Don't Reward Failure with a Raise
Should a person who does his job poorly get a raise? Can a company that makes a tool that breaks when you use it or a machine that fails to do what it was made to do raise its prices and increase profits on its defective products? Would you be willing to pay a car mechanic or plumber when they have failed to fix the problem, over and over again? Would you be willing to guarantee your grocery store regular price increases, even when you regularly buy milk that is sour, fruits and vegetables that are half rotten, and meat that is spoiled? I suspect most of us would answer all of these questions with a resounding, “No way!”
Amazingly, that is exactly what the public education establishment expects us to do. In Michigan, next month, the voters will have the chance to guarantee annual increases to the state education budget, by-passing the legislature’s budgetary responsibility. Of course, that money would be on top of what federal funding, which feeds billions into a public education system that does a progressively poorer job of educating! Let’s give them a raise to reward their poor work!
I have been tutoring refugee kids for over 3 years, but I have tutored young people since I was a student myself. I have taught in private schools and worked with home-schooled students, but I graduated from a public school myself. The failure of public education is a well-known and well-documented scandal; and yet, I have managed to be surprised by what I see. I observed many of the experimental educational failures, first hand. My brothers were among the first to try to learn to read without phonics and to use the “new” math, and they paid the price. I was fortunate to have caught the tail end of the traditional methods that worked and to have been an above average student. Bright kids learn despite poor teaching; the rest learn less.
Imagine being an immigrant or refugee teenager without the support of parents and who speaks little or no English. Visualize having to take junior high or high school classes like algebra or science, where everyone and every book uses English and no one speaks your language. Remember, you are a teenager who probably doesn’t enjoy school that much, except for hanging out with other teenagers. Maybe you really do want to learn English because you know you can’t do anything until you do, but no one really teaches it. They put you in an hour or two of ESL (English as a Second Language) class, but they don’t actually teach you English. Like all the other classes, they give you lots of papers, most of which are far too difficult for you to read or understand. If you’re lucky, you have a tutor or a really caring and helpful foster parent, but no one can really help enough to catch you up to your American classmates. You may learn a little but not enough to earn a diploma, but you will probably graduate, even if you enrolled in public school your senior year. Again, if you’re lucky, you will get into a community college where, finally, before you’re allowed to take regular college classes, they teach you English, hopefully not taught by another immigrant whose English isn’t much better than yours. If you’re not so lucky, you end up at a college who takes your government-subsidized tuition until it’s gone, and you still haven’t really learned English or much of anything else. After that, you’re ready to get one of those jobs that native-born Americans don’t want.
One of the foster parents I know suggested I should write a book about the kids I have helped and their stories. Many of them are tragic and heart-rending, and I would like to tell some of those stories. Lately, I have wondered if maybe I should include the near criminal neglect they have experienced in our public education system. How can anyone who cares, even a little, add to the suffering they have already experienced by failing to find a way to give them a chance to make a life, a chance that requires English and a basic education?
Another friend, who gave up on teaching after trying to be a student teacher in a typical pubic school, said that it’s not because the teachers don’t care. They will say it’s because they don’t have enough money and resources. Having taught in small, low budget Christian schools, I said, “Then they’re stupid! Many private schools out-perform public schools that have considerably more money.” He agreed; they care but they actually believe they can’t do the job without more money. That is stupid! It is even more stupid to guarantee them more money!
During the 2006-2007 school year in Michigan, schools received $7653 per pupil to educate them, about average for the nation. Right now, I am tutoring 5 students with the possibility of 5 others, if I can find enough time after school and weekends. For $76,530, I could teach them English, remedial math, and the beginnings of history and science, even if I had to rent a classroom space and buy books and materials. Granted, they’d miss out on soccer and basketball, and they would only be able to “socialize” within a small group; but they would also avoid learning inner-city street slang, the drug culture, and numerous other counter-productive American teenaged behavior. Schools receive funding for immigrant and refugee students, and then they spend it on a program that does not educate them, at all. This is a crime. So is their failure to educate American students; it is just less obvious. Indeed, I recently learned that they are violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which requires English language proficiency testing and appropriate instruction based on those test results. The schools know it; they just don't do it!!
