Failing Public School System

FAILING PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.

No, I don't mean Cupertino but, there are failing schools not too far away. Some are actually referred as Failure Mills or Dropout Factories for their inability to graduate students. One of the most ridiculous situations just a few miles away is a school district, Burbank School District in San Jose, with just one school. What a gross waste of tax payers' dollars. The only way for this to be eliminated is for the very well paid school board to vote themselves out of business, fat chance of that happening.

We just watched the documentary Waiting for Superman, rented from NetFlix. This is a Davis Guggenheim documentary that weaves together the stories of students, families, educators and reformers to shed light on the national failing public school system and its consequences on the future of the United States.

Also, I'm just a parent and not an expert on the subject. So, don't flame me, just try to do something.

It is a sad state of affairs and the main concern is we won't be seeing the results of it for ten years, when we have a sadly under educated work force. How will our well educated Cupertino alumni handle this disaster. What do you think that will do to the economy?

"Guggenheim's balanced approach asks how things got so bad, and unearths multiple reasons: a mismanagement of state and federal funds; a lack of accountability both in the schools and at home; too many 'cooks' clogging the road to educational reform. The villain, if one could be singled out, would be the unions that protect tenured teachers regardless of their performance," wrote Sean O’Connell on Oct, 14 2010, on filmcritic.com.

An educator speaking to Guggenheim sums up the director's main point in one sentence: You can't have a great school without great teachers.

Other than seasoned tenured professors, where else do you have a job where you can't be dismissed for not doing your job, or worse. Not many, maybe civil service. In the film a teacher is quoted as saying to a class, "I get paid whether you learn or not." Where else does it take almost a year of paper processing to get a non performing employee fired?

Here are some interesting stats from the film:

 " ...in Illinois, 1 in 57 doctors loses his or her medical license, and 1 in 97 attorneys loses his or her law license, but only 1 teacher in 2,500 has ever lost his or her credentials."

"The 'Superman' is you. It's me. It's parents and children. It's political representatives and community leaders. Teachers and students. Principals and administrators. It's all of us. And we must do what we can to initiate a change. We must reverse society's negative thinking about the public education system. As a nation, we have to do better. No excuses," wrote Sean O’Connell on Oct. 14 2010, on filmcritic.com.

"A thriving democracy depends on an educated citizenry": Thomas Jefferson.

If you haven't already seen the film, check it out. Invite your friends and neighbors over for a group viewing, show it at a PTA meeting. Make it the next selection for your book club, the book (by Karl Weber) and/or the film. There are lots of reviews, with a lot of views and opinions, on the Internet.

Cheers! Phil