Shortsighted -- Who will be tomorrow's public school teachers?

THE NUMBER OF PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS IS DECLINING

It's no wonder teachers are leaving the profession and young people are not signing up.

It's not just the low pay, the mountains of paperwork, or the lack of time to get everything done. It's the lack of respect...the constant bashing of teachers and public schools by so-called conservatives along with their plans to privatize public education.

AN ACTUAL CONSERVATIVE BASIS FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION: The Founding Fathers, especially authors of the Declaration and Constitution, Jefferson and Madison, envisioned public schools serving everyone. Read America’s Founding Fathers Were Against School Choice. The sources for that post are here and here.

Unfortunately, too many members of the general public believe that teaching is "easy." They remember their years in school through the eyes of the children or young adults they were when they observed teachers at work. They apparently don't understand (or believe) the hours of time spent getting to the point where, to an immature outside observer, it looks easy. They think that you just stand up in front of a class, spout the information pertinent to your subject, and the students will be held spellbound by the sheer joy of learning. They think that once you present material, students will understand and retain all that information.

Today's so-called "conservatives" are apparently hesitant to give teachers respect and credit for their work. For one thing, teaching is still widely perceived as "women's work" -- glorified babysitting, and we all know how much respect that gets. It's also true that public education is a public good -- a common good -- a concept that conflicts with the attitude held by some conservatives and libertarians that individualism is most important. Education is necessary for one to make their way in society...to take care of themselves, and to keep from being a burden on society. In contrast, more liberal public school supporters -- like me -- believe that public schools are the cornerstone of democracy. A free, equitable public education, available to all citizens, is good for everyone (see links to the Founding Fathers, above).

Teachers are disrespected. We are consistently bashed in the media. We are underpaid compared to others with the same investment in education. We are treated as incompetent. We are branded as "groomers" and "predators." We are threatened and harassed.

It's no wonder that teachers are heading for the exits.

More than half of teachers are looking for the exits, a poll says?

The National Education Association poll, conducted in January, helps quantify the stress being placed on educators right now. It found that the number who say they'll leave the profession sooner has risen significantly since August. Among the NEA poll's other findings:

• 90% of its members say that feeling burned out is a serious problem.
• 86% say they have seen more educators leaving the profession or retiring early since the start of the pandemic.
• 80% report that unfilled job openings have led to more work obligations for those left

Count me in as a teacher who would not recommend a teaching career to my younger self. I know that we need more good teachers. We need young people to go into teaching now more than ever, but would I recommend teaching to one of my children, grandchildren, former students, or any other young person? No. Not now. Not in the U.S.

Teacher Job Satisfaction Hits Bottom

55% [of teachers in the survey] said they were "not very" or "not at all" likely to tell their younger self to pursue teaching as a career.

OUR COMPENSATION FOR POVERTY IS INADEQUATE

We can make the teaching profession more attractive to young people by increasing our education investment...but we, as a nation, are, apparently, not interested in that. Statistically, we're 66th in the world in spending on education as a percentage of our GDP. It's true that 5% of the US GDP is much more than the 8% spent by Norway, the highest rated OECD country in the list, but we have many more students. We also have higher rates of poverty than Norway -- greater than 20% for the US versus less than 10% for Norway. And the higher the poverty rate, the more money is needed to help students reach their potential.

The United States doesn't provide enough money to compensate for our high child-poverty rate. The inequity in American school funding is baked into the system so we spend more money on our wealthy children's education than the education of our poor children. The property tax basis for school funding is partially responsible for this as is the fact that federal spending doesn't always make up for the difference in state spending. A wealthy state, like New York, for example, spends more money per student than does a poor state, like Utah. Some of the discrepancy is mitigated by local cost of living differences, but not all (see The Myth of America's Failing Public Schools).

Beyond Burnout: What Must Be Done to Tackle the Educator Shortage

For years, educators nationwide have been underpaid, undervalued, and underresourced. Now, the pandemic and everything that comes with it—physical and mental health concerns, student learning challenges, and a crushing workload— are pushing an unprecedented number of educators to reconsider their careers.

According to a recent NEA member survey, a staggering 55 percent of educators say they are thinking about leaving the profession earlier than planned.

