43 Comments

1. Delia:

LOL!

Ahem. *cough*

Eh. Actions speak louder than rhetoric. I can’t praise a flake who is a sloucher on vouchers whilst enrolling his own darlings in private school.

Yes, lousy teachers and inept school admins exist and they get shuffled around rather than fired more often than not. Lousy curriculum exists too. Leftists have been dumbing down public education steadily for a while now in case you haven’t heard. You might as well send in the wolf to reform the hen-house.

“We will recruit an army of new teachers and develop innovative ways to reward teachers who are doing a great job, and we will reform No Child Left Behind so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them.”

Okay, children, repeat:

“Barack Husein 0bama, Mmm… Mmm… Mmm!”

Nov 16, 2009 - 2:04 am 2. BrianH:

If Obama’s making enemies of the teacher’s unions, and if his rhetoric is anything more than empty wind, then my name’s Milton Friedman.

The president has made a career of empty promises and trying to hide his extreme left-wing radicalism with “tough talk” that sounds vaguely conservative. His journalistic accomplices have willingly provided cover for his dishonest poses for nearly three years now.

Mr. Navarette is apparently one of those accomplices.

Did Mr. Navarette compare Obama’s words with his past record on education (assuming there is a record to be checked, or that it would be released)? Did he make inquiries into how Obama actually plans to carry out his promises or put his rhetoric into action?

If he did, he didn’t include any such information here. I guess Obama’s record is irrelevant and the force of his personality and charm will carry the day for his education agenda, without him having to bother with the messy nuts and bolts.

Do not be fooled: We have no actual information to indicate that Obama’s education agenda involves anything other than entrenching the unions and further strengthening the status quo.

Nov 16, 2009 - 6:09 am 3. Old Soldier:

Pleaaase! The last Federal politicians who I agreed with on education were Newt and his bunch who promised to eliminate the Department. This was before they reneged and passed “No Child Left Behind” nonsense legislation.

We don’t need big federal grants or standards or requirements. Just leave us alone and let our towns and (if necessary) states manage our children’s education.

Nov 16, 2009 - 7:15 am 4. Avitar:

Education is making a path through the tree tops. There are only a few directions that provide a disirable destination and many ways of steping off into empty space. Even the “professional” teachers who have dumbed down the public schools for a hundred years know this.

Nov 16, 2009 - 7:20 am 5. Sapwolf:

All talk designed to give the appearance of progress when, wink-wink, nothing is done.

School choice via tax credits up $4000 per family to send their kids to ANY school or for home-schooling.

This will do more to bring liberty and freedom back to the individual school level and lead to BETTER moral for teachers.

Until school choice is implemented, especially in bad urban areas, ignore the Messiah.

The GOP should be courting urban voters in bad school districts and on family and small business issues.

Nov 16, 2009 - 9:16 am 6. ahem:

Mr Navrette: All of Herr Obama’s comments are “honest, refreshing, and insightful”. That’s why our country is going down the drain; the denser among us fall for him.

You really ought to pursue some field other than political analysis. You’re just not that astute.

Nov 16, 2009 - 9:38 am 7. urbanleftbehind:

Well, somebody in the teachers union might have sent a message to the messiah:

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/11/man-found-dead-near-merchandise-mart-downtown.html

Suicide my behind!

Nov 16, 2009 - 9:47 am 8. Banned by Huffpo:

“Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted.” – Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

Mmmm, Mmmmm, Mmmmm . . . . . .

Nov 16, 2009 - 9:56 am 9. CJ:

Ruben,

vouchers, vouchers, vouchers, vouchers, vouchders!

I am sure the DC families, children that Congress and Obama took vouchers from are happy, right?

vouchers, vouchers, vouchers…

stop kissing Obama’s behind! the man is a complete failure.

Nov 16, 2009 - 10:07 am 10. Ytzik:

If “public option” in education will be maintained, then all the representatives should be obligated to send their children to public schools.

Nov 16, 2009 - 10:14 am 11. Dwight:

Yet one more sad, but not surprising example of how to many on this site, Obama BY DEFINITION cannot do ANYTHING right. It’s as if admitting that he did anything right would be an act of near-treason. Certainly is stance on ed reform and the message he sends to minority parents is a departure from recent Dem presidents, and it is a tough love message which he can deliver, as a white man could not.

