JBD

OBAMA, DUDE, YOU JUST CRACK ME UP! HERE'S JBD'S PLAN FOR K-12 EDUCATION.

His big plan to get the economy moving? Government spending on infrastructure.

Yeah, that's funny in and of itself, but here's the part that sent me rolling:

This hits very close to home for me. The Goddess of Love, KC Jones and I spent nearly 10 years working on school modernization and computerization. In fact, he's still doing it.

The buzz phrases "school reform" and "classroom modernization" and "class size reduction" and "computers in classrooms" are used every election to get bond issues passed so school districts can further fatten up their payrolls and add to their overhead.

Lots of money is spent on planning and designs and consultants, then even more is spent on plaster and paint and air conditioners and doors and lights and computers and networks and you name it. There is never enough, so they go back to the state for more so that they can "fully leverage their modernization dollars".

From the E-Rate program, to the Digital High School initiative, to previous rounds of modernization, to No Child Left Behind (which actually at least tried to set standards), to special ed, and to any number of other grants, programs and bonds, the end results are always the same - lots of money spent, no measurable impact on student performance,  bigger bureaucracy, higher payrolls, and always another call for more of the same.

No. Enough. Here's the definitive plan for K-12 education (click where it says "more", below):


The Golden Rule for K-12 Education - Children Belong to their Parents. All my policies are based on this principle. That means parents are responsible for seeing that, first, their kids are fed, clothed, housed, safe and healthy, and second, that their kids are educated the way they want them to be. The state will pay for basic education as long as the student passes benchmark tests.

Get the Feds completely out of education. Fed involvement in education has resulted in the same unbroken record of failure as it has in housing. Case in point - nearly 45 years of Head Start, and no measurable results except for money spent. Fed money and influence makes all the bad parts of state education systems even worse. And the Federal free and reduced meal program for the "poor" has done more abrogate parent responsibilites and create state dependency than any other program in history.

Abolish school districts. All they do is politicize education and act as a training camp for political jihadists. Parents should be involved directly at the school site only, with escalation to the County Office of Education (COE) for oversight and conflict resolution.

Abolish teacher unions and "classified employee" unions. Unions add no value, only cost. All teachers will be qualified, certified, hired and paid by the COE. Teacher training, orientation and evaluation is standardized for all subjects covered by the basic curriculum. All other functions and services - from sports coaches to janitors to gardeners to computer repair - will be contracted out.

States will fund only a fixed amount of money per student per term via a voucher program. The student's parent or guardian can spend that voucher at any accredited institution, or cash it in if they home school and their student passes benchmark tests administered by the COE. If the parents are not happy at their original school of choice, and the COE  determines that the school is delivering the basic education required by law, then the parents have only two options - stay put and make the best of it, or find another school that better suits what they want for their kid.

The COE will determine how many public schools are needed in their county to implement the basic curriculum only. All current public school sites will be converted to independent schools run by a COE-hired Principal in charge of curriculum & discipline, and a COE-hired non-teacher business manager in charge of non-instructional functions such as attendance, security, food service, transportation and maintenance. The COE or parents can also chose to hire a not-for-profit company to manage the school

Independent organizations such as churches and neighborhood groups can open their own schools with their own buildings and funding, and receive the per-pupil amount for qualified students who attend. The school must still have a Principal and Business Manager that are certified by the COE, and must meet State accreditation and performance standards. In other words, these private schools are just like they are now, except that parents will get vouchers for their kids. My plan can be summed up in one line - run all schools like the current private schools.

Funding is based on students passing the benchmark tests, not attendance. Schools must maintain a high percentage of passing students. Students who fail repeatedly must leave that school and attend a public basic-curriculum school until they catch up. Schools that cannot produce students who can pass benchmark tests will lose accreditation and will be closed. Schools that cannot attract enough students to be economically viable will close.

Each school site must also have either on staff or on retainer a legal adviser accredited by the State to practice specialty education law, for sad but obvious reasons. This person could also be the business manager. Schools will be inspected regularly for compliance with health and safety regulations, and all funding, public and private, must be accounted for in academic and operational budgets as verified by annual audit. Audits can be performed by the COE or by certified independent agencies such as insurance companies or banks.

Schools can expel or refuse to accept students who do not follow the rules or who disrupt the class. Gang members, "ADHD" kids, severely disabled or behaviorally uncontrollable kids are their parents responsibility, and need to handle these issues outside of school. Schools that specialize in these kinds of kids will get the same per-student amount from the state - no "special ed" bonuses, no "mainstreaming" mandates, no "continuation" or "alternate" funds - and will have to make up any difference from benefactors or charities.

School site business managers are responsible for hiring and managing contractors to maintain, repair and service the facilities and extra-curricular activities. School sites may form co-ops for these services as they see fit. Contractors and their employees will have to be qualified by the COE for licensing, safety, insurance, and child security. Contractors are responsible for their own payrolls, taxes and benefits.

The state Board of Education will set curriculum and benchmark tests. School sites are free to raise additional funds and implement extracurricular activities as directed by the school's parent group. This includes religious, sports, musical, theatre, science or other special interest programs. Schools are free to form leagues, combine resources, share facilities and contractors, etc. as they see fit.

You want your kid to go to a school that specializes in show business? Take your pick, Stage Mom. Sets, props, make-up and acting coaches are on your dime.

You want them to go to a Jewish school that has a great baseball program? Find one or start your own, and you pay for the Torahs and cleats.

You want your nino to attend a radical La Raza school that specializes in Aztlan culture and socialism? Be my guest, but the state money stops flowing to that school if your little guerilla doesn't pass the benchmark tests. You'll have to transfer him to a no-frills public school until he catches up.

If he never does get caught up, he's moved to a vocational school with all the other non-academically qualified students, and starts learning basic life skills - budgeting, insurance, contracts, parenthood, etc - and a trade or skill. At 16, he gets a job on his own, or an apprenticeship, or he works maintenance on the publicly owned school sites. At 18, it's adios.

What's that you say? This is racist, elitist, anti-disabled, nuts? I challenge any and all to debate these ideas, either to defend the status quo (which in many cases actually works pretty well, despite the waste and politicking inherent in the system), or come up with better ideas.

I'll be happy to respond to "what-if?" type questions, like "What if the dumb guy wants to be on the football team but can't pass the benchmark test?" Answer: Then his parents better get him a tutor so he can.

What about parents or guardians who don't care, or can't afford extras, or is good at crying in front of TV cameras that the school is failing their kid? I refer you to the Golden Rule. If the parents can't feed, clothe, discipline and deliver their kids to school on time, it is a non-school issue that is referred to county child services or the courts.

This is one of the things we need to make clear in the mandatory "life skills" class - you are responsible for the issue of your loins, not the state. If you or your family or your tribe or your church are unwilling or unable to perform this basic responsibility, you should consider reversible sterilization until such time that you are. Otherwise, your Love Babies end up in a foster home that will see to their needs, and you are sterilized (reversibly) until such time as you can show you can care for those children first.

Posted by: JBD at 05:27 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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