“This is a five-alarm crisis,” says NEA President Becky Pringle. “If we’re serious about getting every child the support they need to thrive, our elected leaders across the nation need to address this crisis now.”

What people say when they hear I’m becoming a teacher

I wrote above that I would not recommend teaching to any young person, but this soon-to-be (or recent) graduate of one of Indiana's colleges rejects that recommendation. For her, the benefit society would gain from her teaching is more than the difficulty she will have as a teacher. I only hope, for her sake, that as an English teacher, she's allowed to teach and is not restrained by misguided and paranoid Critical Race Theory laws. I hope that she can earn enough to live on. I hope that she learns how to take care of herself both physically and mentally so she doesn't become cynical or "burned out." At this point, I would tell her, "good luck...and thank you."

These long, full days showed me how to do the job and reminded me of the positive impact teachers can have on their students (and vice versa). They also showed me what educators are up against (in addition to the low wages everyone talks about). I heard about the staffing shortages, the untenable workloads, school funding disparities, and controversial changes, such as efforts to restrict certain conversations about race, gender, and sexuality. I realize that I’m choosing a career that many veterans, discouraged and disheartened, are leaving.

But my love for education — and desire to make a difference — propels me forward. I want my classroom to be a welcoming space that fosters learning and relationships. As graduation approaches, I eagerly await my first professional job, my first classroom, my first classroom library, and my first day of school. So when people ask me if I’m sure I want to be a teacher, I’m more confident saying: Yes, and now more than ever.

Today's children will be tomorrow's citizens and leaders. If we want an educated citizenry...if we want to preserve our free government...then we need to be willing to pay for it. Not to do so would be shortsighted.

Indiana Constitution

Article 8. - Education.

Section 1. Knowledge and learning, generally diffused throughout a community, being essential to the preservation of a free government; it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to encourage, by all suitable means, moral, intellectual, scientific, and agricultural improvement; and to provide, by law, for a general and uniform system of Common Schools, wherein tuition shall be without charge, and equally open to all.

Picture the education of our children as a "savings account." By fully funding an equitable education for all our children, we're "saving" for our nation's future where the citizens and leaders are competent and well-informed.

A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives. -- James Madison

...establish and improve the law for educating the common people. Let our countrymen know that the people alone can protect us against these evils, and that the tax which will be paid for this purpose is not more than the thousandth part of what will be paid to kings, priests and nobles who will rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance. -- Thomas Jefferson

If Virtue & Knowledge are diffused among the People, they will never be enslav'd. This will be their great Security. -- Samuel Adams

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Public Education: Born on the Fourth of July

This post is from July 4, 2016. I've updated it to reflect the current year. Tomorrow's post will be a Medley of articles about the recent Supreme Court decision on vouchers, along with relevant quotes from the founders.

"The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. There should not be a district of one mile square, without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves." -- John Adams

JOHN ADAMS

The quote above from John Adams, who began his adult life as a school teacher in Massachusetts, is a clear indication of his belief in the importance of a public education system that would educate everyone...by "the whole people" for the benefit of "the whole people." He also specifically declares that it is to be done at public expense -- public funding for public schools.

On the 244th anniversary of the declaration of our nation's independence, it's worth noting that public education is not something new. It's one of the basic foundational institutions of our democracy supported by the authors of the nation.

Adams himself was well educated and cared about public education. He made two assertions which would likely dismay "reformers" in their quest to privatize public education. First, as the quote above makes clear, the federal government has a clear responsibility for education that includes paying for it.

Second...

That a primary purpose of education is to “raise the lower ranks of society nearer to the higher.”

The public pays for it. The public supports it. The purpose is to equalize the education of the citizenry.

THOMAS JEFFERSON

The education of the citizenry was so important that even Adams' political rival, Thomas Jefferson, declared in his 1806 State of the Union address that the government should support public education.

...a public institution can alone supply those sciences which though rarely called for are yet necessary to complete the circle, all the parts of which contribute to the improvement of the country and some of them to its preservation.

Jefferson proposed a constitutional amendment to fund public education. When that never materialized he directed his attention...

...to his beloved state of Virginia. He developed a comprehensive plan for education which encompassed elementary, secondary, and university levels.

