My rebuttal to an article written by Bill Raden. http://www.psmag.com/…/what-if-education-reform-got-it-all-…
I will try to answer the points in the order of the article.
War has never been declared on America’s public school, but it is about to be over Common Core. The left has assaulted and taken over public education, any push back is then considered a declaration of war. Stupid premise which I don’t accept.
The author appears to be a marxist, tying everything back to money. The education argument fails because the author is really only talking about money. $$$
Reformation is declared to be a failure. Truthfully, it hasn’t been tried. Vouchers and charter schools are a type of reformation. I see little else but mandated curriculum.
Income inequality is just another word for socialism. People don’t like to be called socialists so they talk about income inequality. I don’t care about income inequality. It is a good thing. It is preferred to have those with more that have an opportunity to help those in need. It is also true that there is always some one richer than me. Seeing as I follow the commandment not to covet then it is no concern of mine. Another important point is that the money equates to their personal property to which they have an established right.
The author says that teachers are assumed to take the blame for the problems. I don’t think that is ever the case. Everyone blames the administrators and the boards and yet they are never held accountable. The problems with government education have nothing to do with dedicated teachers. I disagree with this assumption of blaming teachers and the conclusions based on it.
Test scores are not the problem. If the test scores bother you then stop testing. The numbers have little value. Just teach the kids what they need to know. Only government statisticians need those numbers and they shouldn’t be involved in education. I believe in a wall of separation between government and schools.
Raden talks about resources $$$ but this is the system that the education establishment has set up. They made the stupid rules, I don’t see why they are upset that they don’t work. Yes, privileged (marxist word) have more resources. So what?
One point he gets right is that education can lead to better pay. $$$ Immigrants worked in factories so their children could go to college and be doctors. Unfortunately, it is easy to undo. The children of doctors smoked pot and decided to waste their parents money. The problem isn’t education or finances but morals and virtue. And those subjects are not allowed in government school because it looks too much like religion.
Primary education is supposed to be set up to improve “life outcomes” for children but all the important factors are left out, like intact families, religious communities and consequences.
Author complains about California school results but I would be curious to know his position on English language requirements and the ability of schools to review legal status of students. Our current system makes it impossible because they are forced to accept Spanish speaking illegal aliens. The system makes inquiring about citizenship a criminal activity and then complains they need more money. That doesn’t lead me to believe they are concerned about learning. As a side note, it is funny to hear California get beat up for not spending enough on education. $$$ They spend a vast amount. every state seems to be ranked the lowest in spending somehow.
Ellie Herman complains that there is not enough money for poor schools and that they have no libraries and enrichment activities as a form of apartheid. She must not know what apartheid really is.
There is an admission from the study that finds “that parenting and home enrichment matter as much as, if not more than, what happens in the K-12 classroom, especially in forming a child’s cognitive ability and personality in the years before children start school.” Then why do you need money? Just go away and leave the children with their parents. What matters most is the home but let’s get those kids in daycare and all day kindergarten as soon as possible. And of course we need more money.
If you claim that schools are doing their job but society isn’t then solution is not to fix schools but to fix society. That can’t (and shouldn't) be done by government because it would necessarily infringe on freedom, property and virtue. These are the things that government is organized to protect. We need a religious revival, not another budget over ride.
In the last paragraph the author pretty much says it all. The problem is not enough socialism. If only we take over everything, then it will all work great. I will just add a few words to make it clear. “I think fundamentally the problem is that other developed nations have social systems that support families and children in a variety of ways: with [government] childcare, with good [government] health care, with [government] recreational opportunities—with lots of things that support healthy development.” My guess is that they are interested in the development of more productive drones.