I learned recently in The Conspiracy of Ignorance by Martin Gross that half of school budgets goes to pay for high priced administrators. I knew it was inflated, but I never knew how badly. Of course, that does not account for the millions of dollars that subsidize the education bureaucracies at the state and federal levels, a huge number of people and facilities that do not educate a single child! Teachers are no longer under-paid; they get generous benefits and plenty of vacation time. Having been a teacher, I know that good teachers use free time to make lesson plans, grade papers, and improve their skills. Still, the bottom line is success at their appointed task. If the students don’t learn, then neither schools nor teachers deserve more money. No sensible person rewards failure, whatever the cause, especially repeated failure. No rational person accepts the argument that more money will fix an unacknowledged problem with no known solution.
Yet, in fact, we know the what’s wrong and how to fix it. Private schools do it. Even parents without education degrees or teaching certification do it at home. A relatively small number of remarkable public schools and teachers do it , even in low income, troubled areas of major cities. All it really takes is bright, well-educated people, who know their subjects and care about their students, using traditional methods to teach the basics. It does not require a large number of administrators except to document a huge number of mandates that have little to do with real education. When someone says we need to raise teacher salaries, ask them how many people work in the education system who are not teachers but who get the biggest salaries.
My Mom drove a school bus after my Dad died. One day she was complaining about one of the elementary teachers, who had done something, well, stupid. She mentioned her name and startled me by confirming it was one of my high school classmates, one who had been a rather poor student, one who was just not very intelligent. I was shocked to learn she had managed to become a teacher. I have been even more surprised to learn that she may not even be unusual.
While there are exceptions, in general, public school teachers are not our “brightest and best,” any more. They are not experts in their fields of study who teach from a wealth of knowledge. They do not even possess the expertise in teaching that one might expect from those who are certified, often have advanced degrees, and have earned tenure and salary increases usually commensurate with demonstrated performance. I have a Bachelor of Science in physics from one of the better engineering schools in the United States, but people like me cannot get a public school teaching job without further instruction in education and certification. Neither can men and women who have excelled in their profession, whether it is advanced research or skilled technical work in industry or business, where they had to prove their abilities. George Bernard Shaw said, “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach,” and it’s even truer today.
Someone has added, “And those who can’t teach, administrate.” Studies indicate that to be true, as well. It’s not a very pretty picture for those entrusted with the education of our most precious people, those who represent the future of our land. Could it be any worse? Sadly, the answer is yes. These less than excellent educators have an agenda, and it is not to provide their students with knowledge and the skills to use them. Their agenda is indoctrination.
Once upon a time, teachers maintained careful neutrality in the classroom. They taught the great principles that made America great, noble ideas from literature, and the knowledge and tools of logic that prepared those who would become citizens to make wise, informed judgments. Today, teachers flagrantly voice their opinions (as long as they are not Christian opinions!), often expressing hatred for both America and its leaders. Textbooks put more effort into instilling ideas like evolution, radical environmentalism, diversity, and multiculturalism than into the kind of scientific knowledge or human understanding that would allow students to reach their own, informed conclusions.
I have seen virtually everything I have written, first hand. What I read and study not only confirms my observations but demonstrates matters to be even worse, although not much could be worse than the way I have seen the needs of non-English-speaking students neglected. In my opinion, the best thing we could do is abolish the pubic education system. In fact, of late, I have begun suggesting we abolish mandatory education, period. At the very least, we need to get rid of the enormous federal bureaucracy, federal laws and regulations, and all the tax dollars that the federal government uses to control education from Washington. I fear that course is unlikely. It would be easier to scrap the whole thing and let parents take back full responsibility for insuring the education of their kids.
Many support vouchers, and I can see that they may be the easiest solution. Let parents take that $7653/pupil wherever they think their child will get the best education. Even then, we need to get rid of a lot of over-regulation and social engineering masquerading as education. If nothing else, we need to vote "No" on any funding increases, until we see actual improvement in student performance. In my world, only those who get the job done, and do it well, deserve a raise.
