True North

The folks at the Strib have reached a new low in cluelessness with this one:

State gets D+ for aid to teachers

A national study says Minnesota hasn't done enough to improve the quality of teaching its students.

By NORMAN DRAPER and JAMES WALSH, Star Tribune

Last update: January 9, 2008 - 8:28 PM

Anyway, you probably have an idea where this is going, so I'll cut to the chase:

On the plus side, the "Quality Counts" report showed that Minnesota students' chances for success based on education and family factors far outstrip those of students in most states. In that category, Minnesota got a B+, and ranked seventh nationwide.

Alas, my dear readers--never let good news get in the way of a hit piece:

But those findings, based on such factors as family income, parent education and parent employment, suggest that students' home lives have as much to do with their success as their schooling.

Thank you Captains Obvious! Like that's some kind of revelation or something. Here--have a bozo button for your efforts.

Your mothers must be proud.

But that's what happens when you have a couple of statists a la Norman Draper and James Walsh, who believe that the state should parent children. They blame parents for their childrens' successes; like it's a badge of dishonor that they're involved.

Word to Draper and Walsh: Success in education is next to impossible without parent support. The parents are the first and foremost teachers of their children. Not the school; Not the state; but PARENTS.

If parents don't value education, neither will their kids, no matter how much money you throw into education.

And, speaking of money,

Still, it's the finding that Minnesota has fallen to near the bottom of the pack when it comes to teaching that was most startling. The state's low ranking comes mostly from a lack of various teaching programs and effectiveness measures that other states have.

When you can draw a direct causal line between those "programs" and teaching effectiveness, we'll talk.

For instance, Minnesota was docked for not having a statewide program to reduce class sizes, for paying teachers less than what workers in comparable professions are paid, and for not linking student achievement to teacher evaluations.

Here's something else for you to chew on Mssrs. Draper and Walsh: teaching is a calling. It's not everyone that's cut out for, nor has the desire to work with kids. Teaching is, in many ways, its own reward, and teachers wouldn't be in it if it were only for pay. And if someone isn't cut out for it, a high salary isn't going to keep him there. And even if it does, you don't want someone who's in it just for the money to be teaching your kids.

Don't get me wrong, being in education myself, I wouldn't mind a fat paycheck. But I couldn't imagine doing anything else with my life, either.

And of course, all this talk has the usual suspects out making political hay with the issue:

State Rep. Mindy Greiling, DFL-Roseville, and chairwoman of the House K-12 finance division, argued that such findings show that "the chickens have come home to roost" in terms of the state's inadequate funding of education.

The problem, Ms. Greiling, is not underfunding the schools. The problem, Ms. Greiling, is quite simply the notion that schools are trying to stuff five pints of mud into a three-pint jar. Politicians and parents alike are increasingly trying to abdicate more and more parental responsibility on the schools. Clarion calls, such as "We need sex education in the schools! We need multicultural gender-fair, disability- aware (and every other P.C. liberal cause du jour) education in the schools! We need consumer education in the schools!" are legion.

And schools are equally to blame; for they not only accept this increasing parental responsibility, but they largely act as if they're actually equipped for the task. In return, what you get is a curriculum that's a mile wide and a millimeter deep.

And then they sit and wonder why Johnny can't read nor write.

There's only so much you can do in a 7 1/2 hour day, Rep. Greiling.

You want to fix education? Quit having people in Washington, D.C. and in St. Paul who don't know jack about education making unworkable and unfunded mandates, rules and regulations that are more about anal paperwork than they are about educating children. Quit having those same yahoos asking the schools to continue to do that which they are ill-equipped to do; mainly, to be babysitters and parents for kids whose biological parents are too lazy or too afraid to actually be parents.

It doesn't take a village to raise a child. Villages do a horrible job of raising a child.

Rather, it takes committed parents who are willing to invest time and effort in getting their kids ready and willing to learn during the time they're in school, as well as to hold their children accountable for keeping up with their studies. Additionally, it takes parents who are willing to take back the responsibility for raising their children that was abdicated to the school districts.

Parents are the ones who should be teaching their kids about sexuality and values, not the State.

Parents, not the State, are the ones who should be teaching their kids their values. Period.

And, above all, it should be parents, not the State who discipline their child. Of everything that parents have abdicated to the State, the right to discipline their child has been the most detrimental. In my practice, I've seen more than my share of parents afraid to discipline their child (I'm talking corporal punishment--not beating here); under the fear that they'll be reported to the school or to the police (along with a share of kids who aren't afraid to do it).

So, Norman Draper and Steve Walsh, next time you want to write a hit-piece about how we're underfunding schools in Minnesota, you may want to take a deeper look into the actual causes of our educational woes.

Until then, I've no choice but to give you two clowns a F- for your level of factual reporting.

(Cross-posted at The Ice Palace. Comments welcome)