School Choice Can Save Pa.’s Education System


As we all know, weather forecasters are wrong much of the time. But you can’t hold them responsible for that wholly unpredictable icy blast felt this week. After all, it was hell freezing over. That’s right. Seems Dante’s Inferno took a dip in the cold, not coincidentally, at the exact same time that former Philadelphia School District Superintendent Arlene Ackerman–a 43-year fixture in the public education establishment–called for comprehensive school choice as the primary means to improve education.

Calling access to a quality education “the civil rights battle of our generation,” Ackerman penned a column in the Inquirer in which she lamented that it took her entire career to realize that true reforms would never originate from inside the system. Her words describe the problem perfectly:

“Real reform will never come from within the system because too many powers that be (the teachers’ union, politicians, consultants, vendors, etc.) have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo that is failing our children.”

Ackerman then offered the solution that, while obvious to anyone with common sense, has been thus far impossible to achieve.

“Meaningful education reform must be forced upon the system from outside by giving parents of all income levels real choices about where their children go to school. That requires giving parents comprehensive school choice … ”

Ackerman also advocates the expansion of charter schools, which, while a good idea, is but a small part of the overall solution, since the waiting list for these successful institutions is 30,000 strong.

The major reason charters are light years ahead of regular public schools, as Ackerman correctly points out, is two-fold. They are not required to follow many of the burdensome and counterproductive regulations imposed upon public schools, and, more important, teachers are hired–and fired–based on merit.

Hmmm. Holding people accountable for their job performance. What a novel idea. If only we did that in other jobs. Oh wait. We do. In the private sector.

That’s right. Despite the comedy routine of certain folks who have nothing to “Occupy” their time other than railing against the evils of competition and free enterprise, the private sector is in fact what built America into the greatest, most benevolent power the world has ever known.

Without question, though, the United States is slipping backwards, being dragged into malaise and misery. And that decline, more than anything, can be traced to one thing: the demise of education.

For decades, all efforts to improve public education have been squashed by teachers’ union bosses, whose loyalty was to their fiefdoms and the almighty paycheck–both funded entirely by taxpayers who were duped into believing their children were receiving the best education possible.

Whenever questions were raised about the lack of accountability and stagnant or declining standardized test scores, the blame game began. “Parents don’t put in the time with their kids’ homework … It’s society’s fault …There are too many students in each class.” And, of course, the most common one of all: “We need more money.”

Undoubtedly, some parents don’t put in as much time as they should, and we live in an ever more complex society, but these simply cannot be used as excuses for inadequate teaching. In the private sector, when your job becomes tougher, you either meet the challenge, or hit the door. Adapt, improvise, overcome–or go home. Nowhere should that be more applicable than when teachers are entrusted with our children, indeed, our future.

And the “not enough money, too many kids” excuse is a myth. That’s not opinion, but cold, hard fact. Pennsylvania spends $26 billion per year (that’s billion, with a “b”) on education–more per student than 39 other states–an amount that has doubled since 1996. Despite a drop of 27,000 students over the last 10 years, the public school system has added 33,000 employees in that time. Therefore, by definition, increased funding, more personnel and decreased class size have not improved student achievement.

The results for all that money and smaller class size? Pennsylvania students are 42nd in SAT scores, and rank low in literacy, graduation rates and those going to college. Their performance on the National Assessment of Education Progress exam has not improved. And most startling, nearly half of all 11th graders are not proficient in math and reading (per PSSA standardized test scores). This cannot be attributed to just the poor-performing urban schools pulling down scores, but is testament to an across-the-board educational failure.

Bottom line: It’s not just that the status quo isn’t working. It has completely failed. Based on that dismal picture, Ackerman’s advocacy of school choice–the “change that must come from outside the school system”–couldn’t have been offered at a better time.

*****

There are two elements of Ackerman’s revelations that are worth noting.

1) The implementation of school choice, more than any other reform, is imperative if we are not to lose another generation. The way we did things in the past hasn’t worked, and what we continue to do isn’t having an impact. Unless we treat education the same way as we do every other successful institution in America–business, sports, entertainment, the military–then we might as well raise the white flag of defeat.