Jefferson believed the elementary school was more important than the university in the plan because, as he said, it was "safer to have the whole people respectfully enlightened than a few in a high state of science and many in ignorance as in Europe" (as cited in Peterson, 1960, p. 241). He had six objectives for primary education to bring about this enlightenment and which highlighted what he hoped would make every person into a productive and informed voter:

1. "To give every citizen the information he needs for the transaction of his own business;
2. To enable him to calculate for himself, and to express and preserve his ideas, his contracts, and accounts, in writing;
3. To improve, by reading, his morals and faculties;
4. To understand his duties to his neighbors and country, and to discharge with competence the functions confided to him by either;
5. To know his rights; to exercize with order and justice those he retains; to choose with discretion the fiduciary of those he delegates; and to notice their conduct with diligence, with candor, and judgment;
6. And, in general, to observe with intelligence and faithfulness all the social relations under which he shall be placed." (as cited in Peterson, 1960, p. 239)

Adams and Jefferson, so often on opposite sides of political arguments, were in accord when it came to supporting public education. The nation needed a publicly funded school system that would educate all. Public education was an institution necessary for the maintenance of our democracy.

IMPROVE PUBLIC EDUCATION

Public schools, supported by public dollars, accept all children. If a charter or private school cannot provide for a wheelchair-bound child's physical needs the child returns to a public school. If a charter or private school cannot provide for the needs of a child with special academic needs the child returns to a public school. Public schools must provide for all children...those with special needs, those of average ability, those who have no home, those who are hungry, and those whose language skills are inadequate to communicate.

We don't improve our democracy by redirecting public dollars to private and charter schools, many of which do not accept all children.

We need to improve our public schools so they are equipped to provide services to every child by

• lowering class sizes.
• providing a well rounded, rich curriculum including the arts, civics, and physical education.
• providing resources including a fully stocked library/media center with qualified librarians.
• providing social support including qualified counselors, nurses, psychologists, and social workers.
• addressing inequities that enrich schools for the wealthy while providing scant resources for schools in high poverty areas.
• providing developmentally appropriate education (not test-driven) beginning in pre-school.
• respecting and developing professional educators who are paid at comparable rates as others with their education and experience, who have time to adequately plan lessons and collaborate with colleagues, and who are provided with relevant, high-quality professional development.
• providing appropriate services to all students with special physical, academic and language needs as required by the law.
• providing facilities that are well-maintained and show respect for those who work and go to school there.
• engaging parents to fully participate in their child's education.
• fully funding public schools.

We need to fix our public schools...not close them. On that, I think Adams and Jefferson would agree.

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Listen to This #4

Recent quotes and comments...

THE AMERICAN FRONT

Reflections on Noblesville shooting: Our schools shouldn't be war zones

When did sending our children to school become the same as sending our sons and daughters off to war?

From Elaine Monaghan

I know my children are in a war zone because at least once a month they practice getting shot at.

MAY 7, 1945

Defeated Neo-Nazi Candidate Patrick Little Thinks He Actually Came In ‘First Or Second’

Thankfully, this candidate lost decisively, but the fact that nearly 55 thousand people voted for him is disheartening.

May 7, 1945 is the date of the Nazi surrender in World War II. There are thousands of Americans who apparently wish to reverse that defeat.

From Jared Holt

Patrick Little, the neo-Nazi candidate who sought to represent California in the U.S. Senate, received 54,507 votes, giving him a dismal 1.4 percent of the popular vote and ending his chances of challenging Sen. Diane Feinstein in 2018.

Scene at German surrender in World War II, Reims, France, May 7, 1945.
Ralph Morse—Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

TEACHING IN AMERICA

There is No Dignity in Teaching

A Must Read: Teachers take care of our children...sometimes at the expense of their own...

From Kelly LaLonde

There is no dignity in teaching.

We are blamed for the ills of society. We are tasked to perform miracles every day. We are told “I pay your salary, you work for me.” by parents who don’t like their kids’ grades. We are called racist, lazy, discriminatory, and overpaid. We are told over and over again that we are failing our kids.

INDIANA'S TEACHERS

Teacher pay in Indiana continues its downward slide

...and this is how we reward them?

