What Does It Mean to Be “For” Education?

Gary West

January 16, 2004

Over the last several years, public education in South Carolina has taken a few hits.  Not only has there been budget cut after budget cut, there have been systematic efforts to ridicule professional educators and to exclude them from the process of reforming education.  During that time, professional politicians¹ – distinguished from citizen politicians – have consistently made “educational” decisions based solely on political and economic factors.  At a time when tougher and tougher standards have been imposed on students and schools, the professional politicians have not only provided no resources to meet those standards, they have time and again cut those resources.  They have consistently and collectively created a system in which schools cannot prove success in meeting the new and tougher standards. 

During that time, those same professional politicians have stated frequently and repeatedly that they are “for” education.  To be “for” education should, like all other areas of education, have a set of measurable standards that show, without a doubt, that one’s actions – not just one’s words – are “for” education.

The South Carolina Constitution requires the General Assembly to “provide for the maintenance and support of a system of free public schools open to all children in the state.”  That’s the standard.  It’s measurable.  Support “for” that standard is measurable, as well – just as a student’s achievement can be measured against instructional standards.

The Friends of Education Coalition, an informal alliance of organizations involved in education, recently developed a set of standards² for measuring what it means to be “for” education:

• “Give first priority among the state’s funding obligations to a free, public education system.
• “Determine the cost of free public education using real costs and fact-based funding models rather than arbitrary or imagined models.
• “Revise the present school funding system to promote funding equity among the districts.
• “Grant fiscal autonomy to local school boards.
• “Fully fund any mandated program or reform.
• “In both remarks and in official acts, strengthen and improve free public education.  Do not speak to undermine free public education or divert state funding to religious or private education.
• “Seek and use the input of practicing educators in the shaping of education policy and statutes.
• “Ensure that all South Carolina children have equitable access to education opportunity, regardless of geographic locations and boundaries, physical characteristics and abilities, or social and economic status.”

These standards cannot be met by answering “yes” or “no” or “true” or “false.” These standards can be met only by demonstrating high order thinking skills and problem solving strategies – and by explaining, vote-by-vote, how one’s actions in the Legislature were “for” education. 

Ask your Legislator to tell you about his or her votes over the last year on the critical education bills related to the above standards.  What do those votes demonstrate about meeting the given standards?

For more information about each Legislator’s voting record on education issues, see the Legislative Report Card, prepared by the South Carolina Education Association, at http://www.thescea.org/portal/sceaarticles-public/ArchiveView.asp?ID=61.  Compare those votes to the standards “for” education; then compare those votes to what your Legislator has told you about his or her support “for” education.

Look at the actions of your Legislators and decide if their words match their voting records.  If so, please phone or write to thank them.  If not, please point out where they are not meeting the standards required to serve our children and remind them that they may need to “remediate” before the next round of votes “for” public education. 

Our state may need more citizen politicians and fewer professional politicians if we are going to meet the education standards that matter to our children.

The author has lived in South Carolina for more than 30 years.  He is sometimes amused and often confused by the level of politics practiced in the State.  When asked why South Carolina’s education system ranks so low nationally, he always answers, “Because South Carolina’s level of politics is so low.”  His email address is garywwest@earthlink.net.  This article appears online at http://home.earthlink.net/~garywwest/.

¹For those who want to know the difference between a “professional” politician and a “citizen” politician, please consider the following definition:  “A professional politician is in his or her third or more term and, over a period of at least two years, has voted his or her party’s ticket at least 80% of the time.”  The fact is that each party in the Legislature has caring and concerned ideas, programs, and leaders.  At a minimum, one would expect each party’s legislators to offer, 50% of the time, caring and concerned legislation that promotes the interests of our state and citizens.  That would mean, each party could support the other’s ideas and programs at least 50% of the time.  If a Legislator supports only his or her party’s position 80% of the time, his or her decisions are political rather than personal – and, thus, that Legislator has crossed the line between being a “citizen” politician and being a “professional” politician.  Decisions are no longer based on what’s good for the state and its citizens – rather, decisions have become a matter of ideology and dogma.  A “citizen” politician is one who is willing to serve two good terms and considers each vote on its overall merit rather than considering only its political merit.  Please keep in mind that 2004 is an election year.  A lot of professional politicians will try to convince you that they are really citizen politicians who just decided to stay around longer.  Longevity is not the only factor in being a professional politician; remember to look at your Legislator’s voting record to see if he or she is thinking at least 50% of the time – or just pushing the party button at least 80% of the time.

²Standards developed by the Friends of Education Coalition, chaired by Robert Scarborough, Executive Director of the South Carolina Association of School Administrators. These standards were printed in the November 2003 “Insight” newsletter of the South Carolina Association of School Administrators.