What the Public Thinks of Public Schools

Yesterday Tuesday September 08, 2009 president Obama delivered a pep talk to American schoolchildren.  I did not bother listening to or reading the speech.  If interested in Mr. Obama’s speech you may find a link to it on the White House web site (www.whitehouse.gov).  Be careful when typing in the link, you may accidentally go to a different site.

I did watch the news at 10:00 PM last evening.  A student mentioned that what the president had to say they have heard many times from parents and teachers.  Kids should stay in school and try to learn as much as possible in order to have a better future.  What a new and unique concept!  Perhaps Mr. Obama is so full of himself that he believes that kids in school will listen more to him than to their teachers and parents.

An article with the same title as this blog (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052970203440104574400850103134572.html) by Paul E. Peterson lists different results by several Gallup polls.  What is the thinking process of most Naive Americans?  If several Gallup polls had been conducted in 1490 AD in Europe, MOST (not to use ALL) participants would have said that the earth was flat.  The poll would have close to 100% INCORRECT results.  One should NEVER follow the results of polls because they only provide the opinion of people.  Opinions are not worth the media they are recorded in.  The only thing Naive Americans should consider is facts, not opinions.  The United States of America is currently ranked in overall K-12 education 18^th (27^th in Mathematics).  No opinion will change that fact.  Our public school system and our way of educating our youth DOES NOT WORK and unless there is a dramatic change, WILL NEVER WORK!

There are many issues with the education system in the USA.  The issues have been around for decades (1950’s to present) so very few Naive Americans are able to see what is wrong.  If you lived in the Middle Ages, earth is flat and it is the center of the universe, and if you disagree religion will come after in the shape of The Church and would be excommunicated.  Today lobbyist and politicians will do the same to you if you speak up.

Our concept of public school is that of day care.  Parents send their out of control (undisciplined) sons and daughters to be taken care while they are at work or at home watching Oprah Winfrey or Desperate Housewives.  Given that our public school system releases students every afternoon around 2:30 PM, then it is time for sports or any other activity which will keep them away from home until around 05:00 PM when parents are typically back from work.

You do not believe me?  Years ago my wife and I lived in Eagan, Minnesota.  The school system needed additional funds to IMPROVE on education.  Actually teachers wanted a pay increase.  The public opinion was to vote down the additional funds.  The school district then stated that they would have to cut on after school activities.  To make the story short, the referendum passed and teachers got what they asked for.  What aspect of the quality of education improved with the additional funds?  Perhaps a poll was needed J.

I am not an expert on education.  Not sure if there are any in the USA given the state of the public education in our country.  My parents were able to pay for Catholic private schools for my sisters and me.  My two sons attended a Catholic and Military private school.  Today we have two granddaughters and two grandsons.  The girls are currently attending a private Catholic school.  The boys are still too young to attend kindergarten.  Hopefully my youngest son and his wife will think clearly and make the correct decision when it is time.  The only ones that will be affected by the parent’s decisions are the kids and their future, which might be able to help America change course or continue in the downward spiral we have been for decades.

Then there is the issue of spending in education.  We go back to polls asking people what do they think is spent per pupil in the public school system?  It is completely inconsequential what people think.  The fact is that America spends the most per pupil in the world yet results are very low.  As with healthcare reform, public education reform does not need more money, which will go to incompetent and poorly qualified teachers and improperly managed school systems.

Many countries in the world used to take the public education system in the US as an example.  Today countries are switching to other systems that provide results.  Naive Americans wish to solve all our problems by throwing money at them.  Clearly it has not and will not work.  We need a CHANGE in structure that will allow us to get back to the top of the list in results, not spending.

Public schoolteachers are over paid for what they do.  To top it all they get about three months of vacation per year.  Not too many (just being sarcastic) Naive Americans in the private sector get three months off per year.

One last thing, public school teachers belong to unions, which threat politicians with ads on TV regarding how MANY they are.  In Minnesota when there is an issue with getting more funds the teachers union puts several add always closing them with a remark “70,000 strong”.  This is done to intimidate politicians so the union can get what they want.

Are you proud to be a Naive American?