A reader comments on the post this morning about a Republican proposal to give a new state charter board authority over charter schools, to low charters to hire as many uncertified teachers as they wish, to eliminate criminal background checks for charter staff and operators, etc.:
He writes:
So let’s get this straight…the same GOP who wants tougher standards, tougher evaluation systems for public school teachers, a school grading (rating) system using an A-F model based on standardized test scores, etc…now want to circumvent state law requiring that at least half of the staff at a charter school hold teaching licenses, as well as remove background checks as a requirement for school personnel. Oh, and only be accountable to a “board” made up of members who are handpicked by the owner of the charter school. UNBELIEVABLE!!! Folks, you can’t make this stuff up! I don’t know who is more stupid…the guys making the laws to fix education, or the citizens who believe their solutions will work. I solved our public education woes well over a decade ago. Want something that will actually work? Just ask me.
“Republican state Sen. Jerry Tillman, the sponsor and committee co-chairman, gave a gruff assessment of the state board’s view on charters since lawmakers eliminated a cap on the number of schools in 2011. He said charter schools are too restrained to be successful.”
“Tillman cited an example of a pharmacist who wasn’t able to teach chemistry because he wasn’t a licensed teacher, saying the pharmacist had more experience than most teachers. “Any time you’ve got a piece of bologna that has two sides to it, I don’t care how thin you slice it, you’ve got to look beyond what might appear on the paper,” he said.
*Laughs* Oh Tillman, you foolish, foolish little man. Just because someone is an expert in a field does not make them a good teacher. Case in point: Some years ago, in a Charlotte high school, a former Duke University professor decided she wanted to “make a difference” and work with minority, at-risk kids and “share her vast knowledge of the field in which she was an expert.” She lasted one year. The kids ate her up and spit her out. Duke. One of the most prestigious Universities on the planet. Expert in her field. Lasted ONE year.
Am I the only one tired of the lawmakers, educrats, and faux-reformers who write the laws and make decisions on education, while not having a degree in the field? It would be like me telling a physician how to treat his patients, and I don’t have a background in the medical field.
I think some of these guys think just because they went to school makes them knowledgable on how to fix a school. Remember, just because you know how to drive a car does not make you a mechanic.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I think we should launch a campaign to have every public school teacher in America write to Bill Gates and tell him how to run Microsoft. He seems to think he knows how we should teach.
I actually think that is an awesome idea. It would be great.
Right? I wonder how we could get momentum…..it would need to be an all out assault.
Re: my comment above…..I realize this article is not about Gates/Murdoch but it is the same crap. Everybody telling us what to do and not letting us do our job anymore. “The farther you are from the classroom, the easier it is to teach.”
This should give the lie charter schools are “public schools.” They aren’t.
I cannot believe background checks would NOT be required of staff even though they are getting taxpayer money.
Kids’ lives are literally at risk with this nutball idea.
Pedophile heaven…oh how short the attention span of legislators…
This just confirms that the United States is becoming a 2nd world nation. Our leaders actually don’t want our students to be educated. critical thinkers because it does not serve their interests. They want a dumbed down population who will except low wage work and question nothing.
But seriously, how predictable is this? There is every intention of letting all other schools play with limited or zero restrictions while enforcing a crazy set of rules on traditional neighborhood public schools. Then, as we fight through a tangled web of limitations, everyone will say “See, privatize!”
In Michigan, we’re already seeing this with the EAA. They’re claiming miraculous advancements based on their own pre and post baseline tests. Their fall MEAP were a disaster (https://baa.state.mi.us/oeaa/directory/meap.asp?dCode=84060&bCode=-99&gCode=119&aCode=MEAP). Let’s see next year’s state tests before declaring victory. Gaming the system is what I see.
But the EAA must succeed. The state legislature is trying to expand it from 15 to 50 schools (and I’m sure we can guess which neighborhoods will fall under EAA control). Meanwhile, it’s expenditures keep rising. They ran out of money in February and asked the state for a $2,000,000 advance and got it. Then they ran out of that money this month and got $10,000,000 from the Broad Foundation. (Suggesting this model could never be scaled up.)
But if they get results, everyone will be ecstatic and say “See, the EAA is working!” It better because they’re getting more per student than any other district in its county (and possibly the state). But it has to look good or these policies will be exposed as the failures that they truly are.
North Carolina is just playing the game in a less concealed sense. But the game has been tilted for a while now. Create advantages for charters and stupid rules for publics all but guaranteeing the desired result.
Love this: “Remember, just because you know how to drive a car does not make you a mechanic.”
Wouldn’t want someone working on my car who nothing about the insides of a car and how the parts work together.
The elite are simpletons. I put Gates in this category.
LIKE!
“Folks, you can’t make this stuff up! I don’t know who is more stupid…the guys making the laws to fix education, or the citizens who believe their solutions will work.”
The citizens don’t care what’s going on neither do they care. I am not necessarily blaming them either seeing as how they are scrapping by to survive in today’s economy where the rich get richer and the middle and poor continue getting poorer.
I am more frustrated with teachers who do not know what’s going on. I continue to run the experiment when in different groups of teachers by asking who Michelle Rhee is.
I haven’t run into one group of teachers, among multiple groups, who even knows who she is. Maybe we deserve the bashing we are receiving?
That’s an interesting observation. I see the same thing at my school. How can we change things, if most teachers and community members don’t educated themselves? I am trying to get people to check out this blog, but I don’t think anyone has.
So where do ‘WE’ , the knowledgable, fit in. What do we do with our truth-filled heads? Surely there is a meaninful calling for us other than to sit in our livingrooms and explode with anger and frustration. I have handed out Diane’s blog address to so many, but I doubt they have used it. They are so apathetic. I teach in Philadelphia, but live in the suburbs…and the complacency in both places is astonishing. Sometimes I wonder if I am losing my mind…The truth of what is happening to Public Education is sooo clear to me. Why not others? The response to my FB postings is “more sharing of photos of friends grandkids” and FB jokes…rarely a serious response. I would love to get involved in something pro-active with others…mobilize my concerns. But where?….suggestions?
This is good. It shows what clueless loons they all are. Oh yes, the parents will come running when they find out there are no backgrounds checks, etc. How dumb can this get? Also, the idea of having your own appointed board is in other states now. It is the best con ever invented. You get to take in tax dollars and rule as a dictator. It is disgusting!!!!!