Thursday, August 03, 2017

Don't Believe Them: Resist

When it comes to the American experiment, we definitely lag behind some other civilized nations in the matter of health care and public transportation. But in one arena of public life, we are doing just fine, thank you.

That arena is public schools.

It's all well and good to say that Finland has better public schools than America. I'm sure it's true. But whoever got the big, fat idea to compare a gigantic country like the US of A with a charming little nation like Finland? I'll tell you who: people who want to trash public education.

Don't believe the haters who disrespect America's public schools!

EXHIBIT A: A MENACE WHO NEEDS TO BE RESISTED


This time we're not even talking about the Orange Menace. We're talking about his Girl Friday, Betsy Devo$.

Betsy Devo$ was not educated in a public school. Nor were her children. She has tumbled millions of her own ducats into charter schools, which are nothing more than private, for-profit schools foisted on our nation's most vulnerable learners. After tanking a bunch of charter schools in Michigan, she is now the Secretary of Education.

This creepy billionairess has an agenda that she calls "school choice." While we are fighting for our health care, she's selling out our students to the highest bidder. She also thinks it's a fine, fine idea to let people get tax breaks for sending their kids to religious schools.

Clap if you think American tax dollars should support religious schools.

That's funny. I don't hear anything.

News flash: Did you know that parochial schools don't have to accept disabled students? They also don't have to administer the draconian standardized tests that our public school kids face all through their school careers. Private and charter school teachers do not need to have formal teacher training. They are not protected by collective bargaining. And it is this latter item -- collective bargaining -- that has led to all these "charter" schools and "voucher" bullshit.

Plain and simple, a group of wealthy Americans wants to undermine the hard-working public school teachers and turn a profit on the taxpayer dime. Billionaires like Devo$ want to pay teachers less and give them no protection from unreasonable dismissal. The money saved on salaries won't go to the kids, though. It will go into the pockets of educational corporations.

Imagine if we already had a single-payer, not-for-profit system of health care, and somebody got the bright idea to improve health care by creating private, for-profit insurance companies! This is pretty much what creatures like Betsy Devo$ want to do with our country's kids.

Resisting this agenda is demanding. You see, the whole charter school dodge is popular with both Republicans and Democrats. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were in favor of charter schools, though not to the degree that the Orange Menace and his Girl Friday are. (The only unabashed supporter of public education in the last election cycle was Bernie Sanders.)

To resist Betsy Devo$ and her sinister agenda, you first need to see how your representatives stand on the whole charter school issue. This is one place where you can't assume that just because your congressman is a Democrat, he or she doesn't like charter schools. Here in my state, good ol' Cory Booker has given his seal of approval to charter schools in the poorest neighborhoods. So, do your research and then send your public officials a strongly worded letter that might go something like this:

Hey dummy,

Public schooling is a right, not a privilege! Say no to Betsy Devo$ and her sleazy attempts to privatize education!

Or some such.

Respect our schools. Keep church and state separate! Selling out an educated workforce will not improve educational outcomes for American students.

9 comments:

Janie Junebug said...

If parents want to send their children to a school associated with religious beliefs, then that's up to them, but ALL schools should abide by the same rules and provide for students with disabilities and take the same stupid tests. Charter schools? Pffffft.

Love,
Janie

Bob said...

DeVos is one reason why _____ is so scary.

yellowdoggranny said...

please please please let it change.

Professor Chaos said...

The propoganda against public schools has been going on for so long and has been so effective, most people take it as a given that public schools are terrible, the kids aren't learning, etc. Ironically, surveys show that most parents think that the schools their kids attend are exceptions. They think most public schools are disasters, but they're fortunate to live in one of the few "good" school districts. So even when they see with their own eyes a public school doing a good job of educating their kids, they still believe that public schools are in general terrible.

Davoh said...

Ann - we tried - we reALLY did.
http://wombatswaffles.blogspot.com.au/2007/12/women-in-uniform-politics.html

Davoh said...

This, of course, is not discounting teaching your students, researching the real story about
abouthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Clark

Davoh said...

Nave i put this link into the mix?
Seriously - the Drumpf influence is not contained within the Northern Hemisphere ...
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2017/07/03/4693993.htm

Davoh said...

Seriously, technically, i do not really care what you Northern Hemisphere 'warlike' dingbats do ... until i reflect on the movie -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Beach_(1959_film)

Meh.

Debi said...

When my head starts talking o spin with all the crazy, I stop! Back to basics! What do your taxes, property taxes pay for? Population pays! and votes for these maniacs , so like squeezing a huge pimple START the pressure from the bottom! Sadly corruption has set in deeply, so now this is what the People! the Voters, who put these wackos in power to fuk up a nation. Power n numbers , sadly revolution is back on the table in our life time.
Up here our teachers in public school system are powerful, our government is slowly chipping away at their numbers, their power, Parents are pressing government, so the fight is on! Voting Day is pink slip day for government who does not handle our tax money honestly.
Public School can live nicely with profit schools, it doesn't have to be either or, but if your taxes pay for schools your kids can't go to, well, then.........why does everything have to be so hard 🙈
Teachers, good teachers, form a nationa, You are valued and have Power! xoDebi🙋🇨🇦