BCT Editorial – 6/25/07

This page was last updated on July 2, 2007.

Outside factors; Editorial; Beaver County Times; June 25, 2007.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“The full impact of the federal No Child Left Behind law on public schools will hit next year.

“The Associated Press reports that about 2,300 schools nationwide are either in restructuring or are a year away and planning for such drastic action as firing principals and moving many of the teachers because their schools failed to meet NCLB standards for six straight years.

“But once the wreckage clears, don’t be surprised if the reforms fail to meet expectations.

“That’s because public schools are a direct reflection of the children, families and communities they serve. No amount of tinkering - be it replacing principals, reassigning teachers, vouchers, charter schools, even closing underperforming schools - is going to change that.

“That’s why reform efforts, no matter how well intentioned they might be, that do not take into account factors outside the classroom are doomed to fail. If anything, they are wasting valuable time and energy.

“Call it the ‘Snowden Factor.’

“In ‘Catch-22,’ Yossarian, the anti-hero, keeps referring through the novel to Snowden, a gunner who was wounded on a bombing mission. Yossarian, the plane’s bombardier, scrambles through the plane to help Snowden, who keeps moaning, ‘I’m cold. I’m cold.’

“Yossarian works frantically to do what he can to help Snowden, including fixing a horrible shrapnel wound in the gunner’s thigh. The whole time, he reassures Snowden that he is going to be OK.

“When he is done patching the wound, he believes he’s given Snowden a chance to stay alive. Then, he notices a small patch of blood coming out from under Snowden’s flak jacket. When Yossarian pulls open the protective gear, Snowden’s guts spill out.”

[RWC] Actually, this is pretty good description of what we’ve done with Medicare and Socialist Security.

“In effect, that’s what is happening in regard to public education reform. We’re wasting valuable time and energy arguing over relatively minor procedures (standardized testing, school choice, vouchers, charter schools, etc.) while ignoring the hemorrhaging that is taking place outside the classroom and the impact it has on children and their education.

“This is not to absolve schools of their responsibilities. They can and must do a better job.

“However, children only spend a little more than 10 percent of their time in school. To pretend that the other 90 percent has no impact on their education is to invite failure.”

[RWC] Did you note the common thread of the “tinkering - be it replacing principals, reassigning teachers, vouchers, charter schools, even closing underperforming schools” and the “relatively minor procedures (standardized testing, school choice, vouchers, charter schools, etc.)” that “We’re wasting valuable time and energy arguing over?” They are all procedures/programs intended to foster performance measurement and accountability of public schools/education.

Go back to “Failing grade” (5/22/07), and amongst the whining that “Many of the poorest school districts have the highest tax rates, yet still do not have adequate levels of funding to ensure a high-quality education is available to students,” you won’t find mention of “outside factors.” As I demonstrated in my comments about that editorial, the “poor district = inadequate funding” myth is not borne out by the facts.

It’s curious that “outside factors” are an issue for the Times when it comes to performance measurement and accountability efforts for public schools/education, but aren’t an issue when it comes to lobbying to throw more taxpayer dollars at poorly performing school districts.