Dave Durand-Contributor
“Got it bad. Got it Bad. Got it Bad. I’m hot for an honest teacher in Atlanta.” A story that is not getting the attention it deserves is the Atlanta Government School cheating scandal. To quickly summarize, an Atlanta Journal Constitution reporter noticed some impressive gains in school performance from one period to the next. After digging deeper, 178 teachers and principals from 44 out of the 56 Atlanta area schools were found to be changing students' incorrect answers on the standardized tests mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act. The goal was to artificially inflate the schools AYP score (Annual Yearly Progress) which directly influences the amount of federal funding the school receives.
While nothing justifies the actions of these soon to be former “educators”, I would like to take the opportunity to call for the end of federal involvement in your child’s education. Here are 3 quick reasons.
1) Let’s get the technical arguments out of the way first. The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution explicitly lists the powers granted to Congress. For those of you not familiar with the text, check out the link below. SPOILER ALERT in 3 … 2 … 1 … Education is not listed anywhere in this clause.
The 10th Amendment to the Constitution also plainly states that “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” I can promise you that education is not mentioned in any of the other 26 Amendments to the Constitution either. This means that the Federal Government, aka Washington D.C., is not authorized to tinker with education in any way, shape, or form.
2) Let’s be honest. We generally do not elect our best and brightest to represent us. Do you trust Representative Sheila Jackson Lee to be responsible for your child’s history curriculum? This is the same women who thinks the Vietnam War resulted in a “North and South Vietnam”.
Maybe you are comfortable with President Obama authorizing geography courses where your child is required to learn the location, capitols, and annual rainfall amounts of all “57 states”.
Would you like Senator Charles Schumer to personally write the civic lesson where our children learn about the checks and balances between the 3 branches of government? Those would be the “The House, The Senate, and the President” according to Chuck.
O.K., I admit that these are cheap shots. However, there are legitimate reasons to call into question the competency of our representatives to craft national education policy. Most have never taught in a classroom. Most have never been an administrator or served on a school board. More than a handful could not successfully cook a package of Ramen Noodles. Perhaps the best evidence I can point to is that most politicians refuse to send their children to the government schools that they themselves regulate. Hmm… maybe they aren’t so dumb after all.
3) Local control is the best way for your child to receive a sound education. You should demand the ability to talk directly to policy makers when it comes to matters at your child’s school. We need to remove barriers between parents and administrators, and we should not accept a system where school policies, standards, and curriculum are dictated by a bureaucrat in a far off capitol. At the very least, your state should control all aspects of the government education your child receives. Even better, your county or city could have total control. Think about running into your town’s equivalent of U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan at the local grocery store and giving him a piece of your mind. It will never happen without local control over education.
Of course, the best scenario would be one where all parents have complete control of where their children go to school- complete control of which teachers have the privilege to teach their children, and what curriculum they are exposed to. The only way to accomplish this is to disband the government school system altogether and allow parents to select, pay for, and hold accountable the school that their child attends. I won’t hold my breath, but you know I am right.
Dave Durand is the Wednesday contributor for the milkthecrisis blog.
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