First Blog

In education as in medical care, there is so much government money it has become a "neon welcome sign" for every fraudster, pitchman, politician, ed-author, and peddler looking for a quick buck or more influence. They offer easy cures, cheap fixes, and sure-fire programs. While data should prove points and move arguments, it is more often misused, fudged, disguised, forgotten, or ignored. So, forget data! The pissing contest in education is all about liquefied data. Experts tell us, "Charter schools, yes! Public schools, yes! Counselling services, yes! More equipment, yes! Higher salaries, yes! Stronger unions, yes! Smaller classes, yes! More testing, yes! Less testing, yes! Group learning, yes/no!” To be honest, there are too many tricksters, some massaging data, some taking fees, some writing books, some supporting political parties, and others gathering votes. The whole pot is something of an expensive, mostly tasteless, non nutritious stew - served to

Do we want school choice or choice schools?  The latter we do not have in general; we do have the opposite: too many bad schools.   When the USA, for all its expenditure on education, ranks rather low on international tests, there obtains an indelible indicator.  Hence, we witness the birth of the alternative, charter schools. We’ve always had the private schools as religious-based or expensive prep types.  But they are part of the system, and not what the ed establishment decries.  It is these new charter schools earning the black grades of some officials. Know their talking points*.  The following are typical. 1.      Privatized school choice will inevitably reduce funding for your local neighborhood public schools . 2.      Direct and disguised vouchers to private schools and other public school alternatives start small and then expand, increasing the burden on taxpayers. 3.       Additional administrative costs coupled with a lack of transparency waste taxpayer dollars a