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On Liars and Lies
North Miami Beach, FL May 25, 2002
A.H. Schectman
THINKING ALLOWED
Essays on Issues, Ideas and Reflections on the Times. Published now and
then. Opinions pro or con are welcome.
ON LIES AND LIARS - THE ATTACK ON PUBLIC EDUCATION
I wonder why the problems faced by public education are awash in a
series of lies from people who have been elected to high office. I would
suspect that the "dumbing down" and disrespect for education in the public
schools are the cause. Telling a lie frequently enough gets people to
accept, believe and espouse it. The source of the attack on public
education is the deliberate campaign of lies undertaken by the enemies of
public education and their leaders, the elected "EDUCATION" president and
governors. These are elected by people who know nothing of the history of
the schools.
Florida has a history of destroying the institutions of public
education. Not only has it starved the system by denying it money to build
it up and improve it, Florida has crippled the system by attempting to
destroy the education association of educators, the union (s) representing
the teachers. In other states the state government negotiates fairly with
its teachers. In the present instance Florida continues to live by the lies
told about public education and is led by the current Governor, Jeb Bush,
brother of our current President. Both are leaders in the years' long
attack against the aging system of public education. Born in the early
years of the 19th Century it developed into an institution that was fostered
by the democratic ideal and which in turn championed the idea of democracy.
Both the Governor and the President accept the lies that are at the base of
efforts to destroy faith in the public schools. Their approach denies
history and is elitist.
THE LIARS
These are, of course, the current Governor of Florida and his
brother, the current President of the United States.
THE LIES
1. Public Schools are inferior to better funded private and parochial
institutions. These public institutions should wither away.
2. We support unfair double taxation. The tax payer pays for the cost
of schools for the undeserving poor while at the same time supporting a
better private or parochial school for their own children to attend. ANY
poor child can escape a failing public school and gain entrance into a
private or parochial school by using vouchers.
3. When resources are denied public schools and they become shabby and
fall apart the resulting poor performance is a valid reason to grade those
schools as failures.
4. Teachers are "public servants". They should not have the same rights
to organize and bargain collectively like other workers. They are different
and should be glad they have jobs where they are "secure".
5. Large factory-like schools with huge populations are more economical
to operate than small neighborhood schools. The reasoning here is that what
is effective in industry is good when students are treated as units on an
assembly line and each will be turned out equally well educated.
6. "Huckstering" in advertising by an "Education" Governor or an
"Education" President is a good thing. What the advertising says is true
accompanied by sweet pictures and melodic, agreeable sounds.
7. Tests used to grade students and schools are infallible. They are
always reliable and consistent for ALL students. If schools are getting
"better" according to the tests, Florida, for example, is NOT at the bottom
of a list of school funding and achievement.
8. Teachers' militancy for their rights and their concern for their
students should bow to the superior insight and knowledge of their
administrators.
All of the above are lies about public education. The schools in Florida ar
e not made better by plans originating in Tallahassee that echo failures to
improve education, say - in Texas. In Dade County, Florida teachers are
being taxed two days pay because of the failure to properly oversee the
school budget by administrators and the school board.
More money is spent on the excellent education found in schools in New
Jersey and New York. This proves that up north they do not subscribe to
Florida's practice of "nothing but the cheapest for our children."
Like our legislators who want to reward the richest few, the enemies of
public education want to pour money into privately run entrepreneurial and
parochial schools. Their mantra also includes - the hell with public
education. Carol's Evaluation: 10 out of 10
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