level, for whatever you can offer up.
Be involved.
Dumbing down our children is a very scarey prospect...but that's just what we're doing.
And Marilyn? You gonna take all your extra money with you to heaven? Got sure ain't gonna be impressed with dat!
Shame on you for voting against your schools. I hope they survive and prosper in spite of all ya'all's teabagger mentality.
Wilka
Wilka
Why do all high schools need 4 or more vice principals? Why do they need 8 clerical people in each school office? Why are there so many administrators?
And, STILL not a single post in your history here on Gather speaking out against Bush's Obscenely BIG government and total LACK of fiscal responsibility that PUT this country on the brink of collapse before waltzing out of office! Where were the "Tea Party Protests" then? Oh, wait...I know! Bush catered to that top 1% of wealth and the obscene multinational corporations...while teachers across this nation were having to spend their own money to purchase school supplies and in some areas school children actually having to bring their own toilet paper to school.
Where were we when Bush spent too much? We wrote to him, we wrote to Congres. And we sat in our living rooms screaming at the TVS. We were armchair protestors. Most who are Tea Party Patriots have never protested anything in their lives.
Then this President and this Congress decided to spend more money than ANY OTHER ADMINISTRATION. They pretended it was about stimulating the economy, but it was merely a ploy to establish more socialism in our country. And that's when we decided ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH!
I think this about the 15th time I've explained this ito you Spartan. Please try to remember.
I may drop dead right here and now on the spot, but I totally agree with Marilyn's point about administration. When I first started teaching, I was making $13k with three college degrees. Classes were smaller since there were more teachers. We had one principal, who had one PT secretary. The school was great. When I went back to teaching 10 years later, teachers' salaries had increased a lot, which was good since we were well-educated and worked hard. But, with all that extra money came a huge ballooning in the administrative area. One principal turned into three or four per school. The superintendent's office bulged with Assistants in charge of everything you could think of - and all being paid twice what a teacher made. And I had 30+ kids in a classroom with no books! Tell me that's good policy.
If we are really serious about fixing the schools, we need to put the money back INTO the classrooms - more teachers, smaller class sizes, less paperwork and administration. The state and federal requirements for all sorts of things are the excuse BOE's use for the massive administration budget - the worst of which was NCLB. It's an administrative nightmare, all the forms and reports it requires from schools.
Let's get back to basics - reduce the administration requirements drastically and give the money back to the teachers and kids. Make smaller classes with more individual attention. Free teachers from having to spend all their nights and weekends writing reports for administrators.
We probably have enough money to do that right now - but where is the will? When will parents start demanding that school budgets go to their kids - not to Bush's brother and a bunch of office fat cats at the top that don't do anything but get in the way of the kids' education?
My daughter attended a parochial school and we had a very high rate of volunteer parents. Because of the volunteers, the school was able to do much more with much less funding.
Parents who get involved and work to keep quality high and costs down do care about education.
Our local public schools have a lot of volunteers, too. Many of them are senior citizens and they're a great help to the school, students and teachers.
The school is rather new and has an incredible campus. It's auditorium is huge and fully equipped for staging grand plays. I saw one there and they had better stuff than the university my daughter attened. It all sits quiet now. Without extra curriculars, students can't build on their artistic, musical, or sports skills. Skills that can earn scholarships.
“Americans claim to want their children educated, but they balk at paying for public education. When schools do not perform well, they blame the students and the teachers. They blame the administrators. They blame anyone and everyone except the people who withhold the money from the schools. People who can afford private schools pay to educate their own children and other people’s.”
Let me say first I don’t believe in blame. I simply want to know what is working and to support success. I do not want to waste money on failure.
You may feel we should simply trust the educators and give them all the money they want and hope for our kids to get educated.
I heard the phrase a many years ago that works for me; “Trust in God and everyone else bring data.”
Why can’t we apply to the schools what the teachers apply to the kids, regular report cards? Until No Child Left Behind Legislation my community schools never shared information about how the kids were doing, how well they had developed their knowledge and skills. Now at least we can tell if our local schools are doing as well as or poorer than the State averages (we are poorer). There was a University study about graduation rates. It happened that our high school was included; we had a less than 50% graduation rate of starting freshman during the study period. Our schools never told that but they didn’t deny it.
We recently had a bond issue that the School Board said would go to buying computers and repair building. Based on the recent reporting I didn’t vote for it, however the majority of our citizen felt like you and gave them the $12 million dollars. The first thing the School Board started work on was to add a brick façade for the football field that match the main gate to replace the chain link fence that is there now.