Most western nations have a form of school choice, and the results speak volumes. Compared to our 30 biggest global competitors, America’s students rank near the bottom of the pack in every category.

2) Isn’t it a shame that no one in the public education establishment has the courage to speak the truth while they are still on the inside? Don’t get me wrong. It is wonderfully refreshing to hear Ackerman’s sentiments, and to see that she has finally seen the light on what must be done to improve public education.

But it is a sad note that revelations like hers must come after her departure. Just imagine how different things could have been had the Philadelphia School Superintendent come out of the gate advocating school choice. While certainly not a slam dunk, it would have infinitely increased the chances for the adoption of choice, particularly since a majority of the legislature and Governor Tom Corbett also favor it.

A school choice victory is still possible, as we are told it is a top legislative priority. While it won’t be easy, especially given the teachers’ unions’ huge political war chests generated by forced union dues, maybe, just maybe, the conversion of Arlene Ackerman from the Dark Side of Public Education might be the spark needed to push across the finish line.

Only then will the dream of so many, including Ackerman, begin to come true: “all children having access to a quality public school education.”

A Quiet Push To Reform Pa.’s Prevailing Wage Law

Pennsylvania’s prevailing wage law passed in 1961 requires all local governments and state agencies to pay workers a rate  determined by the state’s Secretary of Labor for any “construction, reconstruction, demolition, alteration and/or repair work.”

This law has been shown to hike labor costs for school additions and such by as much as 44 percent.

Seven bills, some which would radically reform how prevailing wage is handled in Pennsylvania, were voted out of the Labor and Industry Committee of the State House chaired by Rep. Ron Miller (R- 93) on Oct. 3.

The most significant would be HB 1191 sponsored by Rep. Ron Marsico (R-105) which exempts local governments (school districts, municipalities and counties) from prevailing wage requirements — unless they really, really want them.

That raises the question as to what local government could possible want them. Go to Upper Darby, stand on the west bank of Cobbs Creek and look east. See that big, steaming pit of greed, corruption and incompetence? That one.

Also voted out of committee were:

HB 709 sponsored by Warren Kampf (R-157) which simply exempts school districts from the requirements.

HB 1271 sponsored by Rep. Marsico which would clarify, and expand, the maintenance exemptions for road work from prevailing wage requirements.

HB 1329 sponsored by Fred Keller (R-85) which would raise  to $185,000 the point at which which projects become subject to prevailing wage requirements. The mark is now  set at $25,000 as it has been since 1961. That amount in 1961 dollars roughly equals $185,000 today. Keller’s bill would require the limit to be adjusted annually for inflation or deflation.

HB 1367 sponsored by Rep. Miller which would require the Secretary of Labor to use data from the Labor Department’s Center for Workforce and Analysis in determining the prevailing wage.

HB 1541 sponsored by Scott Perry (R-92) which would require a project to be at least 51-percent publicly funded to be subject to prevailing wage restrictions.

HB 1685  sponsored by John Bear (R-97) which would standardize and require the public listings of worker classifications.

All the bills would help the taxpayer. With HB 1191, however, the taxpayer might actually notice it.

Justice And Vince Fumo

Federal prosecutors are still doing what they can to make disgraced Dem bigwig Vince Fumo die in prison.

Fumo, who represented Pennsylvania’s infamous 1st District in the State Senate for three decades, was convicted in 2009 of 137 federal corruption charges and sentence to 4 years, 7 months in prison.

The fed prosecutors think that was too light and are demanding that the 68-year-old hack be re-sentenced to 15 years.

Frankly, this demand to inflict pointless pain strikes one as more of a desire to seek headlines than justice.

Fumo is out of power, impoverished and disgraced. Meanwhile federally oriented thieves, rapists and tax cheats like Charles Rangle, Bill Clinton and Tim Geithner are rich, free and lionized in circles of power.

Fumo deserves what he is getting but no more. For Pete’s sake, it’s not like he ever smuggled guns to Mexican drug lords or anything.

What Fumo did is  not even as bad as taking fed stimulus money to close important technological plants and move them to China.

