Left-of-center columnist Lynne Varner makes a compelling case for the political will to close excess schools in Seattle. One particularly relevant point:
In the days since [Superintendent] Goodloe-Johnson unveiled her closures plan, reasonable questions have been raised about some parts of it. The schools chief and her aides ought to be prepared to vigorously defend their choices or embrace better alternatives. An anticipated new school-assignment plan will color the debate and we should all prepare for last-minute changes. But in the end, buildings ought to be closed.I have long felt it was fiscally irresponsible of the district to hold onto unneeded, valuable land when it can barely afford the maintenance on them. Moreover, a collection of buildings means nothing if the teachers inside them must beg for extra planning periods and students are met with a raised academic bar but not the extra resources to get over it. [emphasis added]
That last sentence rings particularly true. Whatever debate one could have about the size of resources schools deserve, current available funds are most definitely limited. Getting what is available to the classroom, rather than keeping open extra buildings to keep some vocal adults happy, seems pretty darn prudent.
Posted by Eric Earling at December 03, 2008 09:37 PM | Email ThisWhat horse puckey. The 'raised academic bar' doesn't require any extra resources whatever - it wouldn't add a single hour to those spent in classrooms by students or teachers. Schools performed far better in the 1950s and 1960s than they do now, at imparting useful knowlege of the 3R sort to students - and they had a hell of a lot less resources to do it on.
The intellectual pollution injected into the schools under the flag of political correctness eat up academic hours and excuse the endless dithering over rights, self-esteem, 'discovery teaching' and unaccountability of both teachers and students. Bribing said teachers with extra resources, instead of a housecleaning of PC diversions, would just add insult to injury.
Perhaps legislation forcing any parent who holds a school teaching or administrative position to subject their own offspring to a public school 'education' would produce a quicker cure for this madness than anything else.
Posted by: Insufficiently Sensitive on December 4, 2008 08:17 AMme private school; all running on a dime; 30+ kids each class; school built 1919 and worn; no grafitti; no crap; just 3 R's; and ACCOUNTABILITY all around; teachers respected & feared; today--f'in excuses all around; soft kids; soft parents; bureaucrats; levies up the arse; everyone wonders why between watching their cable programs;
back to basics; not sexy, not a good edu. master's thesis, but still works like a low-tech safety pin;
Posted by: jimmie-howya-doin on December 9, 2008 09:31 PM