When does it matter to you that the kids aren’t getting educated or not graduating, but the football field looks good (some on the Board also wanted to use the money to put in artificial turf)?
The only way you seem to measure our commitment to education is by the money we give them. Why can’t we measure the educational performance of our schools and support what works while getting rid of what doesn’t? Right now the only way we have any illusion of control of our schools is through the ballot box and voting for or against the money they get to spend. What is your alternative for getting the attention of the schools?
You complain about the blame game going on in the schools so what do you do? “They blame anyone and everyone except the people who withhold the money from the schools.”, so you blame the people whose money the schools are spending.
I don’t blame anyone would ask the schools (teachers, administrators, students, parents) how should we measure the education process performance and just as with poorly performing students we use those reports cards to improve the process and get real education for the money.
I would like to add one more thing, regarding education. And this is a bi-partisan thing. (before anyone gets their panties-in-twist mode.)
The value that Education has, for a child--for a family...begins in the home. My children's grades went up when I re-registered for college classes. Parents need to be the example. Grandparents should also re-enroll. Education is life-long-----and it is critical.
Learning for the sake of knowledge and wisdom.
It is up to every parent, every aunt, great aunt, uncle, grandparent, etc... to put the emphasis on what education is supposed to be... How to think.
Not how to learn dates and battle names, or names of the presidents; not how to regurgitate facts (thank you Geo Bush, you imbecile!) The real value in educating our young, is to teach them to think--critically; and how to read editorials, and engage in informed (researched) facts.... In essence? It is a lesson on how to be a good American citizen.
You might think we may be losing this point of focus.
I beg to differ, just recently.
However, I think we may be, inspite of the reicht wingers---winning this, in the real, down-to-earth, inner city, NoCO suburb, depressed, disenfranchised hood schools.
Because, now, above all current political issues? We have reinstated the sense of possibilities. For every one. Every student. (Even those disenfranchised, inner ciy, at-risk statistic kids.)
And....I say? Boo-YAH!
Wilka
Amen to that, Kathy.
Until then, why more taxes?
Taxes are a neccessary evil but, why should the American public keep having to foot the bill when the government bodies overspend?
We, the people don't get bailed out, so why should they?
Just my opinion of course.
The Missouri Gambling Boat funds were indeed paid to the schoold district budget....However, the STATE decided to UN-FUND the schools, from the General Revenue Fund, for the same amount. The schools, needless to say, did not benefit, one iota, from that "budget increase."
But, they WERE blamed continually for mis-managing the Gambling Boat Largesse.
Bullsheist! Roy Blunt, John Ashcroft? Get OUT of politics!
Wilka
I agree that this disproportionate reaction to the current recession and the GOP's strategy to do anything to discredit Obama's administration has resulted in an almost pathological self-attack by Americans upon their own public systems. Whether the Teabaggers think they are trying to do this consciously or not, it doesn't matter - the results are the same. People now have a knee-jerk negative reaction to any kind of taxes, whether they remain status quo or are raised.
My husband and I value education as one of the most important aspects in life. We moved into an upscale town because of the school system, and pay higher taxes for it. When our kids were in middle school, they asked for more challenge and we decided to make the sacrifice financially to send them to a private prep school 20 minutes away. It was tough - driving them there and picking them up sometimes 7 days/week, but it was worth it. They received an excellent education, with very small seminar classes (most of which were below 10 students), and 24/7 support from staff, who lived at the school.
I believe that it would not take too much more funding to make public schools like this - do away with a LOT of unnecessary administrative positions, and put the money back into the classrooms. Make teacher programs more demanding and stringent - have outside, unbiased assessments of curricula and teachers - get special and political interests out of the curricula and get back to classical education (including Latin..:) It can be done, but we need the public will and commitment. Problem is, parents would much rather spend $100's on a new gaming system for their kid than pay the extra in taxes to their town, from which all, including their own child, would benefit.
“No abundance of money satisfies a greedy man (Seneca).”
The equivalent Bible quote is: "A mere lover of silver will not be satisfied with silver, neither any lover of wealth with income."—Ecclesiastes 5:10
Kathy W., I wholehearedly agree with: "The value that Education has, for a child--for a family...begins in the home." In school I was taught Latin, Spanis and Greman. When my children went to school, two decided to enroll for French, so I taught myself French to help with and to check their homework. It also had the effect of making them get high grades in French.
