More money, no sense...

President Obama has good intentions with respect to education, but his reform efforts have little merit. An example is the idea to increase the number of math and science teachers in the K-12 system. The president wants to brings thousands of science and math teachers into the k-12 education pool. To make his vision come true, he has proposed a $10,000 tax credit so that 100,000 math and science teachers will leave more lucrative positions to pursue teaching careers.

Will 100,000 new teachers somehow transform the pipeline leading into the chemistry and physics classes? The answer is, "No." Even if there are 100,000 new math and science teachers, will it necessarily improve math and science instruction? The answer is again, "No." Having taken classes at the community college, state college, and university levels, the best teachers were generally at the community college level. This is because community college instructors generally have better presentation skills than college and university professors. They don't necessarily have the breadth of knowledge of the university professor, but they are better teachers. The point is, that instruction isn't always about knowledge, but presentation.

That isn't to say that knowledge isn't important, but one cannot escape the idea that building the entire product is important, not merely the end product of the education process. The k-12 education reforms are based on
whims. By improving the process of education, we'll inprove the education that students receive. We keep looking for education saviors in the form of charter schools, higher standards, and now "super teachers." Why not find the best lessons and know what works best. I guess we'll try anything but common sense.

Masters and Disasters - terms of the time

The internet is a wonderful tool to see what people are thinking about. For instance, if you look up search terms on "Google Trends," it shows you how much people are looking up certain terms. It might not be surprising that since 2007 there has been an inverse relationship between the search term job and investment. As people spend more time worrying and looking for jobs, they don't look to invest their money as much.

Back in 2004, more people put in the search term retirement, but that is also a downward trend as we head into 2009. It is interesting that in 2004, people were using the search term public education a lot, but that topic does not capture peoples' attention like it did five years ago. There has been a slight increase in interest in charter schools since 2004, but the idea has not captured the publics' imagination. It hasn't helped that charter schools as a whole have not been a successful alternative to public schools.

The truth is that people do not have faith in education's ability to bring the American ship back to stability. Why should they? What jobs will be available in America's future? Although we still are a great manufacturing power, we have shuttered domestic plants to follow low-cost labor in locations through the world. We allow our corporations to set up operations in foreign lands that builds the coffers of countries like India and China. That is where the jobs are.

Corporations with international connections can build merchandise cheaply and then sell it back to the United States. This is beneficial to the corporation and its shareholders (the wealthy), but creates a jobs vacuum in the United States. Wages go down, tax revenues go down, and we can no longer afford services to people who are poor. There are more and more who qualify for government assistance, and therefore, more government programs are needed. Unless we have good jobs that can keep American households at the middle class level, we cannot sustain the republic without taxing the stuffing out of the wealthy. What sort of a future are we giving to the youth of America? What type of future should we prepare them for?

Today, the internet's primary search term is related to who wins the Master's golf tournament. The truth is that a 21 year old Irishman named Rory McIllroy is now winning the Masters by four strokes going into the last round. Will he hold on? The second most popular term is insanity. The economic pathway that we've been moving down is certainly not sane, so we might as well watch the Masters and watch the rest of the world clean our clocks. We can listen to Kelly Clarkson sing her first number one country hit. The truth is that to turn the American economy around will take a huge change in attitude. Free trade is not free to us. Free trade strips our country of jobs, capital, and equality. We cannot sustain an economy in which half the households cannot afford to pay taxes.

Pensions reform... and then what?

When listening to the current fervor over government reforms, it is someone akin to watching a nature program where a fish is grazing along the bottom of the ocean and out of nowhere a shark comes and eats the fish. We have become the sharks who are calling for public employee pension reform. We're all ticked off about the fish who are happily grazing along and eating. These happy grazers, public employees, are going to be comfortable. Damn those fish! They have too comfy a lifestyle. Let's make those fish work harder and longer! The truth is that the public has become the sharks.

The truth is that with uncertainty in the economy, what we are all experiencing is a bit of envy. Why should public employees have such a nice place to feast? We don't the rest of us have such a nice place to retire. There is the problem. The United States has bought into a free-market mentality that has screwed up the jobs market so badly that we're ruined the economy here. It is impossible to have a nice garden inside a glass bubble when the rest of the economy has been ravaged. That is what people dislike.

However, what then? So, if we cut out employee unions we essentially expose the public employees to the distress in the economy that everyone is feeling. Does this fix the problem? Has the economy gotten better?
Is everyone in a better garden now? The answer is no. Like anyone, we all hate paying taxes, but the reason the tax base has been destroyed is because middle class jobs are being destroyed.

Our legislators signed legislation sat by idly while corportate raiders pillaged pensions funds, signed treaties and agreements to ship manufacturing jobs overseas, allowed horrendous fiscal policies during the real estate boom, and all of this has benefitted the financial markets and the wealthy. The wealthy get more money as corporations build their products overseas. It is argued that what is good for business is good for America. That should be revised to "rich" Americans.