From Carmen McCollum

In Indiana, teacher pay has suffered the biggest inflation-adjusted drop since the 1999-2000 school year, according to the Department of Education: Teachers now earn almost 16 percent less than they did two decades ago.

APATHY WINS THE POPULAR VOTE

Public Schools and Donald Trump

We can no longer afford to be apathetic. Less that 26% of eligible voters elected President Trump.

From John Merrow

...if “not voting” had been a choice, it would have won the popular vote in every presidential election since at least 1916.

INVEST IN OUR CHILDREN

We know the “root cause” of poor school performance.

Krashen's "voice in the wilderness" reminding us to invest in our children.

From Stephen Krashen

...until we eliminate poverty, we can do a lot to protect students from the negative impact of poverty. Children of poverty suffer from food deprivation, lack of medical care and lack of access to books, each of which effects school performance. We can invest more in food programs, improved medical care (eg school nurses), and libraries and librarians.

We don’t have to worry about “improving teaching and classroom practice.” The best teaching in the world will have no effect if students are hungry, ill, and have nothing to read.

FALSE PATRIOTS

Marijuana Arrest Statistics Show Racist Nature of Our ‘Justice’ System

My comment for the quote below from Ed Brayton is with a quote from Carl Schurz; "My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right."

From Ed Brayton

Fake patriots — tribal nationalists — view any such criticism as hating America. The opposite is true. Some of us care enough about our country to demand that it do the right thing. The rest are just mindless cheerleaders for the status quo.

DEVOS AND THE DRIVE TO EXPAND VOUCHERS NATIONWIDE

Religious Vouchers

Public education is a public good and a public responsibility. The purpose of religious schools is the furthering of a particular set of religious principles. Giving tax dollars to religious schools is in direct conflict with the establishment clause of the first amendment. The Betsy DeVos/Mike Pence/Donald Trump quest for national vouchers is not constitutional.

From Peter Greene

...it's not just a matter of "It's my kid so I'll teach her what I want to" personal freedom, because every student who gets this kind of education is one more misinformed uneducated person released into society, and that damages and diminishes us as a country. When uninformed miseducated hold jobs, or raise children of their own, or vote, bad things happen that cause problems for everybody.

The two following quotes are more than two hundred years old. They are from two of the men who founded The Republic. We should not allow public money to be spent for religious schools.

Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments, [ca. 20 June] 1785

From James Madison

Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other Religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other Sects? that the same authority which can force a citizen to contribute three pence only of his property for the support of any one establishment, may force him to conform to any other establishment in all cases whatsoever?

Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

From Thomas Jefferson

...no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever...

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2018 Medley #8: Teachers Finally Stand Up

Teachers Stand Up, Speak Out

Why are public schools, and public school educators, such an easy target for abuse in terms of wage stagnation, underfunding, and worker disrespect? Why is it so easy for legislators and policy makers to treat teachers like enemies of the state?

Oklahoma teachers on strike.

WHO ARE THE TEACHERS?

One possible answer to the questions, above, is the relative value given to work done by women in our society.

Three-fourths of American teachers are female, and despite the fact that teaching is a difficult job, needing training and experience, it's still considered "women's work" by the patriarchal society at large. In nearly every job, at every level, in every area where both men and women are employed, women earn less – even when men and women are doing the same exact work.

The assumption has been, even among educators, that women who work will (or ought to) have a higher-earning spouse at home, so they don't need to earn as much. There is rarely an assumption that women are the "bread-winners" of a family or that a woman might need to earn more than their partner of either sex. The tradition of women as teachers leads to teachers being disrespected because women are disrespected.

To the extent that work done by women is denigrated in our society, teachers are denigrated.

To the extent that work done by women is disrespected in our society, teachers are disrespected.

To the extent that work done by women is shortchanged in our society, teachers are shortchanged.

Blogger Jan Resseger has a similar response...

Kentucky: Teachers Stand Up for a Decent State Budget, Their Pensions, and Public Responsibility

Maybe part of our forgetting about teachers comes from gender bias. As we have all noticed in West Virginia last month, and now in Oklahoma and Kentucky, most of these teachers are energetic young women. All the old messages come into play: Teachers do their work because they love our children; the money isn’t so important to them. They’re probably married and have another income to depend on in addition to whatever they can bring in from teaching. These women should be good sports as they do more with less. And the worst: Teaching is really just glorified babysitting.

