Education Matters US

I would like to talk about some of the highlights I saw in the John Stossel report Friday night. Here is a list of those things:

• Teaching playing monopoly in World Geography class
• Public Schools are give an A or B by 57% of the public
• Grandmother, ex-teacher taught her granddaughter to read and add in a week. The school she attended had failed to do that in months
• In international tests, American 4th graders above average and below average in high school. (Below Poland, Belgium, Chechoslovakia)

Follow the Money Segment

• Kansas City schools – got more money, some built Olympic size swimming pools, state of the art weight lifting. Test scores dropped, 2000 schools failed and lost accredidation even with the extra money
• Highlighted Education Myths : What Special-Interest Groups Want You to Believe About Our Schools and Why it Isn’t So” target=”_blank”> by Jay Greene. Visit here to have Jay answer your questions.
• A private school in SC spends $3000 per student in comparison to State average of $9000 with better results
• An 18 year old SC student could only read at a fourth grade level. He was sent to Sylvan and had improved 2 grade levels in 72 hours. They also showed a meeting where the public school he attended thought he was making satisfactory progress.
• Ben Chavis is a former public school principal, runs an alternative charter school in Oakland, CA
  • spends thousands of dollars less per student than the surrounding public schools
  • “That is the biggest lie in America. They waste money”
  • Students clean up school
  • Students take care of lunch room
  • Students run laps around block for gym

School Choice Segment

• One Good District has it’s own police. They invade people’s privacy by entering bedrooms to make sure kids live in the District.
• Florida ruling banning vouchers
• McKay Scholarships to help Special Needs students
• Belgium – attaches money to the kids so it goes to whatever school they choose to attend.
• SC State Superintendent (paraphrased) – Don’t suse SAT scores as an indicator
• SC Gov. – Tried to get vouchers approved, but was defeated by the Legislature 60-53. This came about when he was given an exception for his kids to attend a better school instead of the poor schools where he lived. He and his wife refused and put their children in private school.

Teacher Unions Segment

• Tolerate mediocrity, make it almost impossible to fire
• Process to fire a teacher in NY (See chart at Common Good)
• Washington Charter School – 95% go to college
• Milwaukee – Vouchers improved all schools, both public and private
• NY spends $20 Million per year for Rubber Rooms (Building where they put unsafe teachers so they are away from students. They get paid to do nothing because they can’t be fired.

I was very glad to see MSM finally reporting on this issue. I would like to salute John Stossel and ABC for telling the truth and speaking out. It is time for a national debate on school choice. Why should parents be forced to send their kids to bad schools? Good teachers will be rewarded with school choice. Students will learn more in all schools. True local control will be restored.