NOTE: Thankfully, Michigan citizens rejected the idea of guaranteed salary increases for teachers. In the six months since the election, I have become even more determined to call for significant changes in American education. JRW, June, 2007
Amazingly, that is exactly what the public education establishment expects us to do. In Michigan, next month, the voters will have the chance to guarantee annual increases to the state education budget, by-passing the legislature’s budgetary responsibility. Of course, that money would be on top of what federal funding, which feeds billions into a public education system that does a progressively poorer job of educating! Let’s give them a raise to reward their poor work!
I have been tutoring refugee kids for over 3 years, but I have tutored young people since I was a student myself. I have taught in private schools and worked with home-schooled students, but I graduated from a public school myself. The failure of public education is a well-known and well-documented scandal; and yet, I have managed to be surprised by what I see. I observed many of the experimental educational failures, first hand. My brothers were among the first to try to learn to read without phonics and to use the “new” math, and they paid the price. I was fortunate to have caught the tail end of the traditional methods that worked and to have been an above average student. Bright kids learn despite poor teaching; the rest learn less.
Imagine being an immigrant or refugee teenager without the support of parents and who speaks little or no English. Visualize having to take junior high or high school classes like algebra or science, where everyone and every book uses English and no one speaks your language. Remember, you are a teenager who probably doesn’t enjoy school that much, except for hanging out with other teenagers. Maybe you really do want to learn English because you know you can’t do anything until you do, but no one really teaches it. They put you in an hour or two of ESL (English as a Second Language) class, but they don’t actually teach you English. Like all the other classes, they give you lots of papers, most of which are far too difficult for you to read or understand. If you’re lucky, you have a tutor or a really caring and helpful foster parent, but no one can really help enough to catch you up to your American classmates. You may learn a little but not enough to earn a diploma, but you will probably graduate, even if you enrolled in public school your senior year. Again, if you’re lucky, you will get into a community college where, finally, before you’re allowed to take regular college classes, they teach you English, hopefully not taught by another immigrant whose English isn’t much better than yours. If you’re not so lucky, you end up at a college who takes your government-subsidized tuition until it’s gone, and you still haven’t really learned English or much of anything else. After that, you’re ready to get one of those jobs that native-born Americans don’t want.
One of the foster parents I know suggested I should write a book about the kids I have helped and their stories. Many of them are tragic and heart-rending, and I would like to tell some of those stories. Lately, I have wondered if maybe I should include the near criminal neglect they have experienced in our public education system. How can anyone who cares, even a little, add to the suffering they have already experienced by failing to find a way to give them a chance to make a life, a chance that requires English and a basic education?
Another friend, who gave up on teaching after trying to be a student teacher in a typical pubic school, said that it’s not because the teachers don’t care. They will say it’s because they don’t have enough money and resources. Having taught in small, low budget Christian schools, I said, “Then they’re stupid! Many private schools out-perform public schools that have considerably more money.” He agreed; they care but they actually believe they can’t do the job without more money. That is stupid! It is even more stupid to guarantee them more money!
During the 2006-2007 school year in Michigan, schools received $7653 per pupil to educate them, about average for the nation. Right now, I am tutoring 5 students with the possibility of 5 others, if I can find enough time after school and weekends. For $76,530, I could teach them English, remedial math, and the beginnings of history and science, even if I had to rent a classroom space and buy books and materials. Granted, they’d miss out on soccer and basketball, and they would only be able to “socialize” within a small group; but they would also avoid learning inner-city street slang, the drug culture, and numerous other counter-productive American teenaged behavior. Schools receive funding for immigrant and refugee students, and then they spend it on a program that does not educate them, at all. This is a crime. So is their failure to educate American students; it is just less obvious. Indeed, I recently learned that they are violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which requires English language proficiency testing and appropriate instruction based on those test results. The schools know it; they just don't do it!!
