Both Chris O'Donnell and Reform K12 make mincemeat of this sappy essay, "I Am Your Public School," which, not surprisingly, was published on an affiliate site of the NEA. It's hard to think of any rejoinders other than what they've already said, but I'll see what I can do.
I am your public school, a 200 year-old experiment giving America the strongest economy in world history. We are 88,000 buildings in more than 15,000 districts. And we are as diverse as this great country....
Some of you would judge me by test scores, but I would remind you that a test only measures one dimension of a student’s development – only in that subject on that day depending on whether the student tests well. Although, my SAT math and science test scores are at a 33 year high, and my ACT scores are up for 11 consecutive years.
Don't you love the way testing critics will bend over backwards to claim that test scores mean nothing - but then they're quick to whip forward and brag about test scores being up? Let's set the rule now - if you claim that test scores are dependent on nothing other than how good a kid is at taking tests, you don't get to take any credit for SAT scores going up.
As for that rise, it's not exaggerated, but bragging about the "diversity" embraced by public schools should be tempered by the reality that the achievement gap has not narrowed among ethnic subgroups (the ACT shows the same gap). There's still a combined gender gap which favors boys, despite the fact that girls tend to get better grades. And the College Board attributes the rise to students taking more math classes - and the reform efforts that have often been opposed by schools, administrators, and teachers' unions.
I remind you that those tests don’t include foreign language, music, art, drama and other vital extracurriculars.
Because, as we all know, talent in foreign languages and music is completely unrelated to a student being well-educated in reading and mathematics. As for the drama part being vital, Chris says it best: "I guess the American economy is the engine of the world because of all those drama and art majors we are turning out. The service industries thank you though. Waiters have to come from somewhere."
My dirty little secret is that many of the 11 percent of children who drop out are the products of sorry parenting – parents who send me children who are undisciplined, unwanted, unwashed, unloved; some strung out on drugs and alcohol; some abused and neglected; few who have ever been taken to a church, synagogue or mosque. The miracle is that my doors are open to all of them and many are reached – not by textbooks alone but by teachers who know there is more to a child’s life than rote learning. For thousands of kids, the only hug they ever get they get in school.
So, is the message we're supposed to take away that public school is like the Salvation Army - they take in the Great Unwashed and love them, and if they don't educate them, well, they're uneducable? And one would think that "rote learning" is one of the, well, lesser evils for a child who is abused and neglected, so it's odd to see it thrown into this litany of malignancies.
It is painful to be accused of failing African American children. That’s a calumny. Our greatest hurdle is that half of African American children are born to single moms, creating a whole new set of problems for the schools.
To be honest, a lot of conservative commentators say the same things, and it's not because they're racist. It's because they want activists to stop complaining about allegedly-unfair test scores and try to do something about the explosion of illegitimacy in our society at large - a phenemenon that has become entrenched in the African American community. And it's worse than described here; according to this report, 68.5% of African American children were born out of wedlock in 2002, and in that same year, almost 20% of the African American births were to mothers aged 19 and under.
However, these statistics don't mean that public schools aren't failing minority kids, and these numbers don't give schools a pass on educating these kids. In fact, the worse the home (in terms of academic enrichment), the more dependent a kid is on the quality of the school. Which makes this statement all the more sad:
Some say I should prepare more students for college, as though college is for everyone. We are the only education system that educates the student to the level of his or her ability – doctor, mechanic, engineer, nurse, computer manager, carpenter. America is third in the world in college graduation rates – nearly 25 percent with a four year degree or more.
No, college isn't for everyone. But it's up to a student to decide if he's college material, not his high school. As Reform K12 says, "Unfortunately, we're not telling you that we've already pre-decided that Johnny can't read or do math, so we won't push him very hard. 'Educating to the child's ability level' is edu-speak for a dumbed-down education for all."
Defaming public education in order to promote vouchers for religious schools is an egregious miscarriage of education’s mission. I am held accountable by my school board – every dollar spent. Vouchers require zero accountability.
Oh, is that what this is all about? Chris retorts: "If public schools are so damn great, why are they afraid of a little competition? It sounds to me that you'd have to be completely nuts to ever pull your child out of public school."
I am passionately committed to the belief that God gives children different gifts, and we alone address all children whatever their gifts.If your heart ever needs a lift, visit with a Downs Syndrome child happily employed thanks to public education.
Parents don't address children whatever their gifts? And the success of a Downs Syndrome adult who is employed (and therefore no longer a child) isn't due to any parental influence whatsoever?
Yes, my corridors have known random acts of violence, yet the FBI says a child is safer in my arms at school than in his or her own home.
That's odd, for in the last paragraph, the plea for money is accompanied by this statement:
You would use public school dollars to construct new forms of theocratic education, yet the U.S. General Accounting Office national survey showed that a third of my buildings are dangerous and unsafe – yet no help is forthcoming.
Are more than a third of their homes dangerous and unsafe as well?
Chris's summary:
Again, they are already taking the majority of property taxes in this country. They are not paying the teachers fairly, and they are not maintaining the infrastructure. What exactly do they do with all that money?
After reading this garbage I think I have the answer to that last question.
Undoubtedly, they are blowing the education budget on copious amounts of crack. It all makes sense now.
Posted by kswygert at January 27, 2004 11:02 PM