But, whatever; he is obviously the anti-Christ to some of the most vocal here, so anything positive he might show could only be part of his sinister plan. Life must be easy when folks can actually beleeeeve such simplistic tripe.

Nov 16, 2009 - 11:02 am 12. ant:

As I read this, I thought is Mr. Navarette kidding? I loved it when he wrote he learned more about the way public schools work by teaching at them than all his graduate education in education. Who does he think runs the Federal(probably state, too) education dept?
Thank you PJM readers for taking him to task.

Nov 16, 2009 - 11:03 am 13. Richard:

Yes, demopublicans and republicans can all agree on education “reform”.

Which is why they are both wrong and its yet another example of how republicrats and demopublicans are just two wings of the same party.

REPUBLICRAT FAIL.

Nov 16, 2009 - 11:08 am 14. TL:

My support is reserved for those who champion freedom. Not those who think they can run socialized schools better. Give me the right to vote with my feet or give me death.

Nov 16, 2009 - 12:10 pm 15. WestWright:

Wadda Tool! Another great Rubin miscarriage. Obama, Ayers and their great education reform has been applied and is alive and viewable for you Ruben. Take a trip to Chicago and see the wondrous results of their work.

Nov 16, 2009 - 12:14 pm 16. Bohemond:

“When school children start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of school children.”

–American Federation of Teachers president Albert Shanker

Nov 16, 2009 - 1:08 pm 17. WJ:

Ruben, appreciate the effort here, but you fall short. Obama may make speeches, but his actions will definitely be on the side of teachers union.

Improving schools is not really the job of the federal government. In fact, the solution is easy to understand, difficult to implement.

1) Children need BOTH parents. No matter what happens, without both parents, more children will do worse in school than those kids raised by both parents. This does NOT mean than ALL children being raised by single parents will do worse than ALL children being raised by both parents.

But, on average, more kids will end up in trouble who are being raised by only one parent. Ignoring this fact is like trying to ignore gravity.

2) Vouchers, or tax credits, or whatever it takes to get competition into the K-12 school market. Competition beats a monopoly in satisfying customers. Another law we ignore at our peril.

Nov 16, 2009 - 1:43 pm 18. Cybergeezer:

Lets get real; Obama deserves the complete disrespect he’s getting from the Conservatives; He’s trying hard to earn it every day.

Nov 16, 2009 - 2:17 pm 19. artknarf:

good article and one of the few I have read recently that challenges the deaf and dumb route the republican party has been taking of late. Obama does good things and is popular, the Republicans need to be part of the solution’s to today problems, not just whiners and haters on the sidelines trying to block the things that Obama and the majority of the American public want and need!

Nov 16, 2009 - 2:20 pm 20. Kate Rafferty:

Barack Hussein Obama hmm hmm hmm!

Nov 16, 2009 - 3:05 pm 21. Dave Surls:

“Why Conservatives Should Applaud Obama’s Efforts…”

Navarette missed his calling. He ought to go into stand-up comedy, or become a court jester, or something.

Aw, what the heck. Court jester, “journalist”…what’s the difference?

Nov 16, 2009 - 3:44 pm 22. stuart williamson:

It is difficult to view Obama’s comments on education as anything other than Red Herrings. Banned by Hufp’s quote from Lenin goes straight to the heart of the matter.

Chairman BaO’s mentor and patron, Bill Ayers, is his shadow Secretary for Education. Consider Ayer’s history. Scion of a wealthy family, he became infatuated with Marxism in college – the original armed-revolution variety – and embarked on a dim-witted, “romantic” campaign of bombing, the Weatherman effort.Smart enough to realize, after a few of his compatriots killed themselves in the effort,that he would probably wind up dead or in prison, he backed off. He decided Lenin’s idea offered a better chance of success. It had worked for centuries for the Roman Catholic church, why not for Communism?

