Saturday, June 13, 2009
Same old edushit
Obama's Education Secretary gave a brief interview on CNN just now. Supposedly the interview was a sort of progress report on how the stimulus money is helping education. Pretty good idea for a news piece, but that isn't how it went. The interview actually went like this:
Interviewer: Do we need to pay teachers more?
Duncan: Oh yes, we need to pay teachers much more.
Interviewer: How much more?
Duncan: Oh, lots and lots and lots.
Interviewer: Six figures?
Duncan: Oh yes, six figures. Especially the math and science teachers.
[Rinse and repeat 5 times]
= = = = =
Okay, so I'm stretching it a little. Still, the CNN guy never asked any meaningful questions and Duncan never gave any meaningful answers. Nothing about charter schools, nothing about changing the curriculum or teaching methods. Nothing about giving teachers more authority and less fear of lawsuits. Nothing about relieving federal special-ed requirements that completely distort the whole system. Nope, just the same old shit about more more more more more more money money money money.
The statistics have been obvious for 30 years. Money makes education worse. It's that simple. Admittedly there was a time, say before 1970, when improving school buildings and increasing teacher pay actually helped the kids learn better. But since that minimum threshold was reached, more money just adds more administrators, who then make more idiotic rules, requiring more money to work around the idiotic rules.
Interviewer: Do we need to pay teachers more?
Duncan: Oh yes, we need to pay teachers much more.
Interviewer: How much more?
Duncan: Oh, lots and lots and lots.
Interviewer: Six figures?
Duncan: Oh yes, six figures. Especially the math and science teachers.
[Rinse and repeat 5 times]
= = = = =
Okay, so I'm stretching it a little. Still, the CNN guy never asked any meaningful questions and Duncan never gave any meaningful answers. Nothing about charter schools, nothing about changing the curriculum or teaching methods. Nothing about giving teachers more authority and less fear of lawsuits. Nothing about relieving federal special-ed requirements that completely distort the whole system. Nope, just the same old shit about more more more more more more money money money money.
The statistics have been obvious for 30 years. Money makes education worse. It's that simple. Admittedly there was a time, say before 1970, when improving school buildings and increasing teacher pay actually helped the kids learn better. But since that minimum threshold was reached, more money just adds more administrators, who then make more idiotic rules, requiring more money to work around the idiotic rules.
Labels: Experiential education
¶ 6:29 AM
