There is a reader of this blog called LG who writes the most amazingly wise comments. She (and I believe from her email that this is a she) has taken upon herself the difficult task of responding to some very dubious assertions. Sometimes angry readers will make outlandish comments about teachers or public education or me or anything that bothers them, and over the years I have decided not to take the bait. But someone should. LG does.
I learn from the comments that readers write. I learn about what is happening across the nation, and sometimes I learn what is happening in other nations too. And more than that, I gain insight because so many readers have experience that I don’t have and a depth of understanding that I admire.
LG understands that the current drive for consumer choice in education makes people think that education is solely a personal decision and makes them feel that they have no responsibility for anyone else. Here is one of her sage comments:
“Unfortunately, the tax money that I am forced to pay goes to educate someone else’s child.”
So you’re saying that you are unhappy because you are asked, as a citizen, to pay into society in order to reap the benefits of society?
The public education system is in place to provide educational services to the PUBLIC, not some elite group of people who have personal wants and everyone else “be damned.” An educated public serves the community, and yes, it even serves you. When a community fails to provide education for its children, what happens to the children? Do you think you can keep them out of your life if you just lock yourself in your little gated community?
If you don’t like paying taxes, perhaps you shouldn’t use the public emergency systems. In that case, I do hope you never need the police or fire company to come to your aid. Oh, and you really ought to stop using the roads to get around since other people’s tax money go to providing and maintaining the roads for you.
Parents do not have the monopoly on paying taxes. Childless people also pay taxes. Teachers pay taxes. Health care professionals pay taxes. Politicians pay taxes. In short, CITIZENS pay taxes. The tax money that you feel you are “forced” to pay goes to the infrastructure or what many like to call, “the commons.” Infrastructure includes the provision for educating the public. Maybe you need to educate yourself a bit more about how societies work–it might help you make better choices at the voting booth.
It’s astounding that this self-serving kind of thinking even goes on in this country, but then again…I haven’t been everywhere, I guess.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
As I have read here and there on the blogosphere, if you really want a truly individualistic, no governmental “interference”, no taxes kind of society, go to Somalia.
On the other hand, I’ve also been reading about man-made nation-states on the high seas. Presumably, when they don’t get what they want, all the pooh-bahs will pack their bags and become expatriates on a floating gated community. If this works out anything like ed reform, they’re in for a rough ride (hurricanes anyone?).
Education reform is a scam, of course, but very few people will be headed to Somalia, they’ve convinced folks they can have their cake and eat it too. With any luck maybe wise people can turn this around!
I wonder if there was so much anger from taxpayers and parents about the direction of the schools when they actually had some input into the curriculum and policies for their local schools. Now the only input into education on the local level is the hiring of teachers and the maintaining/purchase of physical properties.
My superintendent confirmed the loss of local control. In fact, he added, “I do whatever my state educational agency tells me to do”. And furthering that line of thought, the state agency does whatever the Federal Government/CCSSO/NGA tells it to do.
IMO one of the main reasons of this anger by taxpayers and parents are they are currently forced to pay into a system in which they have no voice.
Standards and assessments are structured by private organizations on a national scale. Curriculum has been referred to as a “national” curriculum. Whether you agree with open enrollment or not, local school boards are not the final arbiters on who can/can’t attend the schools they are charged to oversee.
Many parents and taxpayers may not disagree with the idea of paying into a system for “the public good”, but when the “public” is not allowed to set policies for what the “good” entails, that’s when the frustration and anger sets in. It’s understandable. When a system becomes so centralized and exists to protect the system rather than servicing the citizens it was designed to serve, you will hear calls to demolish and/or not support that system any longer.
Some of this reluctance and anger might indeed be “self-serving thinking” but I believe there is another aspect to this anger. Teachers are angry, parents/taxpayers are angry, education “reform” will benefit private interests and not so much the students….it’s no wonder there is an outcry on why public funds are propping up a system that seems to be only interested in taxpayer dollars and enrolling human capital and not allowing those taxpayers/parents a seat at the table.
Yours remains a legitimate concern.
Actually not all standards are national. If you are talking about national tests such as the SAT, you may be correct, but state DOEs set curricular standards, not federal entities. The Core Curriculum Standards are a brand new and untested entity so they truly do not indicate anything. If you are referring to NCLB, that is a policy of determining the implementation of standardized testing and teacher credentialing that is often separate from state and local curriculum standards. The system is indeed complicated, I’ll give you that, but “curricular choice” is still in the hands of the states for the most part.