Let’s keep some perspective on justice and real corruption, here.

Will It Be A New World In 10 Days?

The claims of an Italian inventor that he has developed a  power generation system that will cut the cost of a cross-country trip to pennies is starting to creep into the old media.

Andrea Rossi is scheduled to use his E-Cat on Oct. 28 to run a 1 MW plant in Bologna putting to rest all questions about it.

E-Cat stands for “energy catalyzer”. It allegedly uses a secret technique to transform nickle into copper creating beaucoup heat which means usable energy.

Come 10 days, will we soon see the demise of OPEC, wind farms and strip mining, and find ourselves all playing in the sun.

Or we will find that Rossi’s claim of free energy is not much different than the one made by Philadelphian Charles Redheffer whose revolutionary device was found to be powered by an old guy munching on bread while turning a crank?

Expect to see some energy hype among next week’s Halloween stories.

They Are here!

                                                                              The Roar

If any questions remained, they were all finally answered by recent events.  There is not one remaining iota of doubt that America, along with its institutions of freedom,individual liberty and opportunity are squarely in the cross hairs of our Cold war nemesis, communism.

Consider its recent strides.  Since their scare from McCarthy, they regrouped mainly in academia, but also with a fair sprinkling in other influential fields.  However, their invasion into the educational field, with particular emphasis at the higher level, provided both insulation against a replay of inquiries while at the same time enjoying an air of respect from their lofty positions of tutelage.  And the plums to be planted and harvested were the young and impressionable minds which fed off their instruction.

This cadre of subversives had their first taste of success through the Vietnam protests during the sixties.  What appeared as a simultaneous uproar no doubt required a coordinated effort.  Each college campus reacted in almost a knee jerk reaction once the affair commenced.  This large scale effort was the product of a national network, and with many of its cohorts at the classroom controls, the only organized anti-American element capable was the CPUSA, the Communist Party USA.

Now, zoom forward forty plus years to this fervent anti-American,  anti-capitalist venom.  The demographics from this orgy of unrestrained youthful idealism  leaves little to the imagination as to where this unrest originated since overwhelming numbers appear to be of collegiate age.

As if this disorder and mayhem is not enough, what is more alarming are the elected leaders in our government who are themselves sensing that  the time is right to aid and identify with this rabble.  Sadly, this has been evident at every level of authority, including our President.

Politicians being what they are, extreme opportunists, democrats and Obama may view a chance to raise sagging poll numbers through alignment with this youthful rebellion.  While this may be the most acceptable of reasons, it remains reckless and irresponsible since the emotions they are stoking may erupt from the slightest provocation.

Americans of every stripe must decide whether our country should resemble a tattered South American banana republic as political tactics hasten after the rise or fall of poll numbers?  And, if this Obama ploy is successful, will this anarchy become embedded within our political process every four years?

Or is there more to this than political gamesmanship?  If we remember back to those protests from the sixties, what ever became of all those college hooligans?  Many matriculated into current positions of authority and prestige within our government.  Bill and Hillary attest to how youthful idealism fades with age.  Or does it?

Through these intervening years, the American voter unknowingly may very well have sponsored the same anti-American radicals who rampaged our society during the Vietnam era.  The question is, did their indoctrination fade or has their own venom been waiting for just such an occasion.  Certainly, with a number of leading politicians voicing their own anti-American utterances, the seriousness of this consideration cannot be ignored.

Consider the reaction of a former Speaker of the House when learning of a Portland, Oregon demonstration  singing a song’s lyrics of, F “the United States.”  Rep. Pelosi’s comment was, “Well, God bless them.”  And she is just one example.  They are here and they are not just in the streets but also in our government legislating.

Jim Bowman
Author of,
This Roar of Ours

A.A.A.D.D. Off The Internet

A.A.A.D.D. Off The Internet  Courtesy of Cathy Craddock

KNOW THE SYMPTOMS…..PLEASE READ!

Thank goodness there’s a name for this disorder.
Somehow I feel better, even though I have it! !

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. –
Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.
As I turn on the hose in the driveway,
I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage,
I notice mail on the porch table that
I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table,
Put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table,
And notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back
On the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think,
Since I’m going to be near the mailbox
When I take out the garbage anyway,
I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table,
And see that there is only one check left.

