"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

"No money shall be drawn from the treasury, for the benefit of any religious or theological institution." -- Indiana Constitution Article 1, Section 6.

"...no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish enlarge, or affect their civil capacities." – Thomas Jefferson

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Way Past Time to Get Mad

It is way past time to get mad. Each week, it is hard to know which of the latest outrages against American public education is the worst.
That's what Diane Ravitch said when she posted her Outrage of the Week on her Education Week Blog, Bridging Differences.

I agree. It's hard to know what to focus our anger on any more. I have a list of articles ranging from legislative punishment of public schools and public school teachers, to people like Bill Gates getting air-time for their so-called reforms simply because they're rich.

Then I saw this.

Homeless, but Finding Sanctuary at School by Michael Winerip.

I challenge you to read it without feeling angry at the politicians and "reformers" who legislate against public schools and complain about teachers getting too much money for the jobs they do...but are silent when public school money goes to tax breaks for the wealthy.
They love Fern Creek [Elementary School],” said their father, who lost his job hanging drywall after the economy collapsed. “I can’t say nothing bad about Fern Creek.”

The children’s mother, Felica Blue, who lost her job working the 11 p.m.-to-4 a.m. shift cleaning the arena after the Orlando Magic’s basketball games, said: “They love Fern Creek. Brianna’s always talking about kids from her class.”
I've included postings about homeless children at school before, HERE and HERE. It's way past time to get mad.

Then...I challenge you to read any of the following without feeling angry at politicians in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, New Jersey, D.C. and elsewhere, who claim that teacher greed is the problem...

The Rich Get Richer: CEO Bonuses Skyrocket; Worker Pay Flat
CEO bonuses at 50 major corporations jumped a median of 30.5%, the bigest gain in at least three years, according to a study of the first batch of corporate pay disclosures by consulting firm Hay Group for The Wall Street Journal.
Executive Bonuses Bounce Back
One of the big bonuses landed in the wallet of Robert A. Iger, leader of Walt Disney Co. He earned $13.5 million for the year ended Oct. 2. That represents a 45.4% increase.
2011 Executive Compensation on Wall Street: Taking Stock
Recent data also shows that CEO pay has increased 27 percent and the top 25 hedge fund managers have raked in a total of $22.07 billion. ProPublica has reported that “even while the economy took a beating and unemployment soared, average pay in the banking industry continued rising at the same rate as it had before the financial crisis...” [Emphasis mine]
Diane Ravitch is right. It's WAY past time to get mad!
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