There were two telling points in an Associated Press story about how the Kansas State Board of Education’s recent actions reflect a growing distrust of “government schools”:
The Rev. Terry Fox (in photo), pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Wichita, suggested that half of his 6,600 members have given up on public schools, saying, “I think public education has really become a brainwashing from the far left. These superintendents better realize that they don’t just work for the liberals. I think sometimes they’ve gotten the impression that they own the schools.”
Meanwhile, noted Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence, “The real tragedy in all of this brouhaha at the State Board of Education is that very little of it has to do with providing a world-class education for our children.” Schmidt also said: “The Chinese, the Indians, the Koreans and the Japanese are spending their energy teaching their kids math, science, geography and things that make their kids competitive.”
Step back from all this culture warring over public schools, and it’s hard to see how it serves the goals of better schools, smarter kids and a vigorous Kansas economy.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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33 Comments
I think it’s great that Terry Fox’s people send their kids to private schools.
That way, they’ll have less money to give to his false religion.
Also keeps the looney-tuners out of the classroom.
Sounds like a win-win situation to me.
This is getting scary..I am agreeing with Galahad again!
Terry Fox and his PAC “church” need to have their tax exempt status revoked. That ‘church’ functions as a Political Action Committee, and it needs to be taxed as one.
I’m sure there will be desenting views regarding this post.
At the heart of the concern over public schools is the fact that they remain the last “equalizing force” in our society.
The stated purpose that public schools fulfill in our society is to educate the public, to make them wage earners, voters, participants in the good things in our culture. An unstated purpose is that all, rich, poor, or in between, are given an equal chance.
There is something about promoting equality by giving children knowledge & skills that just pisses some people off. It leads these people, like Rev. Fox, to start calling people — such things as “socialist”, etc.
It seems like that the people whom are most pissed off over this indirect function of public education are the people who have benefitted the most from our culture and way of life. I am talking here about the Kochs’, the Corkins’, etc. Please don’t believe these liars when they say they wish to improve education by introducing competition into the market place. They have no interest, whatsoever, in any poor kid having a chance. Why I am sure that they think their tax dollars are better spent building prisons than funding schools.
I am sorry, but the Kochs’ and their Flint Hills public policy institute are just pathetic sights to behold. I guess if having that much money makes one as miserable as they appear to be, I guess I can be thankful I don’t have nearly as much money as they do. . .
Hmm . . . Will have to work on the above idea for the Thanksgiving prayer.
Here’s a link to a Lawrence Journal World article that is announcing the formation of a PAC to get the conservative Board members voted out.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/nov/17/group_forms_oppose_conservative_members_state_boar/?kansas_legislature
The head of this group, Don Hineman, is the same person mentioned on another thread who was writing a letter to the editor on the campaign trip through western KS by Corkins & Morris.
Hineman is a life-long Republican from Dighton, KS.
This is a link to the Kansas Alliance for Education. I just sent them a check for $50 and would encourage all other readers who care about this issue to send them what you can.
http://www.ksalliance.org/
I guess people are just never going to learn. Whatever you involve government in is dominated by politics. You can cry today “Oh my God the right-wingers are in control!” and next time you will cry, “Oh my but-there-is-no-god the left-wingers are in control!” The best way to use government for education is to use it to ensure nobody is unjustly denied an education. That is a far cry from giving an education. Not surprisingly we turned away from giving an education to forcing education on everyone.
No surprise Galahad started in on people sending their kids to private school. The surprise is so does this hypocrite. Not that he pays for it. As with all socialists, they need somebody else to pick up the tab. I suppose that means all the loonies are together at last.
My kids go to public school.
But I understand the concerns. Derrick Schmidt is right that we are not focusing enough on science and math.
Meanwhile, take a look at one of your kids history or social studies text books.
Please tell me how competition won’t help?
Koch is now the largest privately held company in the country.
They’ve obviously done something right. Maybe we should listen to them?
Koch supports public schools with their entrepreneuship programs, donating land and the like. Many of the employees’ children attend public school. What exactly are they doing to harm public schools?
Why do you think the Maize, Goddard and Andover districts are growing while Wichita stands still? Why is that?
john, the answer to your question is easy. The Wichita schools have turned into a cesspool. It’s over-run with thugs and gang-bangers. You know, the scum that’s dragging the whole public school system down. The Maize, Goddard and Andover districts don’t have to deal with inner-city crap. I suspect that’s a lot of the reason people live in those towns in the first place; to get away from problems in the city. Wichita schools would be a lot better if they’d just kick out the non-achievers. Kids don’t want to learn? Put them out the door. The legal system will deal with them eventually. Train them to make license plates. Better yet, send some of these bangers to Iraq and see how tough they really are.
I would say I mis-stated to use the terms “make them wage earners . . .”. When it comes to education, people can only be given the opportunity. They (including children) cannot be made to do anything, really, especially not learning.
I think the government is a necessary evil in the education of some children. There likely is not any way to make special education sufficiently profitable to get private schools interested.
It also happens that some children just will not avail themselves of an education regardless of the efforts of those working in the system. If such kids are jepordizing the education of others, then getting them out, would seem to be the only alternative that makes any sense.
The Koch’s have a definite anti-tax posture. They set up an “anti-tax” think tank. The interests supported by this non-profit organization (READ – “tax dodge”) are the interests of very wealthy people like the Kochs.
There is an article on the Koch’s Flint Hills Public Policy website that argues against universal health care coverage. Their argument against it is that, more and more very wealthy people are dropping out of 3rd party insurance because they can privately pay their medical expenses. Some how, that argument makes me doubt their ability to have much empathy for middle class people who benefit from having insurance and who send their kids to public schools.