TEACHER'S MAKE THEIR VOICES HEARD

Finally...thankfully...teachers are speaking out in large numbers. They have been taking the brunt of the political, legislative, and social war on public education that has been waged for the last four decades. The war has been fought on several fronts...the most notable being funding. Public school funding has taken a hit from the poor economy as have other areas, but with the recovery, those who control the money have not seen fit to increase funding for schools.

In Indiana, teachers have seen a loss of earning power adjusted for inflation of over 15% in the last 15 years. Add to that, larger classes, media bashing, professional demoralization and fewer benefits which have resulted from the recent recession, tax cuts, and political pandering. Most teachers are doing more with less...and less...and less. Policy makers assume that teachers will pick up the slack, which, of course, they do...at a rate of about $500 per teacher, per year. There are more than 3 and a half million teachers in the United States. In other words, teachers subsidize our public schools by more than $1 billion a year.

Salaries are not keeping up with inflation...funding is not keeping up with inflation...teachers are donating money, as well as time, for their students...it all adds up to...

"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH"

Teachers have had it. Why they’re revolting against low pay and inadequate school funding.

...Underpaid and under-resourced teachers have had enough. Tired of struggling to pay their bills and educating students without sufficient resources — or, in some places, heat to keep kids from freezing in the winter — teachers are suddenly rebelling in places not known for union activism.

The protests are coming in states that have seen the country’s deepest funding cuts for public education by Republican legislators, including West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arizona...

Arizona teachers rally at the statehouse.

No Wonder Teachers Are Saying Enough Is Enough

Teachers have long been underpaid. Their average salary is a little over $58,000 a year. While that’s just below the national median income, teachers have the kinds of qualifications that should mean they bring home more than the average employee. About half of public-school teachers have a master’s degree, and nearly two-thirds have more than 10 years of job experience. And yet they make 17 percent less than other similarly educated workers, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Compensation for all college graduates rose over the last two decades, adjusted for inflation, but for teachers it actually declined.

Oklahoma teachers are protesting 10 years of low pay. Here’s what their walkout looked like.

Thousands of teachers returned Tuesday to the Oklahoma Capitol in Oklahoma City to protest low teacher pay and years of cuts to school funding, continuing a strike launched Monday.

Nearly 200 of the state’s 550 school districts remained closed, according to a tally on the Oklahoma Teacher Walkout Facebook group. An estimated 30,000 teachers and educators had gathered at the capitol on Monday, joined by hundreds of state employees.

Teachers are demanding that state legislators come up with $3.3 billion over the next three years for school funding, benefits, and pay raises for all public employees. On Monday, lawmakers didn’t give an inch.

That made teachers even angrier.

Kentucky teachers.

And We Will Rise: Day 3 of the Oklahoma Walkout

Don’t try us, Oklahoma legislatures. We work in classrooms of 30-35 children, seven-plus hours a day, with very few supplies, no restroom breaks, kids who are out of hand, kids who are hungry, kids who are angry, kids who have horrible home lives, kids who have broken hearts. And we still get up every school day, ready to work, ready to do everything necessary to help our kids, in conditions that are not suitable for what we need to do with pay that barely pays our bills and feeds our families.

Go ahead, try to reduce us to ashes.

The Phoenix will continue to rise.

TEACHERS ARE QUITTING

While many teachers are taking to the streets, others are leaving. Teachers are moving to other states to seek better conditions for themselves and their own children. They're looking for places where public schools are publicly supported.

Others are walking away from the profession completely.

The biggest loss, however, is with pre-service teachers. There are fewer and fewer young people choosing teaching as a profession...and with good reason. The pay gap between teachers and other similarly educated professionals is still large.

It's hard to recruit young people to a career which doesn't pay well and is regularly insulted and figuratively spat upon by the national media and politicians.


Teacher Exodus, Plummeting Enrollments and Teacher License Deregulation: I don’t feel fine.

