Various videos of Gov. Chris Christie of NJ have been been making the rounds lately. None are more controversial than those in which he confronts a teacher over her pay and takes on the teachers union. I will post them again below as they are really worth watching.
What I thought that I would do today is add a little context. The following graphic is from the Cato Institute (via AceofSpades). It shows the real education spending in inflation adjusted dollars vs test scores.
This is as damning a chart for our education system as possible and it is teacher’s unions that are responsible for much of the increase in spending.
Cato Institute says…
If you graduated from high school in 1980, your entire k-12 education cost your fellow taxpayers about $75,000, in 2009 dollars. But the graduating class of 2009 had roughly twice that amount lavished on their public school careers. The extra $75,000 we’re now spending has done wonders for public school employee union membership, dues revenue, and political clout. It’s done a whole lotta nothin’ for student learning (see chart).
This proves in my mind that Gov. Christie, no matter how unpopular it may be, is doing exactly the right thing in NJ by taking on the teacher’s unions. As he said, when it comes to taxes, this isn’t A fight to pick it is THE fight to pick.
June 24, 2010 at 3:02 am
Foxfier,
Even if the in-state college tuition seems low by virtue of state subsidies, the average unsubsidized out-of-state college tuition is still lower than the average yearly cost for a k-12 student. Consider also that educating a kindergartner or a second grader has to cost much less than a 12th grader, so if we were to compare college costs to high school costs, it would even less expensive to send a kid to college at an out-of-state school than to a local public high school.
Generally speaking, as for high school teachers, I don't think anyone can honestly say that they are at fault. As a former (Deo gratias!) high school teacher, I can say that I spent an inordinate amount of time and energy doing silly bureaucratic nonsense that had absolutely nothing to do with teaching or learning. Likewise, about a third of class time was wasted by discipline problems. God bless teachers for what they do (or try their best to do) and God bless them for having to put up with so much unnecessary silliness.
June 24, 2010 at 4:00 am
$11,528 is the surcharge– the amount on top of the average in-state tuition.
So, if your notion that the out of state is the price without tax dollars, college would cost $18,548.
Amen on the paper work, student misbehavior and general BS. I know part of the paperwork BS is for funding– at one point, I spent a week writing up a grant request. I know our teacher-friend spends a minimum of a few weeks a year writing up grant requests.
June 24, 2010 at 2:07 pm
This just confirms what we already know. We are continuing to throw good money after bad when it comes to an educational system that keeps insistiing that "if we just had more money then we can fix it…" Based on this data, if the educational system were a private company, their investors would be demanding change or they would simply pull out. Unfortunately for us tax payers, it's not so easy.
Clay Boggess
http://www.BigEventFundraising.com
June 24, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Agreed on the tenure after two years. Mine is after 3, and I can be terminated at any time, up to that point for no discernible reason. The state of Florida is considering eliminating tenure completely for all teachers.
As for the issue of tenure in colleges and universities, while working on a fellowship at a major institution, I was privy to my lead professor's (a woman) struggle with the administration regarding her tenure vs. a male counterpart who did not even have a Ph.D. (We're talking music and performing, here, and jazz at that, so sometimes, all bets are off.) He easily received tenure without publishing any articles – definitely none based on research – while she conducted multiple studies involving music in early childhood.
Education, at large, is imperfect. Home schooling, Catholic schooling, public schooling – all have elements missing because we are human and lacking. I don't work in education because it is a great system or that I agree with all of the BS. I work in education because I love the children, and I believe that they need people to love them in all venues of their lives. I was questioned this past year about my refusal to join the NEA after I realized that they supported abortion, among many, many other things. The leaders at the county level asked the representative at my school to find out why I had not joined since I sent them a letter stating that I could not participate due to their stance on several issues with which I strongly disagreed.
So, yes, the whole thing is screwed. But so is everything else, and I'm still called to live out the life of God, wherever I find myself.
June 24, 2010 at 8:13 pm
Geeze Susan, what an awful comment. What's your suggestion for dealing with special needs kids? Throw them in a room and ignore them as we did in the past so that they don't take away funds from "real" kids? Massage is standard for children with physical disabilities, and if the child lacked a lot of sensation and vision, they probably used scented oil to provide stimulation for him. What a horrible line of thought to think that one human being is more "worthy" of respectful treatment than another based on your perception of their "consciousness." Of all the issues I have with public schools, treating special needs children with dignity and respect is not one of them. I'm sure providing services has increased school spending, as have other worthy things. That doesn't discount the fact that there's a lot of wasteful spending going on.
June 24, 2010 at 10:08 pm
Now, hold up, Katie– Susan did NOT say that disabled kids should be shoved into a dark room, or even that they should not get therapy.
She questioned if school is the place to do this.
Frankly, she's got a point– it's a bad idea to try to educate someone who CANNOT get benefit from it, same way that social promotion is a bad idea. You end up with frustrated teachers, kids and parents, and it takes away from the kids who can benefit.
Education related therapy is a good idea, but arranging kids by what they can do and trying to get the biggest benefit for the money spent is a good idea, too.
June 25, 2010 at 6:51 pm
I worked for a company that did business with school systems all over the country. I was shocked to discover a near universal truth: The more money spent, per student, the WORSE the test scores (and other achievement measures). Look it up haters!
I have several advanced degrees, and tons of business experience. I had a fairly high level job in that firm but I couldn't help but be BLOWN AWAY when I saw the teacher's salaries in some districts. There were high school math teachers making WAAAY more than I was with FAAAR less education. In other schools, there were some brilliant teachers making a pittance compared against what I was making.
So I could have saved myself many, many years of learning and just become an uneducated high school teacher. After 2 years I could teach whatever the heck I want b/c I'd be un-fireable and before long I would be making well over 6 figures (in certain schools). Oh and spend my summers on the beach. Heathcare, and a PENSION. What's a pension?! Unbelievable.
Naked union GREED!
Typically Dem answer to problems: just throw money at it.