I learned recently in The Conspiracy of Ignorance by Martin Gross that half of school budgets goes to pay for high priced administrators. I knew it was inflated, but I never knew how badly. Of course, that does not account for the millions of dollars that subsidize the education bureaucracies at the state and federal levels, a huge number of people and facilities that do not educate a single child! Teachers are no longer under-paid; they get generous benefits and plenty of vacation time. Having been a teacher, I know that good teachers use free time to make lesson plans, grade papers, and improve their skills. Still, the bottom line is success at their appointed task. If the students don’t learn, then neither schools nor teachers deserve more money. No sensible person rewards failure, whatever the cause, especially repeated failure. No rational person accepts the argument that more money will fix an unacknowledged problem with no known solution.
Yet, in fact, we know the what’s wrong and how to fix it. Private schools do it. Even parents without education degrees or teaching certification do it at home. A relatively small number of remarkable public schools and teachers do it , even in low income, troubled areas of major cities. All it really takes is bright, well-educated people, who know their subjects and care about their students, using traditional methods to teach the basics. It does not require a large number of administrators except to document a huge number of mandates that have little to do with real education. When someone says we need to raise teacher salaries, ask them how many people work in the education system who are not teachers but who get the biggest salaries.
My Mom drove a school bus after my Dad died. One day she was complaining about one of the elementary teachers, who had done something, well, stupid. She mentioned her name and startled me by confirming it was one of my high school classmates, one who had been a rather poor student, one who was just not very intelligent. I was shocked to learn she had managed to become a teacher. I have been even more surprised to learn that she may not even be unusual.
While there are exceptions, in general, public school teachers are not our “brightest and best,” any more. They are not experts in their fields of study who teach from a wealth of knowledge. They do not even possess the expertise in teaching that one might expect from those who are certified, often have advanced degrees, and have earned tenure and salary increases usually commensurate with demonstrated performance. I have a Bachelor of Science in physics from one of the better engineering schools in the United States, but people like me cannot get a public school teaching job without further instruction in education and certification. Neither can men and women who have excelled in their profession, whether it is advanced research or skilled technical work in industry or business, where they had to prove their abilities. George Bernard Shaw said, “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach,” and it’s even truer today.
Someone has added, “And those who can’t teach, administrate.” Studies indicate that to be true, as well. It’s not a very pretty picture for those entrusted with the education of our most precious people, those who represent the future of our land. Could it be any worse? Sadly, the answer is yes. These less than excellent educators have an agenda, and it is not to provide their students with knowledge and the skills to use them. Their agenda is indoctrination.
Once upon a time, teachers maintained careful neutrality in the classroom. They taught the great principles that made America great, noble ideas from literature, and the knowledge and tools of logic that prepared those who would become citizens to make wise, informed judgments. Today, teachers flagrantly voice their opinions (as long as they are not Christian opinions!), often expressing hatred for both America and its leaders. Textbooks put more effort into instilling ideas like evolution, radical environmentalism, diversity, and multiculturalism than into the kind of scientific knowledge or human understanding that would allow students to reach their own, informed conclusions.
I have seen virtually everything I have written, first hand. What I read and study not only confirms my observations but demonstrates matters to be even worse, although not much could be worse than the way I have seen the needs of non-English-speaking students neglected. In my opinion, the best thing we could do is abolish the pubic education system. In fact, of late, I have begun suggesting we abolish mandatory education, period. At the very least, we need to get rid of the enormous federal bureaucracy, federal laws and regulations, and all the tax dollars that the federal government uses to control education from Washington. I fear that course is unlikely. It would be easier to scrap the whole thing and let parents take back full responsibility for insuring the education of their kids.
Many support vouchers, and I can see that they may be the easiest solution. Let parents take that $7653/pupil wherever they think their child will get the best education. Even then, we need to get rid of a lot of over-regulation and social engineering masquerading as education. If nothing else, we need to vote "No" on any funding increases, until we see actual improvement in student performance. In my world, only those who get the job done, and do it well, deserve a raise.
NOTE: Thankfully, Michigan citizens rejected the idea of guaranteed salary increases for teachers. In the six months since the election, I have become even more determined to call for significant changes in American education. JRW, June, 2007
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