With his connections in Chicago, he easily got a professorship and ever since then has steadfastly promoted, published many books and refined practices for, indoctrinating children K-9 to the principles of radical socialism. The only record Obama has in management was when he was selected by Ayers to direct disbursements under the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, an ill-fated effort to apply his theories in the Chicago school system. Hugo Chavez venerates Ayers because of his educational writing and programs.

Surely we have all learned in the past ten months to mistrust every word the puppet President utters. This goes in spades for anything that sounds anything like the type of education conservative educators seek.

Ayers’ objectives are dear to Obama’s heart and high on his legislative agenda. Maoist style students , chanting Red Book quotes and praises for the Great Leader, are the change that Ayers’ proxy would bring us.

Nov 16, 2009 - 4:21 pm 23. Fantom:

There is only one thing for education that will save it. CHOICE

Choice, one may choose to kill a child, but only the State may educate(sick) one.

Choice, the money follows the child. The Parent decides where the child goes to school.

Nov 16, 2009 - 4:49 pm 24. BrianH:

#11 Dwight:

It’s not that Obama can’t do anything right. He certainly could, if he wished to. It’s that he never has, and we have no indication that he’s about to start.

Certainly is stance on ed reform and the message he sends to minority parents is a departure from recent Dem presidents, and it is a tough love message which he can deliver, as a white man could not.

By his “stance,” are you talking about his speeches, or his policy directions? On almost every part of his presidency, his actions he and his underlings take are are divergent, when they’re not totally opposed, to the promises he makes and the vague impressions that people have about his “stance” when they listen to him. (Your conviction that he has a “tough love” message to send to the unions is a perfect, and hilarious, example.) Often, Obama intentionally creates these vague impressions without actually committing, in his actual words, to any any specific policy direction.

But if you can point out, with any degree of specificity at all, how Obama’s education policies are going to be a departure from recent Democratic presidents, please do. My mind is changeable, if someone from your side would only talk specifics, instead of feel-good platitudes that later turn into excuses for maintaining or strengthening the status quo.

Nov 16, 2009 - 4:54 pm 25. howiem:

Navarette, like his Marxist comrades is like a parrot, telling us in every article he writes what we should do, as if he is some sort of intellectual elite. His inability to convince anyone belies that. If we want better education, turn the Department of Education into an Office of Education Information without any power, get rid of the teachers union(s) , and especially get rid of the Marxists in the education field. There are many other actions that can be taken to “fix” things, but let’s not make the mistake of thinking that “education” has to be a system. We should be educating individuals to determine their individual capabilities and how to utilize them, so they don’t turn into the mindless trolls that come viiting this site. Obama is a pathetic liar. For just about every quote that makes sense, his actions indicate otherwise. For the others he votes “present” or more recently, “absent”, like tieing his shoes in Japan or Saudi. So, Mr. Navarette, why don’t you pack your bags and move to the Puffington Post where you will have more than a few foolish, ignorant trolls that agree with you.

Nov 16, 2009 - 5:52 pm 26. Jim Baker:

Thank you Mr Navarette for not boring me with another inane diatribe concerning the downtrodden latino victim. Even while praising a do nothing President for his inspiring rhetoric on the sorry subject of the government schools, you don’t seem to notice the propaganda he is actively pushing in those same sorry schools. We really need a President who truly wants our children to learn how to think for themselves instead of learning what to think as an aid to the advancement of a well known political agenda. Sorry bud, I call them as I see them. This President and all of his handlers are communists who have taken control of a hapless democrap party that is nothing more than a cobbling together of so called victim groups liek the one you champion.

Nov 16, 2009 - 5:54 pm 27. Ken Royall:

Anyone who thinks that Obama would truly take on the NEA is dreaming. When will these people learn, he tosses out these throwaway lines and supposed initiatives but in the end he toes the liberal line.

From the WSJ article:
“Instead, it will be based on a simple principle—whether a state is ready to do what works. We will use the best data available to determine whether a state can meet a few key benchmarks for reform, and states that outperform the rest will be rewarded with a grant.”

Whatever “works” will be defined by liberals and their buddies in the teachers union. The money will go to urban areas to pay off key constituencies. We have already had many areas try new ideas, anything that does not comport with the union agenda is shot down, this will be no different. Obama already failed on the voucher issue, it would have been easy for him to support that but he played politics instead. Wake up.