My extra checks are in my desk in the study,
So I go inside the house to my desk where
I find the can of Pepsi I’d been drinking

I’m going to look for my checks,
But first I need to push the Pepsi aside
So that I don’t accidentally knock it over.

The Pepsi is getting warm,
And I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi,
A vase of flowers on the counter
Catches my eye–they need water.

I put the Pepsi on the counter and
Discover my reading glasses that
I’ve been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk,
But first I’m going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter,
Fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV,
I’ll be looking for the remote,
But I won’t remember that it’s on the kitchen table,
So I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs,
But first I’ll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers,
But quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table,
Get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to
Remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:
The car isn’t washed
The bills aren’t paid
There is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter
The flowers don’t have enough water,
There is still only 1 check in my check book,
I can’t find the remote,
I can’t find my glasses,
And I don’t remember what I did with the car keys.
Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today,
I’m really baffled because I know I was busy all damn day,
And I’m really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem,
And I’ll try to get some help for it,
But first I’ll check my e-mail…

Romney Must Address His Mormonism Now

Romney Must Address His Mormonism Now

He is Republican, pro-defense and hawkish on the War. He is also an unabashed Christian, although his particular sect is viewed with suspicion and prejudice. Oh, and he’s running for president. Based on the recent firestorm that erupted when a pastor called a presidential candidate’s religion a “cult,” it seems clear that we’re talking about Mitt Romney and his Mormon faith. But we’re not. The above description referred to none other than Dwight D. Eisenhower–a Jehovah’s Witness for most of his life.

Eight years later, it was John F. Kennedy defending his Catholicism.

Now, it’s Romney’s turn. But he is taking a “leap of faith” by deliberately avoiding discussion about how his Mormonism influences his values, and how he views the relationship between religion and government.

During the last presidential campaign, Romney made a strategic mistake on the religion issue. It wasn’t that he didn’t address his Mormonism, because he did. The problem was his timing. And he seems about to make the same mistake.

*****

In the run up to the 2008 primaries, there was an intense battle inside Romney’s camp over whether Mitt should address the Mormon issue head-on. That the debate even took place demonstrated political naivete on Romney’s part, as well as a lack of historical knowledge.

Romney and some of his advisers actually thought they could avoid discussing his Mormonism. Since he was the frontrunner, how could they have believed that the “Mormon issue” would disappear?

Romney finally made his Mormon speech, but it was too late. Had it been delivered three months earlier, he would have been ahead of the curve, proactively talking about Mormonism on his terms. But that didn’t happen.

Instead, it looked like an act of desperation.

Romney, who had been leading in the early states (in both money and polls) suddenly found himself trailing the surging Mike Huckabee in Iowa, who was also breathing down his neck in New Hampshire and South Carolina. It was only after losing momentum that Mitt decided to address the questions that had long been swirling about his faith. The result was that he looked desperate and disorganized.

Apparently, Romney’s staff thought they could put the issue to rest by emulating Kennedy’s famous Texas speech to Protestant ministers, where he adamantly stated that he would not be taking orders from the Pope. That was a miscalculation on several counts. First, common perception is that Kennedy ended concerns about his Catholicism after that speech. Wrong. JFK felt obliged to address the issue on several other occasions.

More importantly, Catholicism was the largest single religion in the nation, and Catholics made up a substantial and powerful voting bloc in many key states. Conversely, Mormons make up just a fraction of the electorate, and a significant number of voters, especially evangelical Christians, view Mormonism as a non-Christian “cult.”

Romney’s unexpected slip in the polls four years ago was his first major crisis, and how he reacted–some say over-reacted–led to questions about the candidate. Were people put off by a potential commander-in-chief who seemed to panic at the first sign of trouble? Could America afford a president who was seen as indecisive? And just how much of Mitt Romney’s “strong faith” was believable, since his former positions on abortion and gay rights stood in contradiction to the tenets of his religion?

As we know, Romney failed to win the nomination that many experts said was his to lose. Now he’s back in the same frontrunner position, yet is again choosing to remain silent on the Mormon issue.