The rich do pay taxes, but don't reinvest the money in local economies the way middle class people will. While the wealthy may pay a capital gains tax on dividends or profits, the middle class pay a large number of taxes that benefit local economies. Without decent wages from manufacturing jobs, governments receive less tax revenue. That's the way it is.

If we don't revive the manufacturing element in American society, unless we are rich, we will all be fighting for scraps. So we can go after the public employee unions, but then what? Where are the jobs for our kids supposed to come from? The destruction of our economy has taken many years. We need to look at the root causes if we are going to fix the problem.

Who will want to go into teaching?

In Wisconsin, the legislature has sent a message to the teachers of the state. We don't care.

Unfortunately, teachers are quite used to seeing the "we don't care" message coming from students, parents, and even administrators. Usually, teachers don't complain about their lot in life. They tend to be rule followers who know that they set an example for behavior. It was somewhat surprising to see the teachers protesting so aggressively in Madison to protest Governor Scott Walker's attempt to kill the education union. What put them over the edge?

Perhaps it was the fact that teachers in Wisconsin average $50,000 per year. A single income household with a teacher in charge would be $18,000 below the national average for a household. The Wisconsin legislature wants teachers to contribute more to their health care and pension costs. This will cut the amount they take home even more. Perhaps the Wisconsin teachers will be eligible for public assistance. If the average salary for teachers is $50,000, the salary for beginning teachers must be near the poverty level.

People in college who consider teaching for a career may not think about it very long. Why should they? Why would you go into a profession that may not allow one to live a decent lifestyle? Does the public expect teachers to live single in boarding houses? If so, who will want to become a teacher?

Governor Walker: Shameful

How would you characterize a government that made promises to people and then reneges on them? Some people might say that that just a politician at work. If a politician’s mouth is moving, then a lie is being told. With the situation in Wisconsin, a Governor comes in and decides to renege not only on promises, but on contracts. With teachers, there is an unwritten contract that the government job will pay less, but there will be more stability than a private sector position. When teachers take the job, they are trading earning potential for stability. There is an implicit understanding that comes with taking a teaching, law enforcement, or fire fighter position. Yet, when a state like Wisconsin suffers an economic downturn, the Governor of the state decides that he doesn’t have to honor agreements made to the employees of the state.

This is a question of honor.

When you think of governments that unilaterally break contracts, Americans think of the Soviet Union and China, not Middle America. Governor Scott Walker is acting more like a communist dictator than a leader, and frankly it is a sad moment for America. While the country’s financial sector and the Federal Reserve crafted actions to created the fiscal mess, the government felt it necessary to bail out the banks although the rest of the economy is in the toilet. The actions of Walker break a covenant with people who have served the state in good times and bad. Teachers and other public employees did not make millions in real estate sales or by reselling mortgages. They did their jobs and while unions did negotiate on their behalf, most teachers are not in the job for the money. One of the implications of getting a teaching job is that he or she will suffer economically, but the job is stable and there will be decent benefits.

How much does a teacher in Wisconsin make? According to Department of Education statistics, in 2009 the average K-12 teacher in Wisconsin made $50,231 per annum. Over twelve months, that averages $4186 per month before taxes. Before you all run out to get your teaching certificates, an examination of Wisconsin’s attempt to take away the voice of teachers (and other public employees) will destroy the covenant that draws people in to teaching. Teachers and other public employee have already had their wages cut as they pay more salary to health care premiums. Yet, on top of this fact, Wisconsin’s teachers have also lost when their salaries are measured against the Consumer Price Index. Inflation has outdistanced Wisconsin’s teacher’s salaries by 3.4 percent since 1969-70. Thus, in a profession that has put in more hurdles, yet the salaries have remained stagnant, or more accurately, regressed.

As we march into 2011, the Governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker, has walked into the job and decided to show the unions and teachers who is boss. The problem is not that Governor Walker is taking on the Unions, it is that he is destroying the fabric of America itself. This is not the Soviet Union, and people that are covered by lawful contracts should not be abused. The State of Wisconsin agreed to support its education system and the data suggests that teachers are not unfairly compensated. The legislators made agreements that they want to destroy. The problem is, we don’t live in the Soviet Union. As far as I know, we still live in a country that allows negotiations to occur. So Walker not only threatens to breech contractual agreements, he also wants to destroy the workers’ freedom of speech. Thank God we live in a place where we honor personal rights. If Governor Walker wants to bring this sort of leadership, he is in the wrong country.

The United States is a country where a person’s word means something. The written agreement of a contract is the basis of our economic system. We do not tear a contract because it is inconvenient; especially to people who have served the state. Not only is every school teacher in America following the events in Wisconsin, so will every person considering education as a future occupation. There is a larger moral question at stake and it drives at the very heart of the American way of life.