Nov 16, 2009 - 6:02 pm 28. rbell:

1: Delia: Right again. Without school vouchers it is just a lot of empty Obama rhetoric. What about breaking the monopoly of the NEA? short for No Education Anywhere. How about helping to promote home schooling with public funds. These people should get some of their money back from the government that was supposed to education their children in the first place, but won’t.

Ruben Rubin I have been thinking what the hell have you been drinking? We should praise Obama for his stand on education. Are you serious? Are you still hoping their will be some change left in your pocket when Obama is done? Where is Lew Ayers in all this? He is probably on a government funded grant to write more Obama praise music for the school children.

Nov 16, 2009 - 6:07 pm 29. Anonymous:

Brian H, Here’s the latest that I could find

http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/11/compromising-on-education-reform.html

Yes, there is compromising with unions here, but it is what it is.

Nov 16, 2009 - 7:05 pm 30. Dwight:

I posted # 29

Nov 16, 2009 - 8:18 pm 31. love america:

Being a teacher for more than 21 years, I personally do not believe that any change will happen. If you really want change then you need to get the disrupting kids who do not give damn about their education out of the classroom. Then you can hold us teachers accountable for our students education.

Nov 16, 2009 - 8:42 pm 32. westerncanadian:

Regardless of what Mr Obama has said; might have said; does or doesn’t do about education: teachers can either be Professionals or Union Members. They can’t be both.

The teachers union is for state functionaries.If you want teachers who are true Professionals then take them out of the union.

Moving our kids from public to private school proved that point for me.

Nov 16, 2009 - 11:05 pm 33. Gwendy:

love america has a good point. our schools have turned into a nightmare with unruly kids who ruin the whole education process for everyone involved. how does a child concentrate on what the teacher is saying when he or she cannot keep the class under control because of a few brats? there should be a three strikes and you are out for kids that misbehave. parents should be stuck with their psycho kids and not the teachers and students. if parents fail to parent that is not the fault of the teacher who’s job is to teach. some teachers don’t even feel safe with certain students. that is just not right!

Nov 16, 2009 - 11:24 pm 34. kasper:

Agreed, love america, but that’s only a small part of the problem with government schools.

They are big government schools and big union schools. There is nothing local about most anymore. The states have allow the federal government to bribe and lull them — one size fits all and ultimately none.

I’d like to think vouchers would help, but that, again, they would be used as a tool, letting the barn door wide open — good private schools would be ruined. The only solution is for families to educate their own. Remove all influence of the state and government in your child’s education. There are tons of resources and opportunities to work with other home schoolers.

Vouchers will only make an unrecoverable mess of good private schools.

Nov 17, 2009 - 3:18 am 35. BrianH:

Dwight:

Thanks for the added info. According to the link, many parts of “Race to the Top” are being watered down so as to be more palatable to the teachers’ unions.

Of course, Arne Duncan disagrees that it’s being watered down, but he doesn’t counter those criticisms with anything specific.

And we still don’t know who those “peers” are who will be reviewing the applications for funds (apparently from an executive-branch slush fund created by the stimulus) or whether those peers will follow the plan’s stated criteria.

Call me suspicious, but this just does not look like a “bold reform” to me. It looks like more of the same: An initiative tailored to suit an interest group, and unelected, unaccountable and unnamed executive appointees making decisions based on politics rather than policy.

Nov 17, 2009 - 4:53 am 36. Paul -Indiana:

Another harebrained Obama scheme.
♫ mmm mmm mmm ♫

Nov 17, 2009 - 6:54 am 37. Benson:

A great piece of satire. Well done!

Nov 17, 2009 - 4:05 pm 38. Marian:

Government just needs to get OUT of the business of education. Vouchers and subsidies for the needy (including special education), no strings attached, and let’er rip. It can’t be worse, and it might very well be much better.

Nov 17, 2009 - 4:29 pm 39. Laura:

“Teachers are right to object to the fact that they seem to get all the scrutiny.
But there’s a good reason for that. Parents and students aren’t on the public payroll. And, as long as teachers are, they have to be accountable to the public.”

