The
Austin American-Statesman (AAS) recently
ran an editorial chiding Gov. Perry for
putting Robert Scott at the interim helm
of the Texas Education Agency. The essence
of their editorial was “how dare the Governor
name someone to run the Texas Department
of Education who is not an edu-crat!”
Those
of us with children in public schools,
and all of us who pay property taxes and
care about the state of education in Texas
say “thanks, Gov. Perry” for putting someone
in charge who does not have a myopic view
of education.
There's
something to be said for the old adage
referencing doing the same thing over and
over but expecting different results. It's
about time we alter the way we direct the
business of education in Texas and work
to achieve more for our children.
Robert
Scott is a 34 year-old attorney, father,
and former Congressional staffer (he worked
for Democrat Gene Green from Houston .)
He worked for former Education Commissioner
Mike Moses and for Gov. Perry heading up
his education policy.
Let's
set one thing straight: the Texas Department
of Education doesn't educate anyone. And
the cuts that have been tough to administer
are freeing more of our education dollars
to be spent on instruction, not on administration.
I'm
not sure how the AAS became an expert on
education policy, but they espoused the
view that the education agency needed “a
leader from the trenches.” However, in
thinking back over the past education commissioners
and their education credentials, I found
many didn't have classroom experience.
What they likely take exception to is the
Governor's policy, not his appointees.
The
AAS was using Robert Scott to again express
their opinion that parents should not have
the opportunity to select the educational
environment where their children have the
greatest opportunity to succeed. You see,
Scott supports parental choice…at least
he supports the Governor's position which
favors a pilot school choice project.
And
as the AAS was eager to point out, then-Gov.
Bush's appointee, Mike Moses (now the highest-paid
Superintendent in Texas – he's making over
$340,000 in Dallas ISD), was “at best a
lukewarm supporter of vouchers.” And Jim
Nelson, who came to Austin from the Ector
County ISD in Odessa , was an attorney,
not an educator. The Statesman had no problem
with Nelson as he opposed vouchers, according
to the AAS.
Texas
' 4.2 million public school students are
as varied as is our population. Yet we
continue to accept a one-size-fits-all
approach to public education. Many students
are failing and are dropping out. It's
time we face the reality that no one education
system – no matter how good it may be – can
adequately or efficiently educate every
child.
It's
about time big-government advocates and
status-quo liberals be challenged on their
ideas. Parental choice in education is
the civil rights movement of this decade.
And to deny parents – particularly those
in inner city, failing schools -- the opportunity
to put their children in an educational
environment of their choice is morally
wrong.
The
argument often used is “it will take money
from the public schools.” Yet education
funding should be student-focused, not
focused on supporting the education bureaucracy.
Today, less than half the public education
dollars make it to the classroom. In private
schools, the bureaucracy is much smaller
and more dollars are spent on instruction.
Another
popular argument with school choice opponents
is “the threat of fly-by-night schools.” Choice
opponents think parents
are
not capable of making decisions regarding
their children's education. Given choices,
I am convinced that parents would have
the incentive to learn more about options.
And in the private sector, schools that
fail to educate students would not survive.
Public
schools
that fail to educate students continue
to operate.
Simply
put, to criticize the acting commissioner
of education for not having “classroom
experience” is like saying you can't drive
a car unless you can build it.
Robert
Scott is steering us in the right direction.
He knows more about education policy in
Texas than most educators I know. He's
smart, savvy and willing to rock the education
establishment boat. He has the student's
best interest at heart and is not beholding
to the education unions. That's not a bad
thing.
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