Why is public education failing

          I taught for nearly thirty years, all but one in public schools. When I first began teaching, parents wanted their children to learn. Not just get good grades, but learn. They expected their children to be attentive in class, and if a child disrupted a class, parents did not complain to the administration or teacher about their child being disciplined at school. In fact the child was probably disciplined at home, too. The idea of a child walking out of class because he didn't like something assigned or expected did not happen, or the child was suspended.

         That doesn't mean parents weren't concern if their children didn't do well, but they visited with the teacher and asked what they could do to help with the problem.

          Yes, some teachers abused their position, but not many. As in any occupation, bad apples existed. However, most wanted what was best for the child, just as most parents wanted what was best for the child.

          As the years passed, attitudes on the part of parents changed. No longer did they expect good behavior and learning on the part of their children. Oh, they still wanted their children to have good grades, but they didn't want any complaints from the children. They didn't want to hear that their child disrupted the class or didn't do assignments. In fact one parent told me that his daughter complained that my tone of voice became harsher when she asked me to go over the assignment. When I explained that IF my voice changed it was because his daughter talked all the time I was explaining and giving examples before having them work on the assignment. Then when other students began working, she expected me to repeat all I had already explained. I showed him her grades, showed him how they had improved once she began listening rather than talking, which not only kept her from learning but also interfered with other students. He informed me that didn't matter. His daughter should be allowed to visit and not be disciplined or any tone of voice be used but a calm, soft one.

          More and more that became the attitude of parents. Students complained because they didn't like the assignments, didn't like having to do any homework, didn't like having to be quiet at least so others could learn, didn't like being told not to polish their fingernails during class. Parents then harassed teachers and administrators because their children were expected to take responsibility for their actions. Parents supported children leaving class without permission. Parents supported actions that would not be acceptable anywhere.

          No, not all parents abdicated their positions as parents and not friends to their children, but more and more did.

          Once upon a time, team members would never dream of walking out on their team and coaches because they no longer could punch holes in walls, urinate on the floors and benches in the locker rooms of other schools, actually throw temper tantrums, or because they were expected to follow directions and learn plays. And, if they did, they knew there would be consequences. Their parents nor the administration would tolerate such behavior. Now coaches can't be coaches many places because parents support their children in such behavior.

          According to test results, the United States is falling further and further behind other countries in academic achievement. Yet, all those in power want to do is try new fads, find an easy fix, one that keeps students and parents happy. What many people don't realize is discipline and external control are necessary until students learn self-control and self-discipline. By supporting their children's inappropriate behavior, parents are not doing what is best for their children but are going for the "easy way" out of their own responsibilities as parents. Parents in other countries know they must encourage their children to learn. Most parents in the United States used to do that. Thankfully, some still do, but not nearly enough.

Burn the house to avoid a cockroach equals CPSIA

Whizbang had an interesting post "Who would want to poison our children?" posted January 19. The entry begins with

A good rule of thumb is that when everyone in Washington agrees on something it's either inane or you better hide your wallet. Of course, there's nothing that will rally together Congress faster than a law written "for the children". So it should come as no surprise that the innocuously named Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) proposed following the lead-paint-in-childrens'-toys-from-China scare last year received almost unanimous support. It passed by a vote of 89-3 in the Senate and 424-1 in the House.

What should also come as no surprise are the unintended consequences CPSIA will have on everyone from toy manufacturers to public libraries.

The post continues with Yet another classic case of razing the house because someone saw a cockroach. The blame here is obviously bi-partisan, and this abomination was signed into law by President Bush. Clearly, no politician (other than Ron Paul) will stand up when they might be shouted down as wanting to poison the children. But either large numbers of Congress-critters supported this law without fully reading and understanding its impact or their intention all along was to saddle makers of kid's goods with an exasperating suite of regulations that will yield no significant improvement on children's health.


Commentary from Forbes, "Scrap the Consumer Product Improvement Act" (by Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and the author of The Rule of Lawyers and other books. He edits Overlawyered.com), is quoted in the above post. One section of the commentary by Olson needs to be emphasized:

As CPSIA opponents mobilize, the phrase "unintended consequences" is often heard. Part of the irony, after all, is that the Hasbros and Targets, with their standardization and economies of scale, can afford to adapt to such rules as part of their business plan, while the sorts of enterprises that initially looked to benefit most from the Chinese toy scare--local, organic and so forth--are also the ones who find it hardest to comply.

But the failure here runs deeper. This was not some enactment slipped through in the dead of night: It was one of the most highly publicized pieces of legislation to pass Congress last year.

And yet now it appears precious few lawmakers took the time to check what was in the bill, while precious few in the press (which ran countless let's-pass-a-law articles) cared to raise even the most basic questions about what the law was going to require.

Yes, something's being exposed as systematically defective here. But it's not the contents of our kids' toy chests. It's the way we make public policy.

Hopefully, someone will do something before our house is burned to the ground.

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