As I see it, parents who receive government assistance to help raise their child in the form of food stamps, section 8 housing, medicaid, etc. should be considered on the public payroll as well.
I have taught in a high poverty school for 8+ years, and teachers are not the only ones who need to be held accountable. I believe parents should be scrutinized as much, if not more than educators. Do teachers need to be held accountable for student learning? Absolutely! Are we the deciding factor in student success? Far from it!
The lack of accountability expected of parents on the public payroll is the true problem of education. Are there exceptions to this? Yes. There are parents who receive government assistance whose children are high achievers and hard workers. These parents promote the importance of doing well in school, however it seems like these parents are in the minority.
I have students as young as kindergarten who believe that school is like a daycare and behave in a way that prevents TRUE EFFECTIVE learning for all students. Children can tell what is important to the adults in their life and parents with that kind of belief system are ROBBING not just their child but everyone else’s child of a decent education.
My son attends the school where I teach because I believe in and trust the professionals that I work with. We all understand what our task is and work tirelessly to help our students achieve success. My son’s teacher is dealing with a student with behavior and academic issues. This one student requires a huge chunk of her time just to keep him seated! If this child’s parents (or more than likely, parent) put in half of the effort the teacher does to teach this child the importance and necessity of education (as well as the proper way to behave in school), it would sure be beneficial to all involved, from the stressed out teacher and teacher’s aide to the frustrated students who realize exactly what is going on.

If welfare and public assistance payouts were tied to school success, you can be sure of one of two things happening.
1. The number of welfare recipients would drop because parents could not meet the higher standards being set before them and their benefits would be cut off
OR
2. Student achievement would skyrocket and schools would be rid of a majority of the situations that cause them to be mediocre because parents would actually have an interest and a stake in their child’s education. This second option would possibly also decrease the number of welfare recipients because children would be helping to break the cycle of poverty so many of them are hindered by.
Please do not get me wrong. There are bad teachers that have no real interest in education. Should they be responsible for the education of tomorrow’s leaders? No way! But you get that sort of person in every field of work. And yes, as I said before, teachers should be held accountable for student success or failure, BUT WE ARE NOT THE DECIDING FACTOR FOR STUDENT SUCCESS OR FAILURE AND WE SHOULD NOT BE THE ONLY ONES HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR IT.

And now a note on unions. I don’t know of one teacher in my school who places union interests before the needs of their students and I take offense to that picture being painted of my colleagues. For what it is worth, I am no longer a member of the NEA for a number of reasons, the biggest being my union dues being used to support a presidential candidate I did not agree with on most political, social, moral and fiscal issues.

Nov 17, 2009 - 7:13 pm 40. MikeL:

I was wondering, What about vouchers and subsidies for health insurance? Then I realized that with their untaxed, fringe benefits Unions already have that.

Nov 18, 2009 - 8:08 am 41. paul_unalaska:

Like others have mentioned, school is a STATE issue. Well, unless the school is in the bottom of the proverbial school toilet bowl. i.e. Mississippi, Nevada, Arizona, California, etc.,

The $4 billion ‘Race to the Top’ and its pushers, Arne Duncan, Obama and the Fed is teasing the public education sector with this nonsense. It’ll prove to be as ’successful’ as the ’stimulus’.

With this, the emphasis has, continue to be teaching TESTS, not educating to obtain the mullah. Nothing more. Children being used as guinea pigs.

‘Fiscal Federalism’ at its greatest.

Ruben, if you really believe Obama will go after the very unions he props/ protects – as Rob Halford sings, ‘You’ve got another thing coming’.

Nov 18, 2009 - 8:32 am 42. MikeL:

I love it when liberals try to tell conservatives what they should applaud.

Nov 18, 2009 - 8:45 am 43. paul_unalaska:

#15 WestWright – excellent point!

Chicago’s public education system is in shambles. It’s handler” Arne Duncan. Now this d ingleberry is given far more reaching power?

I’d make this stuff up if it wasn’t so frighteningly true..

Nov 18, 2009 - 8:57 am