Johnny Can't Read - Part Three

Okay, we’ve spent the last few days talking about the Democratic candidates take on education. As you’ll remember, Chris Dodd wants to reward teachers, not for being good teachers, but for going into poor neighborhoods. While I have no issue with some kind of “combat pay” for certain areas, I don’t think this addresses the main question, “Should the best teachers earn more”. Of course we know the answer is yes, but try to get one of the democrats to say that.

Bill Richardson wants to give everyone two years of college tuition for one year of “public service”, which doesn’t sound too bad, but of course there are no details as to what Bill considers to be “public service”. And the only problem here is we aren’t doing more to address elementary and high school education, so that when those people get to college they are prepared to be there.

And then there’s Joe Biden, who wants to make two years of preschool mandatory.

The fact of the matter is, the American Public School System is a mess. Why? It’s a monopolistic government-run program. No, actually it’s worse than that: It’s a monopolistic government-run union-dominated program. That right there should be all I need to say, but of course for my friends on the left, I need to spell it out.

The problem with American Schools is choice, or more correctly, lack of choice. Most of our students today are in the school they are in because they don’t have a choice of schools. Yes, there is always the option of private schools, but that is not an option for many. Now being stuck in a specific school isn’t so bad if it’s a good school, but it’s hell if it’s a bad school. The answer: Vouchers. Actually there are two answers: Vouchers and Competition – and with the first will come the second.

The easiest way to make a case for vouchers is to answer the reasons that the critics say that vouchers are a bad idea. Once their house of cards comes tumbling down, it’s easy to see the brilliance behind this simple idea.

As we go through this discussion, remember a couple of things. First of all, The National Education Association – The Teachers Union – is one of the biggest donors the Democratic Party has, and while I am not saying that the current lack of vouchers is due to the left, 90% of the NEA’s donations go to Democrats, so you do the math. But I still have plenty to bitch about with the right on this issue as well, which we will get to soon enough.

Now, lets bust some myths:

A. We need Level Playing Fields: This of course assumes that busing and other liberal programs “level” the playing field in the first place. 54.4% of public-school students are in schools that are 90% or more white or minority. That number in private schools 41.1%. In otherwords, private schools are MORE segregated than public schools.

B. Public Schools are Underfunded: Not even close. Nationwide, the average school is given $11,178 per student. The average elementary school size is 24.8 students per classroom – lets round it up to 25. That’s $279,450 in funding per classroom. According to the American Federation of Teachers, the average salary for a teacher in 2004-2005 (the last year we have figures for) was $47,602. So lets assume for inflation that it’s $50,000. That still leaves $229,450. PER CLASSROOM.

Now I live in a pretty small town – about 4,000 people – and my son graduated last year with 181 people in his class. Assuming our 25 per classroom, lets assume 6 classes per grade (175 students per grade). 6 classes times 13 grads (k-12) is 78, times $229,450, and that is $17,897,100 AFTER salaries are paid. That’s almost $18 million dollars for a school district in a city of 4,000 people. And remember, we’ve already paid our teachers.

Now I’m not saying that our schools can’t use more money. Honestly, I think that we can always find good uses for money where education is concerned, including more funding for arts and sciences. But money is not the reason for our education problems. As a matter of fact, as I pointed out in yesterdays post, from 1971 to 2001 the nationwide spending per student doubled, and yes, that is adjusted for inflation, which means we have an ACTUAL doubling of funding. Over that same period of time our test scores have been flat, and the drop out rate has gotten worse. More money does not always mean better education.

C. Teachers are Underpaid: In Missouri there are 25 applicants for every teaching opening. With the exception of Math and Science positions, these numbers are repeated across the USA. Why are people lining up for an underpaying job?

Now before you accuse me of being heartless, I want to see our teachers making more money. Heck, my sister is a teacher with two Masters degrees, and my brother is an Associate Professor at UNI. But as we have already stated, the average teachers pay is $50,000 a year. And remember, we are talking about a nine-month-a-year position. That means that, if it was a 12 month position, they would be making almost $67,000 annually. That means teachers make more than chemists, computer programmers, registered nurses, and psychologists.

Do teachers deserve more money? Most do, and vouchers can make that happen. But at the same time they are not in dire straits.

Now I’ve barely scratched the surface of the voucher debate, so I’ll have to pick this up again on Friday, as I have a special Thanksgiving post for Thursday. Until Then….