[Editor’s Note: Superintendent John White recently took The Advocate to task for what he believes is disproportionate representations of aggrieved public school teachers in the newspaper’s Letters to the Editor section. Board of Secondary & Elementary Education District 3 member Lottie Beebe, meanwhile, demonstrates that skepticism about Gov. Bobby Jindal’s education reform package isn’t limited to rank-and-file educators.]
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| White |
The Advocate has recently published several letters to the editor on public education. I have to say as an educator, I’m disappointed with the prevailing tone and content of those letters opposing change.
Here are some passages that illustrate a common thread:
“We, the public school teachers of East Baton Rouge schools, can’t educate children who don’t want to be educated. We can’t educate children whose parents don’t care and are not involved.”
“ … the state is going to require that very poor students take the ACT … . The weaker of these students are not college-bound students who have no intention to attend college, yet he has to be compared and compete.”
And one writer simply stated, “Poverty is a significant factor affecting academic scores,” leaving it at that — as if that absolves us of any responsibility to educate the child.
I’m so disappointed in these comments for two reasons. First, they betray a mindset that forsakes the American dream. They show a sad belief among some that poverty is destiny in America, defying our core value that any child, no matter race, class or creed, can be the adult he or she dreams of being. Yes, poverty matters. Yes, it impacts learning. And that fact should only embolden us to do everything we can to break the cycle of poverty so another generation of children does not face the same challenges.
Second, and perhaps more disappointing, is that these letters were written by professional educators. The media would have you think that most educators oppose change. Even The Advocate editorial board used the number of teachers showing up at the Capitol during a weekday as evidence to prove teachers’ collective objection to change.
But as an educator, I can tell you that our views are as varied as are the individuals in the profession. There are 50,000 teachers in this state, and it demeans them to say that the loud voices of those who chose to take a day off speak for the majority, who spent that day working with children. It further demeans them when they are represented in these pages as excuse-makers who see poverty as only a barrier to success and not as the reason to do the job in the first place.
Not all teachers support all of the proposals. Some support none. But all deserve better representation in these pages. Our teachers are soldiers in the fight for social justice in America. As with all soldiers, they joined the battle for different reasons and have different stories to tell. But they have not given up on winning. That’s the real story. The media should start printing it.
— John White, superintendent, Louisiana Department of Education
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| Beebe |
While much has been said about accountability regarding traditional public schools, I think it is time for accountability in areas outside of the education arena. To quote the Senate Education Committee chairman, in a letter to his Senate colleagues, “Crime, broken families, drugs, poor health, poverty, high insurance rates — these social ills pervade our society and our state!” He further states, “We, as representatives of the people, take our jobs seriously; and no matter how much we spend, no matter how much we legislate, we can do little or nothing to solve these problems.” (This declaration appears worthy of a letter grade: F).
Welcome to the world of educators. The Legislature is the body who creates the laws that have tied the hands of those within the public education arena. Yet, they continue to legislate although it has been acknowledged the problems can’t be solved! So the solution is to attack traditional public schools and blame educators for the ills that plague our society. There are no solutions offered other than school choice, vouchers and charters. What happened to the Legislature’s responsibility to traditional public education?
Often it is said, there are those who complain without offering solutions. I will offer the following: A responsible approach is to work toward changing a culture that has perpetuated poverty and a dependence on entitlements for years; to fund universal pre-K programs — the research reveals the achievement gap can be reduced by 50 percent; reinstate the 2.75 percent MFP funding for the last three years which would allow school systems to continue after-school tutorial programs, pre-K programs, and maintain much needed personnel to assist with school improvement efforts; collaborate with university personnel to assess their needs for strengthening teacher preparation programs; and approve legislation with no earnings limit that allows for quality retired teachers to return in a substitute capacity. They are the trained experts who will effectively impact learning during extended medical leaves.
In closing, I recognize there is room for improvement in education. I don’t embrace charters as the silver bullet, nor do I believe vouchers are the solution, particularly, when equal access is not available to all students. The education reform being touted is a Band Aid approach to a much greater problem. The sad reality is there is an admission that our society is broken and the legislators only know one area to fix — education — and the approach being touted is flawed.
— Lottie P. Beebe, BESE District 3
MAY 20 This post by blogger CB Forgotston draws parallels between Gov. Bobby Jindal and two individuals he probably doesn't want to be aligned with: President Obama and former governor Edwin Edwards. CB says Jindal's trying to jack up the debt ceiling (an Obama play, according to CB) and buy votes from GOP leges who normally wouldn't go for that (an Edwards play, CB says).
MAY 20 Here's a post in the Baptist Message from an alumnus of Louisiana College. The author, Larry Burgess, calls on the leadership of the private school to take care of some pressing problems. Physical plant issues are critical and unaddressed, some faculty make so little they need government health care, and there is an atmosphere that does not encourage honest discussion, he writes. It's time to get things back in order, he says.
MAY 20 This post in Gambit tells of a benefit concert scheduled to raise money for the 19 people shot during a Mother's Day second line on Frenchmen Street in NOLA. Among them was Gambit blogger Deb Cotton, who spoke frequently about violence in the city and reported on the city's second line culture. Gambit's foundation, along with other NOLA non-profits, also is selling t-shirts to raise money for the victims.
MAY 20 Blogger Robert Mann is critical of the personal interest some legislators take in their work here, sharing the comments one NOLA solon made in explaining his decision to vote against a bill that would require people to stop discriminating against female workers. His wife might lose some salary, so he was going to have to vote against the equal pay bill, Conrad Appel said. Appel and everyone who heard him should have been ashamed, but they weren't, and that's what is wrong in that building, Mann argues.
MAY 20 American Press columnist Jim Beam writes about the budget again here, urging kudos for the House and its efforts to try to fix the budget as opposed to passing on a flawed and messy rubber-stamped document as it usually does. The Senate already is poo-pooing the effort, but instead Senators should be trying to find a way to improve it as well, Beam argues. He also has some predictions in here from LABI and CABL.
MAY 20 Here's a link to the photo gallery from Tulane's graduation this past weekend. Dr. John and Allen Toussaint played together and received honorary degrees. The Dalai Lama was so entranced by their performance he got up from his seat and walked across the stage to stand next to them. He even participated in a second line with his own personal, saffron-colored umbrella. To the graduates, he urged them to think about creating a peaceful, hopeful life and society.
MAY 20 This Picayune story questions the rhetoric of NOLA officials who say the city, aside from having a "murder problem," is safe. The talking points generally are that the criminals are killing each other, but everything else is OK. The police chief there says that even Lafayette is more dangerous than NOLA. But crime experts interviewed here say that NOLA's numbers indicate one of two things: either people are so used to violence they don't report it, or somebody's "fudging the numbers."
MAY 20 The Advocate's Mark Ballard writes about some of the background maneuvering that took place during the development of budget alternatives in the Legislature. From Rep. Joel Robideaux being called a "tax and spend liberal" to robo-call influence, Ballard lets us in on some of the work that happens behind the scenes but usually doesn't make it into the Advocate's daily coverage of the session.
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What, exactly, is false about this statement?
Those of us who believe this statement is correct do not blame classroom teachers or public education per se. The root cause is liberal compassion.
So, if Ms Beebe's solution is spending more money, as seems to be the case, she is simply dead wrong and deserves a big F.