He sidestepped Rev. Robert Jeffress’s cult remark made at the Values Voter Summit, and failed to directly address another evangelical leader who questioned whether Mormonism was even a Christian faith. A Romney spokesman said he would not address the Mormon issue because he did so four years ago.

Given that the memory span of the average voter is about three months, that’s ridiculous. Failure to act quickly on this matter will undoubtedly cause history to repeat itself.

Like all religions, Mormonism has some tenets that seem quirky to non-adherents. As the primaries draw near, expect those aspects to become front and center on the national stage, both directly and indirectly. With all of Romney’s crisis-management experience in business, he ought to know that it’s always better to take the bull by the horns to define a difficult issue–and being the first to do so. If you allow the issue–or your opponents–to define you, you’re always playing catch-up.

By refusing to address an issue that clearly isn’t going away, Romney is playing with fire. No one remembers his speech from four years ago, but even if they did, he should innately understand that addressing an issue–any issue–just once is meaningless. In the same way that he hammers home his economic plan time and again, so too should he proudly discuss both Mormonism and his personal thoughts on how it affects his life. Not doing so only raises more questions and, by default, gives credence to unsubstantiated hearsay about “strange” Mormon beliefs.

Interestingly, but not unpredictably, several of Romney’s GOP competitors had the opportunity to state that Mormonism was a Christian religion. They took a pass. Why? Because they believe they’ll lose part of their evangelical base, some of whom view Mormonism with animosity.

That’s proof-positive that this issue isn’t going away. All the more reason for Romney to address it, and turn the tables on his competition.

Romney would be wise to study how Kennedy handled the religion issue. By consistently hammering away, JFK made it seem that voting against a Catholic was bigotry, plain and simple. Kennedy smashed a religious barrier that many said would never be broken, not by remaining silent and taking the high road, but with a take-no-prisoners approach in his quest to become America’s leader.

As both Eisenhower and Kennedy proved, it’s the man, not the religion, who will carry the day. But that distinction doesn’t come from rolling over. It is earned. Time will soon tell whether Romney understands that lesson.

 

Romney Must Address His Mormonism Now

Pennsylvania Public Schools Doomed, Doomed, Doomed Say Dems

Pennsylvania Public Schools Doomed, Doomed, Doomed Say Dems — A sparse crowd of about 200 heard a panel of Democrat state legislators from Delaware County, Oct. 13, at the Upper Darby Center For Performing Arts describe how public schools in Pennsylvania are doomed unless they get back in charge.

The event was sponsored by PA PASS, a public education advocacy group.

The initials stand for Parent Advocates for Public Education To Achieve Student Success.

On the panel were Sen. Daylin Leach (D-17), Rep. Greg Vitali (D-166), Rep. Margo L. Davidson (D-164), Rep. Maria P. Donatucci (D-185), and Rep. Ronald G. Waters (D-191) along with Michael Stoll, who is communications coordinator for State Rep. Bill Adolph (R-165) and Jeffrey S. Miller who is the Republican budget analyst for the Appropriations Committee for the State House, which Adolph chairs.

Leach started things off by saying that there was a “severe and existential threat to public education”.

He cited state budget cuts, proposed voucher and charter school bills, and Act 25‘s  removal of exemptions  in which school boards can hike budgets without a referendum.

He said the referendums always lose since only 10 or 15 percent of voters have children in public schools.

Ms. Davidson, who had to leave early, said she agreed with Leach’s points.

“Ed Rendell would never have proposed such a thing,” she said.

Vitali echoed the despair.

“I truly believe it is a dire situation,” he said. He said the budget cuts were driven by “ideology not necessity.

“(Gov. Tom) Corbett put the interest of oil drillers over children,” he said referring to the reluctance of the governor to levy additional taxes on drilling in Marcellus Shale.

He also pined for the days of Gov. Rendell.

“Rendell was an aggressive fighter for public education,” he said.

He compared public schools to public libraries and said the 9.1 unemployment rate comes from layoffs in the public sector. Whatever it was he was smoking it would probably have been polite if he offered to share it.