As a dean of a school of education I have watched our undergraduate enrollments take a nose dive (55%) in the last 3 years. I meet with prospective students and parents who actively encourage their sons and daughters to avoid becoming a teacher. I know teachers that actively advise their students to avoid teaching. And I have talked to high school students who tell me they’ll never go into teaching. When I ask why, I get this response, “I’ve seen what my teachers go through. They’re not allowed to teach. So many of them are miserable. No thank you.”

PAYING FOR THE COMMON GOOD

The anti-taxers – or more accurately, anti-taxers-of-the-wealthy – have convinced Americans that all taxes are always bad. But that's not true.

We're not the highest taxed nation on Earth, contrary to what some political leaders would have you believe. And our businesses and wealthy fellow citizens could pay more than they do, especially after the latest tax cuts for wealthy Americans.

Our taxes pay for the physical infrastructure of our cities and counties which benefit everyone. It pays for roads and their upkeep, water and sewage systems, transportation, libraries, parks, and support for the elderly and needy. Taxes also pay for public schools.

When we refuse to pay taxes, we refuse to pay our membership fee for living in a free society.

When we shortchange public education we shortchange our future. That is something Americans throughout history have understood...


Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pensilvania

by Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia, 1749

The good Education of Youth has been esteemed by wise Men in all Ages, as the surest Foundation of the Happiness both of private Families and of Common-wealths. Almost all Governments have therefore made it a principal Object of their Attention, to establish and endow with proper Revenues, such Seminaries of Learning, as might supply the succeeding Age with Men qualified to serve the Publick with Honour to themselves, and to their Country. [emphasis added]

Letter to John Jebb from "The works of John Adams, second President of the United States : with a life of the author, notes and illustrations"

by John Adams, Second President of the United States, 10 September, 1785.

The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. There should not be a district of one mile square, without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves. [emphasis added]

Address to the National Convention of Colored Men, Louisville, Ky.

by Frederick Douglass, African American writer and abolitionist, speech at the National Convention of Colored Men, 1883

[T]he fact remains that the whole country is directly interested in the education of every child that lives within its borders. The ignorance of any part of the American people so deeply concerns all the rest that there can be no doubt of the right to pass laws compelling the attendance of every child at school...

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Public Education: Born on the Fourth of July

[This post is from July 4, 2013. I've updated it to reflect the current year, updated some links, and made a few other minor changes.]

"The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. There should not be a district of one mile square, without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves." -- John Adams

JOHN ADAMS

The quote above from John Adams, who began his adult life as a school teacher in Massachusetts, is a clear indication of his belief in the importance of a public education system which would educate everyone...by "the whole people" for the benefit of "the whole people." He also specifically declares that it is to be done at public expense -- public funding for public schools.

On the 241st anniversary of the declaration of our nation's independence it's worth noting that public education is not something new. It's one of the basic foundational institutions of our democracy supported by the authors of the nation.

Adams himself was well educated and cared about public education. He made two assertions which would likely dismay "reformers" in their quest to privatize public education. First, as the quote above makes clear...

...the federal government has a clear responsibility for education that includes paying for it.

Second...

That a primary purpose of education is to “raise the lower ranks of society nearer to the higher.”

The public pays for it. The public supports it. The purpose is to equalize the education of the citizenry.

THOMAS JEFFERSON

The education of the citizenry was so important that even Adams' political rival, Thomas Jefferson, declared in his 1806 State of the Union address that the government should support public education.

...a public institution can alone supply those sciences which though rarely called for are yet necessary to complete the circle, all the parts of which contribute to the improvement of the country and some of them to its preservation.

Jefferson proposed a constitutional amendment to fund public education. When that never materialized he directed his attention...

...to his beloved state of Virginia. He developed a comprehensive plan for education which encompassed elementary, secondary, and university levels.

