Seems like there's a lot of folks in education,not "liking" Trumps nominee for
Secretary of Education.It's easy and self-serving for me to defend US public educators, but there is no defending US public education--particularly our output-- educated students.
In fact, education has lost relative value over the last five decades and actual cost has risen well beyond inflation rates.
We are now watching the EDUCATION "bubble" as it is about to break--it follows that of the US auto, Internet, banking, and housing industries. The cost of each exceeded its present relative value--then crashed under its own weight and waste.
For the record, save the ire for me as an outsider or Republican--I am neither. I've spent most of the last 20 years somewhere in the public education space (K-12, Public Broadcasting, Community College, and higher education) and I just HAPPEN to have voted Republican in the last election--that could change quickly.
Both our kids, until two years ago, were in public schools--large urban ones of St. Louis and large rural ones of Virginia. I've been both an administrator and a classroom teacher.
However, it was ONLY WHEN I "served time" as a high school classroom teacher for NON-advanced placement (AP) kids that I understood the sad REALITY of most public education teachers. (The funding for my great administrator job ran out.)
Nearly every one of the hundreds of teachers, faculty, and administrators I know personally, are either doing all they can;
OR they gave all they HAD UNTIL they were so used up and abused--they gave up pouring themselves into the PROFESSION and now--just do what the JOB REQUIRES.
There are lots of requirements--but few actually relate to teaching subject matter.
If you LISTEN to most classroom teachers they will tell you that they CANNOT teach the way they want to. And, If you ASK most administrators "off line," they will admit they CAN"T LET teachers teach the way the teachers would like to teach.
AND, when you get to the bottom of why NEITHER can do what they BOTH know is BEST FOR THEIR STUDENTS--what you hear will be akin to, "The law says..., the pacing guides require.., the standard and baseline testing dictates...." but the root answer is really FUNDING.
Not MORE funding, just the presence or absence of it.
The perception, real or imagined is that, "If we don't do what THEY say, we'll lose our school's CERTIFICATIONS, as well as STATE, and FEDERAL FUNDING." Perception drives decisions!
The last month my youngest was in public school, I realized several IMPORTANT facts:
- I was SURE that his teachers KNEW what they COULD DO to help him, and many other kids, succeed.
- I PERSONALLY KNEW that if his TEACHERS tried (on class time), ADMINISTRATORS would STOP THEM.
- I PERSONALLY KNEW those administrators DID NOT WANT TO STOP MY SON FROM LEARNING.
- I KNEW we had to get him OUT of public education!!!!!
- I KNEW he loved his teachers and friends, but hated school, and he wasn't getting educated.
What ENRAGES me is that state and federal governments have legislated the WASTE of public education's most expensive resource--teachers and administrators--especially the teachers.
Their knowledge and judgement has been statutorily DISCOUNTED to the point that they are FUNCTIONING AS LITTLE MORE THAN ROBOTIC ARMS of disconnected, impersonal, and unaccountable governments.
This is what I BELIEVE is true: if we could leave our son's education SOLELY up to the EXISTING TEACHERS in our great little town:
- He would graduate in 12 years:
- Reading/writing at the 12th grade level
- Understanding, appreciating and always learning from honest American history
- Mastering basic math skills
- Understanding basic principles of science
- Loving to learn
- AND, he would be academically ready for college or ANY skilled labor career he desired.
What I also believe is that my great little town is not much different than most of your great little or big towns.
If you do a little local research you'll quickly discover that your town/city is composed of educators that are perfectly capable of delivering those seven items--if they are ALLOWED TO or more appropriately, CURRENTLY PROHIBITED FROM delivering.
This brings me back to Donald Trumps nominee for Secretary of Education.
I have lost every hope that US public education can be reformed from within its own ranks.
Too much process and funding is legislatively bound and too many "leader feeders" at the "top" of our public education "trough"--have too much to lose to make the kind of hard decisions it will take to recognize and UTILIZE the UNUSED VALUE of local educators.
After-all, if we could solve our education problems locally--what would we need them for?
Moreover, politicians, bureaucrats, technocrats, and the educational testing industry has thrived at the expense of local educators and students.
In our massive, expensive state and federal efforts to educate ALL and leave NO child behind--what we actually accomplished was to discredit the value of local teachers and gravely damage the public education of most students.
Solving what's MOST wrong with US public education CANNOT be accomplished by gnawing more around the edges; withdrawing or removing funds; or adding more technology.
Those things are important and useful, but the root problem of US public education is that legislatively, we do not TRUST local educators to teach.
Odd, for fifty years, we have consistently discounted the qualifications, respect and judgement of the teachers we know and elevated the "respect" and PAYMENT of premium dollars for the testing and judgement of people we don't know and generally despise.
I don't know what billionaire Betsy is going to do, but thankfully, I doubt she's gonna do what's already been done.
If her focus is on getting the most from local educators, she's on the right track.
