Politics & Practice

Shocked!?

Eliminate the Gambling

“Here are your winnings, sir.”

The famous scene from Casablanca (1942) popped into my head while watching the national news unfold over the weekend.

Captain Renault (Claude Rains) remarks to Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), "I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here," just before he’s handed his winning funds from the night.

The irony is priceless. Captain Renault, clearly aware of and benefitting from the gambling at Rick's Café Américain feigns surprise and outrage when he "discovers" it. It’s a satirical take on that period’s politics and morality, but its parallels to the politics of today are equally germane. Under the great minds think alike category, my friend Bob Bellafiore also commented earlier in the week, "Everybody's Captain Renault these days!

For me, and I hope for you, the goal should be to eliminate the gambling when it comes to education and ensuring that in America, our students’ collective future is not a political football for both or any sides vie to control. Education funds belong to the kids where they are being educated, full stop.  Educators and education models should vie for the privilege of instructing them, and states should oversee precisely what the minimum standards should be to guide their progress.  And that’s about it.

There is no K in Vocational…

…but the Boston Globe maybe thought it was a cute play on the word, sort of like, vocational kids can’t spell anyway? Not cute.

I am a huge fan of skills-based training and of helping students achieve their highest and most desired potential.  That vocational programs in some Massachusetts towns, according to the Globe, are run by elite admissions is unfortunate, but you could make the argument that students who are more likely to perform well in a vocational school setting should be able to demonstrate their acumen.

There’s a bigger issue, however, that I addressed in a piece I wrote a few years ago about college or career not being an either/or choice. But it has to do with what college was originally intended to do, which was to educate and train up a generation of citizens who could lead the nation in positions of authority in business, civic, politics, teaching, and yes, in the very early days, religious life.

In my latest Medium piece here, I explore how offering those same opportunities to our skilled labor fields can help us build a better nation, and frankly, better political representatives. Check it out!

Limited Government & Freedom

I’m excited to be at ALEC’s annual meeting in Denver this week, to interview one of my favorite people, former Governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, whose leadership sparked what I call phase III of the education reform movement, aka the dawn of education freedom. ALEC stands for limited government and freedom, and its members are the state lawmakers most likely to make that happen so it is only fitting they’d have Gov. Ducey, among others, to help paint the picture of how it gets done.

In 2022, coming right out of Covid, Ducey fought for and signed into law what was the nation’s most expansive education choice law. "These kids are trapped in failing public schools,"  he said. "It's time to set these families free."  We couldn’t agree more. What Arizona and the other innovative states are doing is spectacular. Read all about it at CER’s Parent Power! Index (above link) to help ensure education works for all students.

Christmas in July 

Hard to believe six months from now it will be just a couple of shopping days until Christmas!

But thanks to the Freedom Coalition for Charter Schools (which supports all student and parent choices) we all received this early gift - an incredible survey of Black and Latino voters that found that “91% of voters say parents deserve the right to choose the public school that best meets their child’s individual needs.” 

Check it out, and support the Freedom Coalition. They do great work! 

Parting thoughts

Four years ago schools were shut going into this year. 

Forty years ago, A Nation at Risk was issued, a wake up call for the public and especially parents.

One year, four months ago the National Assessment of Education Progress latest results from 2022 revealed the worst (again) education scores in history.

That’s a lot of downward arrows.

This month, The National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers held their annual meetings, spouting off about non-education issues, political favorites in the various races and their obligation to “win ALL THE THINGS” (must watch that link), despite the fact that education results are pathetic and anyone else claiming to lead the nation’s teachers would have been fired long ago by now (if you could fire a union, which you really can’t).

Meanwhile the NEA staff, ironically, who is leading the fight to “win ALL THE THINGS,” is striking for lack of pay and benefits.

So while many public and private Neros fiddle with side and vested interests, let’s just remember that the proverbial Rome - U.S. Education - is still burning.

More soon!

Jeanne