On Thursday, the governor announced the appointment of Rev. Stan Archie, a voucher proponent and former private school teacher and administrator to fill another seat on the board:
At a news conference, Archie expressed his support for programs that give parents alternatives to public schools. "I do believe in a competitive market when it comes to education," he said.
The governor's push to put private school supporters in charge of the board that oversees the operation of Missouri's 524 public schools is a slap in the face at Missouri public schools and is bad public policy.
Randy,
ReplyDeleteWhat's wrong with a competitive market when it comes to education?
What's wrong with a competitive market when it comes to education?
ReplyDeleteWell for one thing, children are not widgets or gizmos to be produced on an assembly line.
They don't all learn the same way. Sometimes they need extra help and attention.
And finally, you can't logically expect a quality education in an environment which is dedicated to finding the cheapest possible way to finish your child's education.
It seems to me our current system is the one dedicated to finding the cheapest possible way to finish my child's education.
ReplyDeleteIn the car world some cars are cheap and some are expensive. I imagine there would be different schools catering to different clientele.
What there wouldn't be are ridiculous federal rules to be obeyed.
What there would be is inflated tuition when all the private schools get on the gravy train.
ReplyDeleteAll we really need to do is teach our kids to speak Spanish and enough motor skills to work in a chicken processing plant. If you want more for them you will have to send them to India for their education and a job after they graduate.
ReplyDeleteWhat we need are "truly educated" students guided by dedicated teachers. We need teachers who don't waste their time and the kids' learning time. We need less "fun" time in classroom, more time on tasks, 90 percent less competitive sports which waste money and manpower. We need better pay for teachers and we need teachers who are truly dedicated and not just waiting for the weekend of the holiday time off to go skiing or sit in front of a computer instead of working and preparing for their classes. We need less political correctness, less interference from outside the classroom and a dedication to character development from kindergarten through the senior class. It is important to reach responsibility just as it is important to teach math and history and spelling because so little of any of the above is not being taught at home.
ReplyDeleteThe school that can best achive the kinds of things is the kind of school we need.
Nope. Its time residents of Missouri to stop trying to point the finger at teachers and start looking in the nearest mirror for a good part of the problem.
ReplyDeleteIf you want your children to get a good public school education you have to expect to pay for it with your taxes. The same people who shout from the rooftops that nothing is free and life is priceless seem to expect teachers and schools to run on a budget which is somewhere between very little and less than very little thereby showing very little concern for their children's futures.
Character development sounds very attractive, especially when so many parents have questionable values themselves, don't know how to raise kids to know right from wrong, or don't care. The problem comes when you start defining character development and the values you plan to teach in school. Lots of countries have taught "character development" in their school system; the Soviets, the Chinese, the Mujahadeen... I think it could be one of those slippery slope things.