More Politicians in Public Education? No! No! No!
Posted on: April 2, 2009
Posted in: Education Reform
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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”
