Is Money The Solution To Education?
It always amazes me how much people talk about the relationship of money and education. It seems nonsensical on multiple levels. But if we are going to talk about money, let us talk about using the right way.
The wrong way is pretty apparent. Newspapers have printed stories how the city of New York pays at least 700 teachers their full salary for doing nothing. That is right; around $70,000 year to sit around. These are teachers, by the way, that are undergoing disciplinary hearings…thus, it is more than likely a significant number of them broke the rules, and are now getting a fully paid vacation, on the tax payer. Think that is unique? Not even close. Detroit Schools have at least 250 teachers that are apparently ghosts…they don’t know whether or not they even work for the district, but are still on the payroll (reminds me of the stapler guy from the movie Office Space…).
Even so-called public school experiments appear to have failed, outside of No Child Left Behind, which was a mild success. Arne Duncan, as head of Chicago schools before his current stint as Secretary of Education, was lauded as providing great change. Guess not. The Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago, a supporter of Duncan and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley’s push for more control of city schools, issued a report June 30. The report showed only modest changes…and those changes are equivalent to improvements in education across the country since NCLB was passed, raising doubt whether it was President Bush or Arne Duncan who was responsible for the increase test scores and results.
A new experiment in New York will test one of the left’s common statements: that paying teachers more will give significantly better education results.
The school, called the Equity Project, is premised on the theory that excellent teachers — and not revolutionary technology, talented principals or small class size — are the critical ingredient for success. Experts hope it could offer a window into some of the most pressing and elusive questions in education: Is teacher pay the key to education lockstone? Teachers at this school will be paid upwards of $125,000 a year, more than double the average teacher salary in the surrounding areas. They also will be eligible for bonuses, based on schoolwideperformance, of up to $25,000 in the second year.
The school’s founder, Zeke M. Vanderhoek, 32, a Yale graduate who founded a test prep company, has been grappling with just these issues. Over the past 15 months he conducted a nationwide search looking for ‘the best of the best’, and has accumulated teachers from across the country.
The school will use only public money for everything but its building. It is close to signing a lease for private space on 181st Street, to be covered by a combination of public school financing, a charter school grant and what Mr. Vanderhoek described as a “small amount” of private donations (he ultimately hopes to raise enough private money to build a permanent space). To make ends meet, teachers will hold responsibilities usually shouldered by other staff members. Teachers will work longer hours and more days, and have 30 pupils, about 6 more than the typical New York City fifth-grade class. The principal, Mr. Vanderhoek, will earn just $90,000. Teachers will not have the same retirement benefits as members of the city’s teachers’ union. And they can be fired at will.
Money can be used well. A system in Maryland, reported by the Wall Street Journal, points out at risk children. Districts then place additional focus on these kids. Surely that money is well spent. But compared to the Equity Project, this kind of spending is much more reasonable for most school districts around the country. Some districts even go as far as paying students to get good grades. I say, go for it. If it gets the kids to read, I am willing to do just about anything.
We spend far more on education than we ever did before. I have not seen the correlation between money spent and the significant excellence of great minds. In fact, I have noticed most students (having returned to complete a degree) having an inability to write well that borders on illiteracy.
Without a doubt there is no question that we need good teachers that are responsive and assistive in the education of students. However, this too is a two way street. It requires a desire to learn on the part of people that is integral to their academic success.
Some teachers inspire while some make people hate the class room. Politics should not be part of the indoctrination process of captive young minds. I have witnessed far too much of it and have been penalized for speaking out against it.
I also recall older books while I grew up. These are the same English, Math and literature that had not and will not change. I have seen (particularly in college) a new trend towards changing the format of text books which necessitates the constant need of useless expenditures for ‘updates of books.’ Because of this, I don’t think the education system minds wasting other peoples’ money (OPM). In fact, that system seem to thrive on it. There is significant need to update text books in evolving fields of science or technology. I am certain these concepts can be applied to many other areas of wasteful spending in education.
I agree that it is important to try to get people to learn. However, what do you do with those that won’t either because they don’t want to or can’t? As an example I will use my nephew. He just does not like to read. I have even gone so far as to get books that I know he would enjoy. In spite of telling him about the stories, that the books were so far superior to the movies made on them and that he is free to imagine anything he wants as he reads he never picked up any of them.
Let me pose this question: Can any amount of money generate a reasonable rate of return if the people it is spent on refuse to learn (read, write) what is taught? For this matter there should not be such a push towards all children furthering their education. Some just do not belong there. Prices of education have skyrocketed and the quality of the material has become dubious in my recent experience. In essence it seems one pays more to get a higher letter grade.
The system is broken and a first great step would be to get the teachers unions out. Unions have been an impediment to the success of nearly everything that they have come in contact with. There are no easy solutions but the easy answer of spending more money has not given us the phenomenal returns it should have if money alone was the answer.