Ms. Donatucci clearly feared for the children.

“It’s raining on our school children,” she said.  “. . .Our children aren’t going to get any money and they need to. . . An educational train wreck is going to happen and our children our tied to the tracks.”

Besides blaming Republicans she also blamed newspaper editors.

Waters was more philosophical.

“Elections have consequences,” he said. He noted Corbett said he was going to do the things he’s doing.

He claimed the state had a budget surplus and that money could have been used to keep education spending at the rates it had been the previous year.

Stoll pointed out, however, that there is no surplus and what Waters thought was a surplus is actually budgeted. He noted that 40 percent of state spending is for education. He explained that the reasons for the budget cuts were because federal stimulus money ran out.

After the comments by the panelists, parent representatives for the Radnor, Wallingford-Swarthmore, Interboro, Ridley, Southeast Delco, Haverford, Chichester, Springfield, Penn Delco, William Penn and Upper Darby school districts made presentations describing how excellent their districts were and how much harm the new changes in state policy are causing them.

A PA PASS moderator said that 173 teaching professionals, 148 para professionals, 11 security guards, 11 office support workers, nine maintenance workers, eight administrators and five social workers lost jobs in school districts in Delaware County due to budget cuts.

After parent presentations, PA PASS read to the panel questions submitted by the audience. The questions chosen by the moderator were generally along the lines of how can the vile Republicans  be stopped.

The unseen presence of the Tea Party was felt in the room most strongly it seems by Leach who made a Freudian slip of referring to legislative behavior as not being a “tea party” instead of a “garden party”.

He corrected himself.

Haverford School Director Larry Feinberg, who was one of the event’s organizers, ended things with some strange comments about the proposals for charter schools and vouchers being part of some conspiracy by “Main Line” millionaires looking to make money at the expense of innocent children.

Stoll several times during the night had to emphasize that 40 percent of the state money goes to public education and that there are no plans to end public schools.

The organizers of the event, the parents, and even the legislators all struck one as being sincere and even caring.

Leach and Ms. Donatucci both spoke out passionately against using the cruel residential property tax to fund schools as we now do.

The problem, however, was none of the Democrats or their supporters were able to face the big, fat grinning gorilla in the room, namely the 3 and 4 percent annual raises — which remember are on top of  automatic step raises — that the teachers always seem to get during contract negotiations because they have the right to strike and/or perform unsatisfactory work during their “work to rule” job actions.

The always growing salaries, of course, get the icing of very sweet pension and health plans.

And this is the reason why services are being cut, not because some greedy Republican hates children, as some implied.

Milk does not flow forever.

Pennsylvania Public Schools Doomed, Doomed, Doomed Say Dems

 

Pennsylvania Public Schools Doomed, Doomed, Doomed Say Dems

A Miracle In Springfield And A New Saint

A Springfield man’s recovery from certain brain damage is being credited to intervention by an Italian priest who died in 1915.

William Glisson Jr., was rollerblading backwards down Baltimore Pike In Springfield, Delaware County, Pa in March 2002 when he hit a hole in the road, banged his head and went into a coma.

Glisson was 21 at the time.

Glisson underwent a serious of operations but little hope was offered.

A family friend organized prayers asking Don Luigi Guanella to make intercession with God for mercy. Joining in were
members of the Servants of Charity as well as residents and students of
the Don Guanella Village for those with developmental disabilities.

The village is in adjacent Marple Township although it has a Springfield address.

Don is Italian for father.

Don Guanella, who was born in 1842, founded several religious institutions dedicated to serving the needy.

He was beatified in 1964.

Glisson recovered soon after the prayers started and was back to work within three months.  He is now 30 and married.

The Catholic Church has accepted the miracle and will canonize Don Guanella on Oct. 23.

Hat tip Phil M.

Inevitability Happens To Harrisburg City

Inevitability can only be delayed. Harrisburg City, the capital of our fair commonwealth, is bankrupt.

City Council, Oct. 11, voted 4-3 to file for Chapter 9 protection.

The city has long been run by Democrats.

Oh, if only Ed Rendell could have had a third term.