| By: C. Grady Drago: Chairman of the Lincoln Heritage Instsitute
Comedian Sam Levinson told a great story about how his mother would tell him to get a good education, "that's the one thing they can't take away from you." He would add, "I could never figure out who "they" were." Well we now know who 'they' are; they're the federal government and the NEA, and while they can't take it away from you, they have been successful in preventing you from getting it.
After being the most successful educational system in the world, the American public education system began to crumble in the late fifties and early sixties. At that point in time, two other events were occurring that were to have a direct and negative impact on our children's education. The first was the enormous growth in federal funding of public education and the application of 'absentee landlord' regulations. The second was the rise of the National Education Association, which changed from a professional organization for teachers (similar to the AMA and the ABA) to an employee bargaining unit. It is no coincidence that the beginning of these two events more than 40 years ago, that the educational achievement and competence of America's youth began a downward death spiral.
We are doing everything for our children except giving them a quality education.
Proponents of massive federal funding and of the NEA can kick and scream, and offer one excuse after another, but the obvious cause and effect dynamics remain. Our system was once the envy of the world and a model that many nations emulated. However, we have gone from being the best in the world to being one of the worst according to the Department of Education's (DoE) latest statistics.
With the onset of the major increase in federal involvement and the increase in the power of the NEA, , everything the Unions and Washington elitists said the system needed was provided. Per-pupil expenditures increased, teacher salaries increased significantly, pupil teacher ratios improved dramatically, teaching tools and supplies increased, and the welfare of teachers improved dramatically. In addition, government regulations increased, the Unions grew larger and stronger, government contractors proliferated, and the percentage of funds going to administration of a school increased.
And just what did our children get?
Our children got an increase in school violence. Truancy and dropout rates increased. At the same time, there began the steady downward spiral of SAT and ACT scores, graduation rates, and literacy rates. Meanwhile, government bureaucracy, regulations, contractors, and unions flourished.
Proponents of big spending explained away the almost criminal annual failure of the heavily funded education bureaucracy by stating that while spending did increase, it wasn't enough. It was never enough. They also like to point out that federal funding for public education is only about 15 or 20% of local school board budgets. What they don't mention is that 100% of federal regulations go along with that money, eroding local control. We must not forget that a key factor in this travesty is that teachers were no longer measured by their successes, but by their tenure. We must face the fact that no matter how much rhetoric is used to explain away the failures, we cannot make the cause of the disease the cure -- More and more and more….
Haven't you had enough? Isn't it time for our elected officials to face the facts that they tried to overahaul a system that really didn't need overhauling; It only needed minor adjusting and perhaps a target. They should take some genuine steps to return control of education to the states and parents in local communities. Parents know their children, they know their needs, their fears, their dreams, their personalities, and can respond to them quickly and meaningfully and in their best interest. Adopting a program based on the few with poor track records and having it apply to everyone has been disastrous.
We have fallen into the trap of gearing our efforts (not just in education) to the lowest common denominator, and have been very successful at that.
As the Department of Education statistics show, money, while a necessary factor in quality education, is not the determining factor. School systems, including those in urban areas, with low per capita expenditures are out performing richer and more heavily funded school districts. Congress should take action now to hold aggressive oversight hearings to identify unsuccessful, duplicative, and intrusive programs and eliminate them, and then return control of federal programs to state and local governments.
While there is a role for the federal government to assist in public education, it is not as an absentee regulating landlord. The resounding success of home schooling, charter schools, vouchers, and private schools have been the saviors of our youth's education and can account for the recent modest improvements in our children's academic performance. Not only have their results been significant, but they have also provided a ray of hope and a challenge to traditional public schools by pointing out their shortcomings and making their failures obvious. These proven programs should be encouraged and enabled by the federal government, not opposed or ridiculed because they expose the failure of the current public system. We should be encouraging the privatization of school board activities that do not deal with the classroom such as catering, custodial care, and transportation.
School Boards were not established nor designed to run private sector activities. Their job is supposed to be educating our youth at which they were once the world leaders. The basic and minimum responsibility of our education system is to educate our children; teach them how to read, write, and do basic math. After that foundation is established, it can be built upon by adding arts, humanities, and other cultural enrichments and theoretical concepts that require a base for formulation.
No matter how you cut it, no matter what hysterical justifying rhetoric is used, no matter what minuscule detail is isolated to debate, evaluate, or demagogue; the fact is our children's education began to deteriorate when the massive federal programs began and the Unions changed from a professional organizations to employee bargaining units. Caring for our children should not be the rhetorical political game the radical liberals in government have made it. No matter how sincere they may appear, the fact is our children's education is used as a pawn for political gain and for the egos of a group of elitists in Washington, D.C.
Why do such a huge percentage of teachers keep their children out of public schools by sending them to private or charter schools. Instinctively you know why. This game, conducted with a wink of an eye and a nod of the head must change now. Deep down, we know the unspeakable truth about what is going on -- isn't it time to end the sham and really do something for our children?
For additional information and to check the facts yourself, contact the DoE and ask for a copy of the Digest of Education Statistics -, or contact the Institute at lhi@wmis.net.
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