Jefferson believed the elementary school was more important than the university in the plan because, as he said, it was "safer to have the whole people respectfully enlightened than a few in a high state of science and many in ignorance as in Europe" (as cited in Peterson, 1960, p. 241). He had six objectives for primary education to bring about this enlightenment and which highlighted what he hoped would make every person into a productive and informed voter:

1. "To give every citizen the information he needs for the transaction of his own business;
2. To enable him to calculate for himself, and to express and preserve his ideas, his contracts, and accounts, in writing;
3. To improve, by reading, his morals and faculties;
4. To understand his duties to his neighbors and country, and to discharge with competence the functions confided to him by either;
5. To know his rights; to exercize with order and justice those he retains; to choose with discretion the fiduciary of those he delegates; and to notice their conduct with diligence, with candor, and judgment;
6. And, in general, to observe with intelligence and faithfulness all the social relations under which he shall be placed." (as cited in Peterson, 1960, p. 239)

Adams and Jefferson, so often on opposite sides of political arguments, were in accord when it came to supporting public education. The nation needed a publicly funded school system which would educate all. Public education was an institution necessary for the maintenance of our democracy.

WE STILL NEED PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Six years ago Peggy Zugibe, a school board member from New York, wrote...

In the 1800s, when our country took in more immigrants and it became more diverse, education reformers saw public education as a means of creating productive citizens, ending poverty and crime and unifying an increasingly diverse population. Those societal goals are as relevant today as they were then.

Those goals are as relevant in 2017 as they were in 2011.

She referred to a publication by the Center on Educational Policy titled Why We Still Need Public Schools.

The publication asserts that public education is expected to...

...fulfill certain public missions that go beyond the purely academic purposes of all schools, public and private.

These public missions can be characterized by six main themes:

1. To provide universal access to free education
2. To guarantee equal opportunities for all children
3. To unify a diverse population
4. To prepare people for citizenship in a democratic society
5. To prepare people to become economically self-sufficient
6. To improve social conditions

Those six missions of public education are as important now as they have been at any time during our nation's history. Channeling public funds to privately run charters, or to parochial and other private schools through vouchers is not the way to support public education.

IMPROVE PUBLIC EDUCATION

Public schools, supported by public dollars, accept all children. If a charter or private school cannot provide for a wheelchair-bound child's physical needs the child returns to a public school. If a charter or private school cannot provide for the needs of a child with special academic or behavioral needs the child returns to a public school. Public schools must provide for all children...those with special needs, those of average ability, those who have no home, those who are hungry, and those whose language skills are inadequate to communicate.

We don't improve our democracy by redirecting public dollars to private and charter schools, many of which do not accept all children.

We need to improve our public schools so they are equipped to provide services to every child by

• lowering class sizes.
• providing a well rounded, rich curriculum including the arts, civics and physical education.
• providing resources including a fully stocked library/media center with qualified librarians.
• providing social support including qualified counselors, nurses, psychologists and social workers.
• addressing inequities which enrich schools for the wealthy while providing scant resources for schools in high poverty areas.
• providing developmentally appropriate education (not test driven) beginning in pre-school.
• respecting and developing professional educators who are paid at comparable rates as others with their education and experience, who have time to adequately plan lessons and collaborate with colleagues, and who are provided with relevant, high quality professional development.
• providing appropriate services to all students with special physical, academic and language needs as required by the law.
• providing facilities that are well-maintained and show respect for those who work and go to school there.
• engaging parents to fully participate in their child's education.
• fully funding public schools.

We need to fix our public schools...not close them. On that, I think Adams and Jefferson would agree.

🇺🇸🗽🇺🇸

Public Education: Born on the Fourth of July

This post is from July 4, 2013. I've updated it to reflect the current year and made a few other minor changes.

"The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. There should not be a district of one mile square, without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves." -- John Adams

JOHN ADAMS

The quote above from John Adams, who began his adult life as a school teacher in Massachusetts, is a clear indication of his belief in the importance of a public education system which would educate everyone...by "the whole people" for the benefit of "the whole people." He also specifically declares that it is to be done at public expense -- public funding for public schools.

On the 240th anniversary of the declaration of our nation's independence it's worth noting that public education is not something new. It's one of the basic foundational institutions of our democracy supported by the authors of the nation.

Adams himself was well educated and cared about public education. He made two assertions which would likely dismay "reformers" in their quest to privatize public education. First, as the quote above makes clear...

...the federal government has a clear responsibility for education that includes paying for it.

Second...

That a primary purpose of education is to “raise the lower ranks of society nearer to the higher.”