I'll repeat a comment here fron another thread on the same subject:
A few suggestions to parents from one who has had to deal with a education system that needs improvement:
(1) Most important: Be your child's advocate. Talk to the teachers and the senior staff about you child's welfare and progress, clearly detailing your concerns.
(2) Become a partner with the teachers in the effort to educate your child and let it be obvious that you are part of their team.
(3) Let each teacher know what you expect of your child; ie. the values, ethic and moral standards you set for your child. (homework must be done, no disrespect of teachers etc.)
The teachers will pay special attention to your child and that is an almost guarantee of success no matter what else is wrong with the school. Also no matter how good, well equipped, the school is, if you don follow those, you are setting up your child for failure.
It is disappointing that you don't seem to place an equal emphasis on the parents setting expectaton for their children with regard to their edcuation, and holding the children responsible for learning.
My children we raised in two different school system. One where the most celebrated time for kids in school was their "graduation" from 8th grade and one (in a different state) which had a high rate of college acceptance for graduates. What we found was that the quality of teachers were the same, the diference was the expectations the parent had of the kids and what the kids had of themselves.
Ann H., can whine all day about throwing more and more money at schools and you can talk about parents talking to the teachers, but the reality is that the parents have the most influence on children's educatioinal success.
We can't "push" kids. Kids can't hardly be "led."
What impacts us the most as children, might be what is hardest to do as a parent. You lead by example.
Always take a class--every semester. Even if it is a "cooking" class for no credit at the local civic center. Always be learning.
I'd recommend that the TV be turned on ONLY one night a week, and that one probably NOT a school night.
Read the newspaper to your babes as they are growing up.
Talk about editorials.
More than anything, one thing I did right was to shut up and listen to them. Being quiet is almost a guarantee that they will start talking. Kids hate a void.
Blessings, Dennis.
Super Great Article, Ann.
Wilka
I am not good with subtleties; that makes it obvious why my kids needed professional teachers, even the poor ones.
Unlike what Kathy W. says, kids can be led. Leading then is not driving; it is about supporting them and providing an expectation and regulatory reinforcing them. Supporting isn’t about driving; it is about simple things that keeps their focus on the education. It is about providing them a quiet place to read and do school work, its about reading them books when they are very little and taking to the library when they begin reading, showing enthusiasm when the achieve success like developing a new skill or learn something that is hard for them, regularly describing why and how education helps them do what they want to do, and always describing how they will need more education after high school.
It is the simple things. It doesn’t mean that parents have to be able to teach their kids a foreign language. Mosy importantly ever time we talk about education parents must be reminded of how they will make the difference in their childrens education.
It isn’t the money, it isn’t the teachers, it is the parents and the kids.
I was read to even before I learned how to. It got me hooked (severely hooked) on books. did the same for my kids. The house now has more books than we have space for.
I was taught Latin, Spanish and German in school. Two of my children enrolled for French, so I took a course also and taught myself French. The example of seeing dad pour over vocabulary, grammar, conjugations was real good for them.
Tutored my daughter while she was in college for her batchelor's degree. Even passed on my own research done while she was in class. She graduated with honors. Was her voluntaty assistant tutor for her masters degree (boy that was tough!!!)
Now tuturing my wife for her batchelors degree.
We moved from one school system to another (for work) and they found that the difference was attitude. We moved from a major metropilitan school district to a small town (the whole county had about no more than 65,000 people, the city had corn or sugar beet fields all around it). The quality of education wasn't different but the expectations were and that lead to educational success.
Ann equates money being spent on schools with showing peoples value of education, but in reality it is individual expectations and efforts to meet those expectations that is what drives educational success.
As best I can tell the DC schools are one of the highest spending per pupil in the nation and yet they are one of the poorest in educating the kids. By Ann's approach and those controlling the governemnt we should simply give DC more money to show we care and ignore the results of how that money is spent.
The situation has improved; everybody wears shoes to school now, but the buildings are in need of repair and the equipment is poorly maintained, yet we still manage to produce excellent students. The catmosphere and especially the attitude of the parents make the difference.
Take a look at Lloyd's article about a child from Malawi
It is a good example of what an individual can do when they have a goal in mind and are willing to work for it.
My frustration is with people that put see money as the solution when it is motivated people that make the changes.
William with a goal in mind educated himself and used that edcuation to achieve his goal rather than waiting for someone else to give him money to do it.
What is dissappoints me is how those people that equate dollars with a commitment to education are never willing to engage in a conversation that challenges their view. Especially when the dicsussion focuses on what individuals can do and families can do.