The Seattle Times editorializes about education, which as usual, leaves me totally confused.
Our state is at a crossroads. An ambitious education plan recently approved by the Legislature was a major hurdle crossed. The next hurdle is a question: where do we go from here?
Um… how about funding it?
Debates in this state about education reform rarely rise above the level of money.
You know, except during the past legislative session when an ambitious and expensive education reform package was passed to great editorial applause, without any discussion whatsoever about how we’re going to pay for it. Surely the Times isn’t implying that these reforms won’t require a major investment to turn all schools around?
Granted, it will take a major investment to turn all schools around, but without planning and general consensus, the cash will be useless.
Okay then, I’m all for planning and consensus. Now where are we going to get the cash?
Federal input wouldn’t be intrusive, it would be welcomed.
Silly me… the money comes from the federal government, of course, because those are magical dollars pooped by fairies and wood nymphs, and don’t in any way come from the kinda income and estate taxes that the Times argues would be so unfair and wealth-destroying should they be collected in Washington state.
Education stimulus dollars account for the largest spending increase ever.
That’s swell, but what’s this about the largest spending increase ever? I thought we just dramatically slashed education spending in WA, even with the federal stimulus dollars? Am I missing something?
This state will use much of the money to mitigate education cuts imposed by the state Legislature, but millions will be available with varying degrees of flexibility. The new rule in spending should be money spent on unproven efforts is money wasted.
Wait… so do “education stimulus dollars account for the largest spending increase ever,” or did we just “use much of the money to mitigate education cuts imposed by the state Legislature”…? And if the latter, how does this in any way implement the “new rule” the editorial kvells about. I’m soooo confused.
Encouraging signs from Duncan, and President Obama, are the two men’s refusal to simply throw money at public education’s many problems.
Right, because otherwise, gutless legislators, cheered on by gutless, anti-tax editorialists, might just use the federal money thrown at them to “mitigate education cuts” rather than applying it to public education’s many problems. And we would want that to happen.
Consider this the warm up before Congress delves into reauthorization of the federal No Child Left Behind law. The massive law should be tweaked, necessary improvements include additional flexibility and money, but not abandoned.
Again with the shilling for more federal dollars. Can’t debates in this state about education reform ever rise above the level of money? The editorial mentions money nine times; I thought we were talking about education?
(Oh, and note to the editors who edit the editors: that last sentence doesn’t scan well, so you might want to consider rearranging the clauses. But then, I graduated from public schools, so what do I know?)
So there we have it, the Seattle Times editorial board’s usual clarity of thinking: we need to spend more money on education, but federal money, not local money, and we want to be careful not to throw money at the problem because more money won’t do any good anyway, which is why we shouldn’t even be talking about money, investments, cash, dollars or money in the first place.
Oy.
Yeah…too bad the State Constitution MANDATES funding education.
I guess they missed that part.
With every passing day, the prospect of Seattle going from a one-newspaper town to a no-newspaper town seems less and less catastrophic.
I read this editorial today with great anger.
The very idea that the mess in this state could in any way be a model for anyplace else suggests that GW Bush was not the last nitwit on the public stage.
Seattle likes to see itself as having come of age. Well, we do have a world class building (The Library), a second rate museum with a couple of world class collections, traffic jams, and lots of billionaires. What do we NOT have? A single top rated public high school!
Part of this is money, but more is a financial apartheid system that has allowed the SPS to preoccupy itself with making all kids equal by driving those who can get out, out.
WA state schools are anything but models. I will take one astounding example … CHARTER SCHOOLS. Secretary Duncan has made his support for this VERY CLEAR. The recent USNWR rankings of outstanding American secondary schools listed example after example of charter or similar schools that are working!
Why were WA state schools so obviously missing from the USNWR list? My answer is frightening. THE NEOCON LIBERAL AXIS! The left, in the form of teacher’s unions, has formed an unholy alliance with the right. In trade for a lack of innovation, our kids get better pay for lowest common denominator teachers.
The Repricans are happy because THEIR taxes do not go to “that kind of” kids. The NEA and AFL CIO are happy as long as uncertified folks can not teach and teachers are not evaluated for promotion based on their skills and knowledge.
Disgusting.
I hope the only visit the Secretary makes to this hinterland is to bring civilization to the natives.
This was am illiterate, uniformed editorial.
What do we need the ST?
WA state schools rank low, very low. We do not even allow charter schools, a cornerstone of Obama-Duncan policy.
Instead we have schools system run by the NEA/AFL CIO .. who support the lowest common denominator and their allies the Republicans who want to apy for as little as they can ger away with.
Duncan, come here to learn??????????????????????
The Legislature cut $1.4 billion from K-12 schools, and closer to $2 billion in overall state funding if you subtract out the federal stimulus money. That’s a $2 billion hole that has to be filled at some point. It’s too bad the editorial failed to mention those figures.
The Times’ writers leave me so confused, they are so muddy, it just makes me nervous about the future of education, because the Times has this Newspapers in Education program, and if the children read the Times, they are going to end up as illiterates, or worse, as editorial writers for, The, Times, or worst of all, they might succumb to the “there is a free lunch, cut my taxes and increase spending on education” mantra of, The, Times, editorial page.
Oy vey. Just when we thought the Times couldn’t get any worse, Blethen takes over the editorial page.
I urge the US Congress, and the WA legislature, to pull your heads out of your respective asses, strap on a pair of borrowed balls, and RAISE TAXES to pay for what needs to be paid for.
How much have they internalized Republican bullshit on this subject?
Tax rates are low relative to EVERY other industrialized nation. Tax the fucking rich, who have seen their share of the national income SKYROCKET since 1980 without any significant taxation! Fuck those bastards. Tax their income. Tax their sepnding. Tax the things they like to buy. Penalize them for moving their money offshore. Sick the IRS on them. No, I mean beef up the IRS’s investigative staff and THEN sick the IRS on them to make these rich deadbeats pay the taxes THEY ALREADY OWE.
And then we won’t be borrowing from China any more, will we?
THE Problem with Education?
The SURPLUS of college ‘educated’ nitwits who can’t manage a hot dog stand, who ruin the finance industry and the banking industry, who destroy the mortgage industry, who wreck the auto industry, who corrupt the military industrial complex (wait … how do you corrupt that cesspool?), who nurture our backwards looking energy cartels, who run our education system into the ground …
um… maybe I shouldn’t call them ‘nitwits’. after all,
1. they’re in charge,
2. they’re well paid,
3. they’re NOT held accountable,
4. they’re NOT help responsible,
5. they’re in charge …
ummm… can’t run a hot dog stand, BUT, fabulously paid to role play Yalta! I AM THE FINGERS OF GOD ON THE SISTINE CHAPEL!
rmm.