The public pays for it. The public supports it. The purpose is to equalize the education of the citizenry.

THOMAS JEFFERSON

The education of the citizenry was so important that even Adams' political rival, Thomas Jefferson, declared in his 1806 State of the Union address that the government should support public education.

...a public institution can alone supply those sciences which though rarely called for are yet necessary to complete the circle, all the parts of which contribute to the improvement of the country and some of them to its preservation.

Jefferson proposed a constitutional amendment to fund public education. When that never materialized he directed his attention...

...to his beloved state of Virginia. He developed a comprehensive plan for education which encompassed elementary, secondary, and university levels.

Jefferson believed the elementary school was more important than the university in the plan because, as he said, it was "safer to have the whole people respectfully enlightened than a few in a high state of science and many in ignorance as in Europe" (as cited in Peterson, 1960, p. 241). He had six objectives for primary education to bring about this enlightenment and which highlighted what he hoped would make every person into a productive and informed voter:

1. "To give every citizen the information he needs for the transaction of his own business;
2. To enable him to calculate for himself, and to express and preserve his ideas, his contracts, and accounts, in writing;
3. To improve, by reading, his morals and faculties;
4. To understand his duties to his neighbors and country, and to discharge with competence the functions confided to him by either;
5. To know his rights; to exercize with order and justice those he retains; to choose with discretion the fiduciary of those he delegates; and to notice their conduct with diligence, with candor, and judgment;
6. And, in general, to observe with intelligence and faithfulness all the social relations under which he shall be placed." (as cited in Peterson, 1960, p. 239)

Adams and Jefferson, so often on opposite sides of political arguments, were in accord when it came to supporting public education. The nation needed a publicly funded school system which would educate all. Public education was an institution necessary for the maintenance of our democracy.

WE STILL NEED PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Five years ago Peggy Zugibe, a school board member from New York, wrote...

In the 1800s, when our country took in more immigrants and it became more diverse, education reformers saw public education as a means of creating productive citizens, ending poverty and crime and unifying an increasingly diverse population. Those societal goals are as relevant today as they were then.

Those goals are as relevant in 2016 as they were in 2011.

She referred to a publication by the Center on Educational Policy titled Why We Still Need Public Schools.

The publication asserts that public education is expected to...

fulfill certain public missions that go beyond the purely academic purposes of all schools, public and private.

These public missions can be characterized by six main themes:

1. To provide universal access to free education
2. To guarantee equal opportunities for all children
3. To unify a diverse population
4. To prepare people for citizenship in a democratic society
5. To prepare people to become economically self-sufficient
6. To improve social conditions

Those six missions of public education are as important now as they have been at any time during our nation's history. Channeling public funds to privately run charters, or to parochial and other private schools through vouchers is not the way to support public education.

IMPROVE PUBLIC EDUCATION

Public schools, supported by public dollars, accept all children. If a charter or private school cannot provide for a wheelchair-bound child's physical needs the child returns to a public school. If a charter or private school cannot provide for the needs of a child with special academic needs the child returns to a public school. Public schools must provide for all children...those with special needs, those of average ability, those who have no home, those who are hungry, and those whose language skills are inadequate to communicate.

We don't improve our democracy by redirecting public dollars to private and charter schools, many of which do not accept all children.

We need to improve our public schools so they are equipped to provide services to every child by

• lowering class sizes.
• providing a well rounded, rich curriculum including the arts, civics and physical education.
• providing resources including a fully stocked library/media center with qualified librarians.
• providing social support including qualified counselors, nurses, psychologists and social workers.
• addressing inequities which enrich schools for the wealthy while providing scant resources for schools in high poverty areas.
• providing developmentally appropriate education (not test driven) beginning in pre-school.
• respecting and developing professional educators who are paid at comparable rates as others with their education and experience, who have time to adequately plan lessons and collaborate with colleagues, and who are provided with relevant, high quality professional development.
• providing appropriate services to all students with special physical, academic and language needs as required by the law.
• providing facilities that are well-maintained and show respect for those who work and go to school there.
• engaging parents to fully participate in their child's education.
• fully funding public schools.

We need to fix our public schools...not close them. On that, I think Adams and Jefferson would agree.

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