State, Not Federal Government, Should Decide How to Educate Its Kids

on February 10, 2012 at 7:50 AM

teacher Lady Bird Johnson visiting classroom

“Childrens [sic] do learn when standards are high and results are measured.” -- George W. Bush, in a speech made to schoolchildren back in 2007.

We have been in an education crisis for decades. Even before Jimmy Carter enacted No Child Left Behind, our schools were failing our children. Since then, what’s been done? What improvements have we seen? We continue to test students, to increase the education budget, but are we seeing improvement? No.

There are still too many failing schools, too many classrooms that are overcrowded and lack the basic resources, and teachers that are underpaid and not vested in their students’ learning. We still have children that fall between the cracks or families that rely on a lottery system to see if their children have any chance at a future.

It’s not fair, it’s not right, and it’s a shame. It’s a shame that across America, parents cannot rely on public education to ensure that their children will have their basic educational needs met. It’s a shame that as recent as 2007, only 8 percent of eighth graders in our nation’s capital were proficient in math. Unless you are part of the small minority of families that can afford to send your child to a private school, your children are out of luck.

Shame.

You would think that in a country like ours, where most of our children have access to clean water, electricity, and fresh food as compared to most of the rest of the world, our children would rank much better than that of other developing countries. But instead of the U.S. being a leader in education, we fall far behind.

What is the solution? What was proposed 32 years ago is not the solution. What we need to do is start fresh. Get rid of the Department of Education and allow each state to decide what is best for its children. We should remove the federal government’s hand from the pot and give full control back to the states. We should also get rid of teacher contracts that make it impossible to fire a teacher that is under-performing or no longer interested in the well-being of their students’ educations.

For parents, reforming education means that we can have faith in the future of our children. Maybe then we can stop predicting crime rates with school dropout rates, or success rates with tax brackets. We will no longer have to wait for Superman to rescue our children but rely on good old fashion education. A candidate that supports this sort change will surely win more votes with moms.

This post is part of a weekly conversation with our 5 Moms Matter 2012 political bloggers. Read the original question and find links to all their responses here: Should the Department of Education Be Abolished?

Photo via U.S. National Archives/Flickr

About the author Nadia Jones

is mom to three, law professor, blogger at JusticeJonesie.com, & co-founder of Blogalicious Weekend. Jonesie has volunteered for Obama for America & as a Voter Protection Attorney in ‘08. Find her on Twitter @justicejonesie

Filed Under: 2012 election, education

Comments (16)

eeyore13

on Feb 10, 2012 at 9:09 AM

I know that there will be plenty of teacher bashing on this one. Let me say what has really changed in the last 32 years. Parents are not at home as much. Children spend more time in front of a screen than they do playing outside or with their parents. Parents are too busy with providing their kids with what they "need" than paying attention to what they really need. Parents 30 years ago came to school events and parent/teacher conferences and would actually make sure that their kids did what was needed to in order to advance. Now, you are either very lucky or in a good area to have parents do any of that and have parents upset if you dare to say that their precious little snowflake has a problem. We have to send kids to school younger to learn skills that 30 years ago were taught at home. The school was not designed to raise children, only to educate them.

Then we have the people who look at other countries who have "better education" Those countries have parental involvement and have 8 hour school days, 6 days a week. The US has 6 hour days 5 days a week with little to no parent involvement. However, we do have a better understanding and resources available to help struggling students than those countries, but when gov. steps in those resources might as well not be there.

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Nonmember comment from Vanessa

I don't know if getting rid of the DOE is the answer, but I do know that some states put more effort and care into their public education than others. Compare the quality of Washington state's education system to Texas'. Look at NJ's public education system and compare it to Georgia's. Not even close. A lot of states are failing our children, so unless the Georgia's of the country do a complete 180, expect our kids to continue to lag behind globally. There is no excuse for this country's children to rank outside of the top 20 in basic academics around the world. You can't blame the DOE for a lack of care on the part of individual states.

on Feb 10, 2012 at 9:15 AM

Teachers do get an unfair share of the blame. I like to approach my child's education like this: their teachers are a secondary source of education. My husband and I are their primary source. Too many kids don't even get their homework checked at home, let alone study time WITH mom and dad. Both my husband and I have careers so I don't take that as an excuse to neglect my child's education. Dedicated parents go along way in a child's academic progress.

vanessa5470

on Feb 10, 2012 at 9:22 AM

Ehh, give it a few years and all schools will be privitized.

