Today we have a Guest Post, by my favorite husband, the author of “Set Our Teachers FREE! A Plan To Save Public Education”:
“NO! To More Political Interference In Education”
I’ve been watching and waiting to see what direction Arne Duncan, the new Secretary of Education would take with the $100 BILLION education stimulus dollars he now has at his disposal.
Tuesday, Duncan announced that he wants more mayors involved in running their local school districts – just like Mayor Daley is in charge of Chicago.
Mayoral control of our schools . . . and that’s worked so well in Chicago???
Holy Cow! No! No! No!
Mr. Duncan, who was appointed to his Chicago post by Mayor Daley, had no real previous background in education prior to his appointment. He may have done a good job of straightening out the finances of the district, but education stayed on it’s nose dive.
The dropout rates in the Chicago districts are horrendous and worsening. Parents have staged multiple protests about the quality of education. Numerous episodes of graft and corruption have been reported.
It’s not that I believe Mr. Duncan was responsible for the corruption, but balancing a budget is NOT the same thing as straightening out education.
Now, with the new stimulus monies, we may get some bigger and better buildings but what about students’ learning?
With Mayors running the schools, it’s too easy for emphasis to go on construction, rather than learning. There’s more money in a building boom.
PLUS, while I don’t believe Mayors are necessarily corrupt, they are politicians who want to be re-elected, or promoted.
How many owe favors? Hmmm?
Mr. Duncan says that he will feel he has “failed at his job” if more mayors are not in charge of their school districts by the time he leaves his position. WOW!!!
Unless he was misquoted, and I don’t think he was, I am extremely nervous about the direction he plans to take education.
How many mayors do you think are knowledgeable about improving education?
Are we to be impressed with what has happened in Chicago where, once again, Mayor Daley appointed a NON-educationally-based croney to take Duncan’s place?
Straightening out education needs to be in the hands of people who UNDERSTAND education and how to HELP STUDENTS LEARN!
Political interference in our schools (from the ACLU to others) has been part of the PROBLEM!
Sorry, Mr. Duncan, your mayors MAY give us better-looking school buildings – and probably better football teams – to stimulate the local economy . . .
What about straightening out EDUCATION?
Big beautiful science labs and school campuses may look good, but what use are they when our students are falling to the bottom of the heap in global education results?
Let’s get “the horse before the cart” and start concentrating on STUDENT LEARNING – then we can afford to have some politicos interfering!
C’mon, Dear Reader! What do you think?
Don Kingsland, author
“Set Our Teachers FREE! A Plan To Save Public Education”
For this one I absolutely agree with you, because political perspective usually differ with educational perspective. Moreover if politician have no background in education.
Good stuff, enjoy it! I’m battling my own personal opinion of public schools now too.
Dear Tikno,
It is so good to get your perspective from the other side of the globe.
My beliefs, as posted in my article, is that politicians are concerned about being re-elected, not educating children (who are too young to vote anyway).
Unfortunately, many U.S. politicians are using education issues to make promises they are either incapable of fulfilling OR that are impractical, prohibitively expensive, or that will “line the pockets” of their cronies.
Dear JerriAnn,
Thanks for your feedback! It’s time for EVERYONE who is concerned about the conditions {and what is being taught/not taught} in our schools to speak out and join forces.
Our children’s futures are at stake!
Mayoral controled education,wow! Anyway it’s lucky for the Americans that the proposal’s still at its early stages. I don’t believe those mayors or anyone in the bureaucrat system would do any good to the education system, especially when politics is involved. Badly enough, here in China, politics has always become the major influence and unremitting interference upon our education system: university chairmen universally being Party member, doing nothing but to keep our education just in the old way; mayors and provincial ministers, trying to build more, when the economy is sound, just in order to make some good in such a plan, but when the fiscal pocket feels tight, quit buiding and shrink the already petty cash for school in order to save more for their “public” funds.
Not to ruin Obama’s name on his pick, Arne Duncan has yet to rethink his proposal.
Chicago is well known for its cronyism. It’s a shame politicians can’t put the needs of their constituents first, but children can’t vote.
Dear AquiW,
Thank you for your comment. It is good to get a perspective from across the world.
Your explanation of political impact on education in China ($$$) should make Americans more determined than ever to STOP this plan.
Arne Duncan not only needs to rethink his proposal, he needs to ELIMINATE it. The three major cities that already have mayoral control, Chicago, New York and Washington, DC, have total disasters in the level of education.
Yesterday’s 9/12 march on Washington, DC demonstrates that Americans are fed up with federal interference in our lives.
Again, thank you for your comment,
Brennan
Dear Magali,
Yep! Cronyism is alive and well in Chicago – as is the corruption currently under investigation there.
But we’ve seen that EVERYWHERE politicians are in control – there is cronyism.
It’s time for parents and teachers to stand up for what is best for the children because, as you say, politicians certainly won’t!
Thank you for your comment,
Brennan
P.S. Love your site!