While on the subject of money, I will have to confess that the $50 I sent the KAE was the most gratifying expendure of my money this year. The reason being is that I live in Carol Rupe’s district (supports teaching evolution) and I will never be able to vote against Connie Morris who lives in far NW KS. Sending money to the KAE is the next best thing to, or maybe even better than, voting against Connie Morris.
Competition? What a great idea! Wichita school board member Chip Gramke (a conservative and a Christian) dealt with that one rather nicely. “So let’s compete”:
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/editorial/13214124.htm
On the question of competition, I think the Wichita Public schools now compete with private schools and I think in most schools they compare favorably, and in the case of some 259 schools, exceed many private school competitors.
The public schools need to get rid of some programs that do not accomplish what is needed, or accomplish things at too great an expense. Busing is the first thing I would stop if I had control and the legal ability to do so. I have heard from USD 259 officials that the amount of miles traveled by their buses per year would allow one to circumnavigate the world (on the equator) 7 and 1/2 times. You can’t tell me that comes cheap. And I would ask for what purpose, really?
School choice needs to be the primary way of promoting integration. School choice would be a way of determining which alternatives are most favored by the district’s customers/families. In this way 259 could improve and save money if busing was eliminated.
So, competition exists already, and 259, certainly in some programs, can hold their own against any private school.
Steven! The public schools should get rid of sports programs and students should wear uniforms.
Am I crazy? :P
Gee, and I thought Sen. Joe McCarthy was dead!
Joe Williams:
I have no idea if you are crazy, or not.
If the schools had to choose between chemistry and fencing (sorry, Brian), I know which one I would vote for. Having said that, I think extra-curricular activities are important, too.
Ideally, these priorities would be decided by consumers/families -those involved with the school. I think it is possible to have this determined at a local/neighborhood level.
Joe,
I do not know what difference uniforms make. I would like to see some empirical data that controls for the multitude of confounding variables.
Maybe this would be a good Masters thesis at some dept. at WSU.
Kansas: Every Child Left Behind
The Communist Party was deticated to the overthrow of the Government of the United States of America.
Sen Joe McCarthy smoked them out with one simple question: “Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?”
They refused to answer the question on the the grounds it would it would incriminate them { they were guilty }.
They rewrote history making him the bad-guy.
Go figure.
The Ayatollah Terry Fox will not be happy until he and his fellow Ayatollahs are totally in charge of our society. Schools should remain secular; let Fox and his bunch keep their preaching in their churches.
I found this Steve.
http://www.naesp.org/ContentLoad.do?contentId=67
Although I have yet to read it all.
Thank you, Joe Williams.
I read the first article in the link and it does seem like uniforms have an intuitive appeal. I am wondering if more than anecdotal (”it’s better now than if was before uniforms”) types of research have been done on this subject. I will have to look into that the next time I’m at the WSU library.
Really? since when did hearing both sides requiring kids to think and discern become such a detrement to education?
I thought liberals were all for “free exchange of ideas” It just goes to show who the real closed-minded people are.
Seems the University of Kansas is jumping on the Christian bashing bandwagon.. the Eagle Editorial Board will be proud!
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176354,00.html
Ed,The Communist Party was never any real threat to our freedom. McCarthyism was, and is! It destroyed the lives of many good people, and silenced the free exchange of ideas that is vital to a free country. I was there for the first one. We don’t need to reprise that sorry chapter of our history!
Sam,You’ll note that it’s the Department of Religion at KU that’s calling the BOE into question. I know several of their faculy members and they’re very good people. You might do well to listen to them before you decide they’re wrong!
Jed…If they are calling Creation a myth.. (per the title of the course) then I’ll just have to disagree with them on this one.
“Really? since when did hearing both sides requiring kids to think and discern become such a detrement [sic; think dr means detriment] to education?”
The basic problem with your question is that it fails to recognize that there are not really two equal sides, nor any real debate about the Theory of evolution. Would it make sense to open up the following debates in Kansas science classrooms?Magic vs. Physics;Astrology vs. Astronomy;Phrenology vs. Neurology;Alchemy vs. Chemistry.
Just as it would be foolish to entertain debates about the validity of pseudo-science vs. science, it is equally foolish to suggest debates between religion and science on the origin and transformation of species.
I will give the creationists credit, they evolved an interesting way to insert their religious dogma into to the classroom this iteration — viz., Intelligent Design. But anybody with a lick of sense, and any knowledge about science is not buying it.
I got the ideas for the teaching both theories argument from a web page that contains some wonderful cartoons. Below is a link.
http://www.kansasmorons.com/cartoons.htm
dr,I do not mean to sound disrespectful, but I am trying to figure out if you are arguing your position from disingenuousness or ignorance?
Sam,Myth, in the sense they use it, doesn’t mean untrue. It means archetype.
I do not mean to sound disrespectful, but I am trying to figure out if you are arguing your position from disingenuousness or ignorance? -Steven E
LOL…Thats what I have been trying to figure out about liberals for years!
Steven E,That is the best argument about the whole mess I’ve read yet. Every member of the KBOE should be required to have it tattooed to their foreheads.
JM, isn’t there something in the Bible against getting tattoos?
Falcone,Tattoos are just an expression of intelligent design, arn’t they?
Falcone…No.. there isn’t…….
Falcone and kansassam,
When all else fails, check Leviticus.
“You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh on account of the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord.” (Lev. 19:28)