Jespren

on Feb 10, 2012 at 9:35 AM

Eeyore13, that maybe true, but the reason that is true is because of 2 generations of 'professional educators' telling parents they don't belong in the classrooms. Everything from teachers chastizing parents for teaching their kids to read, to school districts calling the police on parents who want to sit in on a school meeting, to taking parents to court and, unfortunately, getting rulings that state a parent's rights to direct the teaching of their kids ends at the school's doors. From forbidding AP students to talk to their parents about their studies to telling elementary students to keep class discussions secret. From social experiments without consent to illegal questionaries, that students are told are mandatory, to taking children to see conselors and even medical personell without parental notification much less permission. The schools have made it abundantly clear they don't want parental involvement, except that parents should do any homework their kids don't get done so the grade can still be applied, and they certainly don't want parents helping in schools or teaching their kids. None of it is the school's job, and the schools do a horrible job of 'raising' kids. But they have insisted that only a 'professional' can and that parents should keep their grubby little lay-hands away from the poor kids once they reach school age.

on Feb 10, 2012 at 10:00 AM

@Jespren - I am a professional educator. I do not see the value in preschool because those basics can be taught at home. When I was in K the teacher told my mom to stop teaching me reading because they "weren't using phonics anymore". But my mom didn't listen. Why do parents listen and stop teaching their kids at home? That is not the educator's fault.

The teacher's union is the worst offender of all that you mentioned. The unions in general have outlived their purpose and are now monsters in their own right. They legally cannot do most of what you posted unless Child Protective Services have been called in and there are police involved. In the three schools I have worked in the only teachers and schools that do not want parents there are covering up something. I want parents involved and communicate with them on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Without the parents and schools working together, how can anything change?

On the other hand, I wouldn't want a parent who is berating other students, disruptive in meetings, or in any other way hurting instead of helping in my classroom. I have delt with those parents, too. I also don't mind standing up to a parent who thinks Suzie should have special privilages because the special needs kids do or because they contribute a lot of money to the school.

Nonmember comment from Susan

on Feb 10, 2012 at 10:01 AM

A bunch of isolated incidents at individual schools does not and should not excuse a parent from lack of involvement in their own child's education. Even if all of those things happened at one single school, we live in a country with options. Whether they're convenient or not doesn't matter as much as making sure the child gets a proper education. And let's be real, most schools simply don't discourage parental involvement. Quite the opposite actually. Now there are a lot of knucklehead parents who like to argue, fuss, and fight whenever their kid gets justifiably punished but won't show up to discuss poor grades. Whose fault is that? I'm tired of parents who look outward first. I get up two hours earlier than I should because the schools in my neighborhood don't give my son what I feel he needs. So what. That's MY JOB. I pay $9,000 a yr for my daughter's tuition because her elementary school's academic program was up to MY standards. So what. I'd sacrifice anything for my kids. I spend 3 hours a night doing homework. I'm tired all the time because my nights are devoted to them. So what. It's called being a parent.

Mama2MonkeyBoys

on Feb 10, 2012 at 10:22 AM

“Childrens [sic] do learn when standards are high and results are measured.” -- George W. Bush

HAHAHAHAHAHA OMG I miss that guy so much. He was always good for a laugh.

Ok, going back to read the article now.

Marjchaos

on Feb 10, 2012 at 11:14 AM

I think we need more national control over schools. States are able to get away with offering kids poor educations and that isn't fair to any citizen of the US. You are not a citizen of your state, you are a citizen of your country. As a citizen of your country, you country should offer good basic education for all, not just those in weathy areas. Privatized schools is a great way to bring back endentured servitude.