It is quite astounding that the federal government will bail out corporations who have acted reprehensibly while standing aside while its public servants are set up as scapegoats. Governor Walker does indeed have the right mindset to lead, but it should under a different time and place. He seems misguided about the moral fabric of leadership. He seems more suited to lead under the banner of hammer and sickle, but not the stars and stripes.

Thanks Mr. Gates....

As Bill Gates weighs in on education, I can't help but think how clueless he is about education reform. In my book, I praise Gates for his efforts to focus on education issues, but I also point out that his efforts never seem to hit the mark. Now, Gates is discussing teacher pay. He states that the current pay structure in public education is unfair. No kidding!

You see, in a speech to the Council of Chief State School Officers in Louisville, KY, Gates says that 10% of all money paid to teachers does not result in gains to student achievement. This is because the salary scale that keeps teachers employed rather than changing jobs every year is a bad thing. Mr. Gates, do you really feel that educators have been over-compensated for their efforts?

While all the technology boom was going on in the early and mid 90's, driving around Silicon Valley, it was difficult to miss all young people in their 20's driving around in new BMW's. It was simply amazing to see such visible signs of opulence for such young people. Housing prices in the area were being pushed into the stratosphere and it would have been impossible to live in the area on a "teachers" salary. When the tech boom started to dry up and the government was faced with a stalled economy, it simultaneously created low-cost loans and a large supply of money. This government policy managed to artificially buoy the economy of the United States. During these "good times" in the economy, teachers didn't drive BMWs. We didn't make the huge salaries that executives made by creating economic Ponzi schemes. Teachers didn't get the benefit of the good economic times. Now that times are not as rosy, you think that teaching is a great profession to be in?

Let's give Gates his kudos for trying. There is an issue of constancy that Gates seems to ignore. Education will not survive on cycles of boom and bust. The school system needs continuity. The kids' needs are constant. How does Gates think he will hire these "great" teachers he seeks. There is no absolute way to screen for them. Besides, the system of education is more than individual teachers. It is an education system.

It is the system of education that needs to be improved. We need to find a way to improve the lessons that are delivered. We need better ways to match the lessons taught to student abilities. That is what needs to be done to improve the system. Teachers teach in a "system" and improving the system is the answer. All the steps in the education journey have to improve in order for the system to improve. Hoping to hire "super teachers" that will automatically excel at teaching and hoping that it will improve the education system is a bad idea.

Though one has to give Gates credit for continued effort, one would hope that he could look at the school system and understand the improvement that are needed. My book essentially says that we need to fix the school operating system. Of course, fixing operating systems have been a problem for Gates of late; perhaps he should be asking Steve Jobs for advice.

Good intentions and education reform...

Good intentions are the basis of most education reform efforts. People intend to do good things in education, but most of the time, the efforts do not work. Recent events have brought the "free market" into the arena of education. People were told that private schools did a much better job teaching for less money. Private schools did a better job at educating kids. However, a government study showed that when private and public school students were compared from equivalent demographic groups, private schools and public school results were very similar.

It would seem then, that the private school does not necessarily have better instruction than the public school. What really seems to set the private school apart from its public counterparts is the selection process. The selection process is private schools is determined by family income. Students from higher income families that have more advantages can go to private schools that can be "selective" in admission policies and standards. Thus, by selecting students that will be successful, one can create a successful environment.

The same thing happens in public schools. As David Berliner of the University of Arizona points out, the financial lines are drawn across zip codes. It is easy to predict public school success or failure based on factors like family income. Thus, in many ways, the data shows that schools, both public and private, have been rather inert in creating "reform" efforts, good intentions have not managed to find a way to overcome demographic factors.

The question that must be asked is what is the difference between schools where students come from relative wealth and those who do not. While looking at the problem for some time, it became clear that the common denominator between wealth and school success is less disorder. There is not only less disorder in the schools for wealthier students, there is also less disorder in the classroom. Students who are grouped according to ability will create a learning environment that is easier to deal with. It is much easier to teach to a group whose reading levels range from 8th to 12 grade levels as opposed to 3rd versus 12th grade levels. Schools in wealthier areas will have students who are more prepared for the classes, and therefore, the classes will be easier to teach.

The answers to improving education comes from insuring that students are properly prepared for the classes they take. Can legislators do things to make education more important to people who make less money? How about eliminating the child tax credit for students who fail in school? How about deportation for families whose children fail to attend school? Does it sound cruel? Well, the data seems to indicate that schools can work, but that the home environment must support the education process. How can people who are less fortunate put more of their effort and resources towards the education process? If you want to improve education, one way is to change the schools, but if it is really important, the family must also be involved in the solution.

School reform is a subject that is always discussed. However, if American education wants to improve, the schools are only one part of the solution. The importance of education must also be felt in the home. Poverty and education are intrinsically interwoven, and poverty follows along family lines. Unless given an incentive to succeed in school, how will it happen?