The Public Facade is Working

"Bullying and wrongdoing go hand-in-hand. Financial misappropriation is so common in bullying cases it can almost be assumed."
Tim Fields, Bully in Sight

This author appears to struggle with the reason why we don't have enough good teaching in our schools. It is difficult operating behind a facade.

A recently published book entitle, Against School Reform (And in Praise of Great Teaaching), by Peter S. Temes proposes that the only way to improve the education of our children is to support good teachers. He goes on to describe what a good classroom looks like - teaching to the individual, open and honest diaglogue, and treating students with respect, all concepts that teachers are unable to accomplish under an abusive principal. In fact, these particular issues are mentioned specifically in Breaking the Silence, by Jo and Joseph Blase, as areas where teachers had to stop doing or be harassed.

Temes idea of making teaching an elite profession, attracting only the top students, and upgrading the teacher training program are all excellent if it weren't for the fact that the teachers who are from the top of their classes, and make that magic in the classroom, are the very teachers targeted for abuse. It is a wonder how an educator so knowledgable about what schools needs, isn't aware why so few of these qualitiy teachers exist in our schools.

Linda Lenz, who reviewed Temes's book in the Chicago Tribune, 9/15/2002, criticized Temes for not explaining how we would attract these teachers in a teacher shortage as well as with the other problems existing in our schools including poor leadership and bad apples amongst the staff. She pointed out that he states he doesn't believe in reform, but has no explanation how we are going to change our schools so that good teachers will be attracted as well as stay in teaching. NAPTA wonders what he is thinking also, since there has to be a reason good teachers are scarce, and as a teacher, we would think he knows about teacher abuse. So why isn't he mentioning it? Is he beating around the bush in fear of retribution if he comes out and says it? Is he thinking that by writing this book, he will put pressure on the establishment to do what they need to do to attract and keep quality teachers, or stop abusing teachers? It certainly indicates fear if he thinks he can advocate without stating for what he is advocating.

However, his statement that "schools need to summon the courage to 'cut loose' the worst teachers", indicates he is out of touch, as our schools have the courage to terminate teachers all over the country. It isn't about courage. It is about integrity as they rarely terminate bad teachers who harm children, as long as they submit to the game plan, but terminate good teachers fairly regularly. (Often they are coerced into resigning and done behind closed doors so even he might not know.)

Regardless of what he was thinking in writing his book, between his ignoring teacher abuse, and the reviewer unaware of teacher abuse, it seems like we have a bunch of people dancing around reform, who can't find the dance floor. How sad. The public relations facade is working and people are spinning their wheels, arranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic, unaware of where the real problem lies. At least Temes is correct about what our schools need, even though he seems to show little understanding of the main reason that they don't have them. He just seems too bright to not know about teacher abuse, and we will continue to think the bittersweet thought that he does know about teacher abuse, and has come up with what he believes is a politically correct way to get to the needed reform, without becoming a target himself.

This author attempts to advocate for charter schools in spite of the knowledge that some are failing. She focuses on a truth - public schools waste billions of dollars and still don't provide quality schools. But she hasn't discovered where this wasted money is going. Her theories might help force our schools to be more accountable, but if she could break through the public facade and realize our schools are organized crime without intention of being good for children, she might be a lot more effective.

September 16, 2002 Whittled Away Don't blame Edison's failure on the market. By Lisa Snell

Yet even in the midst of its problems, Edison demonstrates the benefits of markets. The company will either get its act together or be shut down. Contrast that with public school bureaucracies that continue to waste billions in taxpayer dollars (think Belmont Learning Center in Los Angeles or Compton Unified), yet are never shut down because they are never held accountable for their failures. In fact, the more money you spend in public education-and the less student achievement you get per dollar-the more money you can expect to receive in the next year's budget.

While the charter school model is closer to real competition, the best models for a market in education would give all students the right to exit public schools, and the ability to move freely among public, charter, and private schools. Only when the funding truly follows a child will we have a market in education that is responsive to the right customers: the students and their parents. To the extent that Edison has failed that test, the company has also failed public education.

This author focuses on an important fact or that schools may operate poorly and still remain open. People who advocate for school choice are likely to be more effective, since if schools were forced to compete, they might have to start becoming real schools. Even though they don't seem to understand the corrupt nature of our schools and how this is far more about money, and very little about teaching, these people proposing reform have the possibility of breaking down the vice, without ever really knowing it was there. However, with the insights NAPTA has to offer, we believe we can align with them and help their cause. The more reformers know about the vulnerabilities of our districts, the sooner they can strip them of their abusive powers.

June 26, 2002
Edison's Mess Is No Referendum on Privatization
by Marie Gryphon
Marie E. Gryphon is a policy analyst with the Cato Institute's Center for Educational Freedom .

Marie Gryphon of the Cato Institute suggests that "Edison's woes are actually further evidence that the privatization model does work. "Edison's failure -- if indeed it does fail -- would illustrate the advantage of private management. Private companies that do not do their jobs well are allowed to fail. School districts that do their jobs poorly may operate indefinitely."

Here is another reformer that misses the mark, thinking it is about who controls our schools. Considering that our local boards and superintendents are often corrupt, how would giving them more power do anything but create monstors out of people who already are approaching that profile? She recommends ending government oversight. She doesn't have to worry since it doesn't appear that there is any.

21 August 2002
CARLA HOWELL'S EDUCATION PROPOSAL
On Friday, August 16th, at 10AM, in front of the Massachusetts Teachers Association headquarters, Carla Howell unveiled her plan for Education in Massachusetts. Her statement is below:

Freeing Up Education in Massachusetts
A Proposal by Carla Howell

Official Newsletter of Carla Howell for Governor, Michael Cloud for U.S. Senate, and the Ballot Initiative to End the Income Tax http://www.

Carla Howell says, "All Good Education is Local." Once again, we see that "small government is beautiful... and lets us educate our own children."

End all state government regulation and oversight and control of Education. Massachusetts state government central regulation and oversight and control means... state government central planning. Government central planning devastated the Soviet economy - and it's devastating education in Massachusetts.

Return responsibility and control of Education in Massachusetts to parents, teachers, and local communities. Local community education is small and simple and accountable. When education is returned to parents and teachers and local communities... we will have a mosaic of educational diversity, educational alternatives, and community choices in 351 different cities and towns in Massachusetts.

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