Bad People

I know most everyone with a brain has already jumped on this idiot, but not all of my followers read Hot Air, etc., so I would just like to bring your attention to the Slate piece entitled "If You Send Your Kid To Private School You Are a Bad Person."

In the article, Allison Benedikt 'argues' that if everyone in the nation sent their kids to public school, eventually the public schools would be great.  She actually writes:

I am not an education policy wonk: I’m just judgmental. But it seems to me that if every single parent sent every single child to public school, public schools would improve. This would not happen immediately. It could take generations. Your children and grandchildren might get mediocre educations in the meantime, but it will be worth it, for the eventual common good.

 In short, your kids will get a lousy education, but in the long run, public schools might improve, and you are bad for not sacrificing your children to her idea of the common good.  Never mind that even parents who opt out still pay for public school.

Another gem from the article:

Reading Walt Whitman in ninth grade changed the way you see the world? Well, getting drunk before basketball games with kids who lived at the trailer park near my house did the same for me. In fact it’s part of the reason I feel so strongly about public schools.

Benedikt says many other shockingly stupid things and expresses pride in her shoddy education and inability to reason.  Her 'argument' has already been thoroughly destroyed, here, here, and here.

Sadly, like Ben Sherman at BOR, I think Ms. Benedikt is being brutally honest about Leftist views.  For the so-called Progressives, it's not about quality education, but social engineering. 

If this is what public education is producing...

Texas Taxpayer Savings Grants

In light of our current challenges, many policy analysts are looking at innovative ways to balance the budget without raising taxes. We have seen some great proposals this year regarding Medicare and Medicaid spending and higher education reforms, and now Texans for Voluntary Taxpayer Savings has proposed Taxpayer Savings Grants, which could possible save the state $2 billion in the next biennium.

The Taxpayer Savings Grant proposal is a voluntary program that allows parents to transfer a child from a public school to a private school, with a TS grant to help pay tuition.  For each student who voluntarily takes a grant, the state saves an average of $3,429.  Furthermore, the public school would not have expenditures for that child (think smaller classes,) but the school would keep a portion of funding. 

Currently, the average total cost per student in Texas public schools is $11,567.  The proposed grants would be calculated on maintenance and operations expenditures alone ($8,572 per student) and therefore each grant is equal to only 60% of the M&O expense, which is $5,143 per student.  The state saves the other 40% of the M&O expense, which is $3,429 per student.  Additionally, the difference between operation and total expenditures is about $3000 per student.  So even though the student is no longer attending, the difference of $3000 remains in the Texas public school system and actually results in an increase in per pupil funding. 

Not only would the Taxpayer Savings Grants save money for the State of Texas while increasing per pupil funding for public schools, the grants would allow parents to choose the school best suited to their child's needs.  I have long been a critic of the one-size-fits all paradigm that dominates our nation's approach to education.  Different children have different educational needs and it is madness to think there is only one way to educate a child.  I often hear teachers complain about a lack of parental involvement, so let's get parents involved by allowing them a voice in their own child's education.

The analysts who created this program are hoping the Texas House will be able to attach the measure to legislation before the session ends.  With savings projected for the State, the Texas public school system, and taxpayers, this seems like a win-win-win deal.  It is unfortunate that the proposal comes so late in the session and I do not predict passage, but it is an idea that deserves consideration. 

Constitution Day: What is Your Child's School Teaching?

Tomorrow is the 223rd anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution, which is perhaps the greatest governing document created by man.  Federal law requires all public schools to teach students about the Constitution on September 17, but apparently there is a great deal of latitude on the 'how' and 'what' of those lessons. 

At Texas' Permian High School, educators instructed students to create a collage about the Constitution, and sent home a rather curious handout with a brief rundown of the Amendments.  This summary only mentions that the First Amendment establishes the people's right to criticize the government, and that the Second Amendment maintains "that states have the right to have armed militias."  This 'lesson' on the 1st Amendment makes no mention of religious freedoms, and the latter seems to exclude an individual right to keep and bear arms.

To make matters worse, when parents Audra and Jason Moore sent an email asking about the origins of the teaching materials, the teacher repeatedly insisted the material came from the Declaration of Independence. (And incidentally, misspelled 'Independence' throughout.)  While those of us already concerned about the quality of academics in public schools are appalled that the extent of the assignment for 11th-grade students is merely to make a collage, apparently the teacher is utterly lacking in the knowledge and skill necessary to teach such an important historic and civic lesson. 

This incident occurred in a relatively conservative community in Texas; one can only guess the extent of the problem in more liberal climes, as evidenced by certain textbook manufacturers who apply an appalling level of bias to U.S. History lessons, and even attach a warning label to the Constitution.  Happily, many groups are working to re-introduce serious consideration of the Constitution, even providing pocket copies of the Constitution to 5th graders. Of course this leads one to wonder why these schools have 5th graders reading the actual Constitution while 11th graders are making collages.

Americans need to wake up and realize the extent of the attempts to indoctrinate their children with liberal viewpoints via the public school system. Rather than just assuming the schools are teaching, take time to talk to your children about this historic anniversary and what it means. The future of the country may depend on it.