COMMENTARY: At a time when the public schools are by far the best they have ever been in our country, it appears our politicians, judges and media are using them for their own political gain. Not all, but most. Worse, politicians, judges and the media know little about education.
Courtesy photo
Michael Swickard
They think they know because they sat through classes and they have political power.
New Mexico State District Judge Sarah Singleton ruled recently in a lawsuit that the New Mexico public schools are not meeting the New Mexico Constitution’s standard of being sufficient. Not that anyone really know what the standard of sufficient entails.
In the 3,000 words of the New Mexico Constitution’s education section, the word “sufficient” is used only once without definition: “A uniform system of free public schools sufficient for the education of, and open to, all the children of school age in the state shall be established and maintained.”
Judge Singleton does not define “sufficient” but gives the New Mexico Legislature until next April to make the public education system “sufficient” or suffer consequences. Smart money says since this is politics, the only solution is more money — and lots of it.
If public schools this year had had more money, would different people have been hired? Or just more people hired? What has increased dramatically are the number of administrators.
I have an experiment that I have tried for many years to get tested. Here it is again:
Identify the five highest functioning Albuquerque elementary schools and the five most challenged elementary schools. For two years have buses each morning pick up every adult at their school and transport them to the opposite schools. Teachers, assistants, librarians, clinicians, cooks, janitors and secretaries. Every adult for two years.
At the end of the two-year test, what will be the results? The five best performing schools will still be the five best performing. The five most challenged schools will remain the five most challenged, despite all different adults.
So why are we being so focused on teacher accountability? Because it is a political solution to a non-political problem, and it gives politicians more power. Never use political solutions for non-political problems.
The focus on accountability is misguided. The quickest fix is to lift more New Mexicans out of poverty with good jobs, but that is not the function of public schools. It is more feasible with state government.
Can public schools be made better? Always. Will political solutions help? Never. Use educational solutions.
To start: policy leadership by educators, not administrators. Real replicated research and never fads. No factory-model solutions. Teachers must function as individuals and treat the students as individuals. Carefully address every distinct student population using the best research techniques, never fads. And, importantly, forget the consultants — even me.
Have I made a “sufficient” case? Shuckins, we still don’t know what “sufficient” means. I guess it means politicians can pour more money in and get more power out of public education. Is anyone surprised?
Michael Swickard is a former radio talk show host and has been a columnist for 30 years in a number of New Mexico newspapers. Swickard’s novel, Hideaway Hills, is now available at Amazon.com. Agree with his opinion? Disagree? NMPolitics.net welcomes your views. Learn about submitting your own commentary here.