The public may be fit to effect change, should the public set specific policy? That is akin to asking the public to draft laws. We have a representative democracy because the public citizenry is far too vast and far-reaching for every citizen to have adequate professional knowledge of what is best for the populace. The community can voice an opinion and in many cases, the community does influence positive change that is appropriate for the community, but the bottom line is that there are basic rights and freedoms that the state affords to the public including: the right to a free public education (Grades 1-12) and the right to elect a local board to oversee and run the public schools. If every parent (or teacher, for that matter) had a say in what should be taught and how, you’d have so many conflicting responses that it would be nearly impossible to please everyone.
I disagree that the those who run the system are only interested in propping up the system. Yes, those who work within the system are interested in keeping the system available for all because it is a public service. But policy changes take time. You said it best though when you mentioned that children do not have that kind of time within their own lifetimes.
Unfortunately, public policies often do not change drastically in a short time period, although more and more, we are seeing changes in education happening all too swiftly. This could be why there is such an influx of “reform.” It has happened seemingly so fast to those who have not been following it through the years. The country has been in economic turmoil, and many of the reformers are acting the opportunist by taking advantage of economic conditions to push forward policies of privatization that will sink the public systems if the public doesn’t do something about it.
BTW, taking the district to federal court was a courageous move. I’m sure you will agree that it never should have come to that. Your experiences as outlined in another post obviously were horrible, and your son indeed deserved better than he was offered.
No system is perfect, but there have been many parents in your situation who have influenced changes to the system for the better. We can both name laws, flawed or not, that serve special needs children…laws that have been enacted simply from people taking the system to task. The actions of those who influenced these laws have served to keep the system moving in better directions.
The hope is that, at one point, your efforts have made a difference somewhere to someone who might still be in the system. I know that may not be of solace to you since your son had needs that could not have waited for a policy change, but in retrospect, you may have influenced a change for the better.
You are admired for supporting your son against all odds. I do hope that your faith in public systems can be restored someday.
I like LG.
Me too, Janet. I think s/he has a strong voice that needs to be heard. Keep it up, LG.
Diane, I am humbled by your words. For so many years, teachers have been bashed in the public, and nearly every news agency has fed into the culture of exposing “bad teachers.” In fact, Hollywood has capitalized on this new “pastime,” not only with anti-teacher and anti-public education documentaries, but with theatrical releases like “Bad Teacher.” The public’s fascination with the blame game has reached a fever pitch, and the very people who should be shown support are often publicly blasted and offered up as scapegoats for the ills of society. It truly makes getting up every day and facing the stress of the job difficult, but like many have said on this blog, the children are what matter and often who inspire you to get out there in the first place. Although being a teacher doesn’t mean being a pariah (yet), it is with caution that I tell people what I do for a living anymore. Usually when I do, the first thing that many people comment on is “summers off,” “easy jobs,” “nice hours,” etc. I do take the time to educate them on just how wrong they are.
But aside from teachers being treated unfairly, the culture of making public education the enemy is far more hurtful to the public than the egos of those who serve the public. When the rights to a free public education are slowly deteriorating based on a self-serving philosophy of “what’s in it for me,” no one in this field should remain silent. Unfortunately, many educators just let it go thinking these attacks will go away. I don’t believe they will stop without a fight, but I believe that those who will join the discussion are open to helping out in this fight. This blog has afforded those of us with something to say with a place to say it. Thank you for giving us this “space.”
We may get weary and emotionally battered in the fight, but we can’t just get out of the ring. It may take more rounds than we’d like.
LG is quoted as saying: “It’s astounding that this self-serving kind of thinking even goes on in this country…” Don’t be astounded, LG. The U.S.A. is a great country, but it has more than its fair share of idiots. As H.L. Mencken said, “Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.”
You are absolutely correct, Kathy. It’s gonna be a long haul, but if everybody gets involved, we can bring back the support for schools that we seem to have lost.
Joseph, I’d like to offer this Abraham Lincoln quote to the education “reformers”: “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time”…and add this: “We are ON to you, and we are not going to stand for what you’re doing.”