The End of Education

 

Part 1:

Get Registered Now – Vote Later

Gary West

September 23, 2006

 

 

INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES

Ladies and gentlemen, we are beginning an important six-week period in the future history of our State.  On November 7, 2006, we will go to the polls to choose folks we believe can serve us through government.  There are some very important things that can happen as a result of this year’s elections.

 

One of those things is – the end of public education.

 

Over the next six weeks, I will share with you a lot of information about the end of education in South Carolina.  I’ll do my best to convince you that there is one major difference between the two candidates for State Superintendent of Education – and that that difference will end education for most of our children. 

 

That one major difference will lead directly to “private public schools” that will admit only students from well-to-do families – and the rest of our public schools will become “public training schools” that will train the rest of our children to serve those well-to-do families, the tourist industry, and the retirement industry.

 

Now, before you write me off as some paranoid conspiracy theory guy, let me have a chance to share my observations of the last few years of politics in South Carolina – politics that has been demanding that our schools “train” students rather than “educate” them.

 

As part of the discussion, I will also do my best to convince you that the only way to save education – and, at the same time, save our democracy – is for you to vote.  Then, on Election Day, you can decide which candidate best represents your view of what education should be doing for our children. 

 

But before Election Day, there is one other thing that you absolutely must do – so please pay attention.  You will have a homework assignment and there will be a test.

 

So, let’s talk about this election thing…

 

INTRODUCTION TO PART 1

Well, Labor Day has passed.  And we’ve completed our observance of the fifth anniversary (if “anniversary” is the right word) of the September 11 attacks on America. 

 

The September 11 observances were somber and caring – because all of us recognize the significance of the sacrifices made by so many unsuspecting victims.  We also recognize the significance of the sacrifices still being made by the men and women who are serving in combat areas around the world as a direct result of September 11, 2001. [1]

 

Labor Day [2] celebrations, in South Carolina, are non-existent – because the labor movement has never been a factor in business or politics in our state. [3]  Some of us got the day off.  Most of us worked – stores were selling, restaurants were serving, trucks were moving, people were working.  That’s Labor Day in South Carolina.  But there’ll be more about that in a later article.

 

There are at least two more very important dates in your life – during the next six and a half weeks.  One of those dates is November 7.  That, of course, is Election Day – supposedly the most important day in any democracy. [4]

 

But there is one more important date – a date that is more important than Election Day in our democracy. 

 

This year, that date is October 7 – exactly one month before Election Day. 

 

October 7, 2006, is the last day you can register to vote.

 

And, if you don’t register, then November 7 is just another day – except that you will have lost your right to help select leaders who will conscientiously serve all of us.  And, just as importantly, you lose your right to complain about whatever happens to you and the rest of us as a result of your not getting registered to vote. 

 

If you don’t register to vote, you will have let somebody else select the direction in which you – and the rest of us – will go.  And, in these days, those somebody else’s are talking about some extreme stuff that they want you to have to do – simply because they believe what they believe is what you should believe, and they want to be sure you believe it their way.

 

And – if you are an educator in K-12 or higher education – that especially means YOU. 

 

But it also means the rest of you who don’t register and who don’t vote.

 

EDUCATORS – AND OTHERS – WHO DON’T VOTE

Let’s talk about educators who don’t register or who don’t vote.  And that means most of you who list “educator” as your profession on your tax and census forms. 

 

Politicians don’t pay attention to educators because educators don’t vote.  Research shows that only half of registered voters actually vote – and that percentage is lower for educators – during major general elections. [5]  For off-year elections – like this year – like percentages are worse.

 

If you are an educator – K-12 or higher ed – or if you are a friend or relative of an educator, consider what has been going on with education, from a political standpoint in (but not limited to) South Carolina:

 

·         During the 1990’s, organized efforts began in South Carolina to make education – and educators – look bad.

·         Even the State Superintendent of Education at that time released lists like the “200 Worst Schools in South Carolina.”

·         The teaching profession was bad-mouthed in the press by political leaders and other groups.

·         Education was systematically made the bad guy in a system that had been politically mismanaged in the Legislature for decades -- for many decades.

·         The Education Accountability Act was passed by the South Carolina Legislature.

·         When the new millennium began, budgets were cut, educators were RIF’ed, and leaders continued to demean public education – all the while, adding requirements and restrictions on school leaders and teachers.

·         At the national level, the No Child Left Behind Act was passed, setting unrealistic standards [6] that will continue to make education look bad through the 2014 school year.

·         Back in South Carolina, the Governor let it be known that he was not interested in the success of public schools and that he supported giving tax dollars to private schools.

·         Out-of-state political groups with specific agendas began pumping money into the Governor’s efforts to move tax dollars to private schools.

·         Despite the defeat of the Governor’s first voucher and tuition tax credit plans, well-funded special interest groups continue to push for vouchers and tax credits for private schools.  Those groups use euphemisms like “school choice,” “put parents in charge,” “competition is good,” and others to try to sell their position to the public.

·         Legislators continue to introduce bills to mandate non-educational tasks for schools – legislation that defines what “science” is, legislation that defines what “history” is, legislation that defines what “language” is, and more – all of it designed to waste time and energy, to divert the public’s attention from the real issues of education. 

·         And, while the public is being distracted, education in South Carolina is coming to an end for the majority of our citizens.  The education curriculum is being replaced with a training school curriculum.

 

And these are but a few of the issues that are leading up to the end of education.  Over the next six weeks, I’ll convince you that there is something you can do to halt the movement to end public education.

 

But you must do something before October 7 – not by November 7 – but by October 7.  That’s just two weeks away.

 

You must do something within the next two weeks in order to make a difference on Election Day.  And this is your homework assignment – and it must be completed immediately.

 

If you are an educator, a friend or relative of an educator, or the parent or grandparent of a child for whom you want a real education – and if you are not registered to vote – you must register before October 7, 2006.

 

Then, after you are registered, you must vote.  There are a lot of us out here who are counting on you to help us make South Carolina better than it has been for the last few years – to save South Carolina’s schools and our democracy.

 

So – let’s get started on this homework – let’s get you registered to vote.  And you don’t even have to leave home…

 

HOW TO REGISTER TO VOTE

If you received this article from me as an email attachment, you will also find another attachment – the South Carolina Voter Registration Form.  The form is in PDF format [7], which means you need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open it.  If you cannot open the Voter Registration Form, click here (<CTRL> + click if you are reading this in Word) to download Acrobat Reader.

 

When you open the attached Voter Registration Form, print it, fill it out, and sign it.  Draw the picture that shows where you live – and be sure to name the streets or roads.

 

The Voter Registration Form also requires specific ID information.  It says, “If you are registering for the first time in this county, you must attach a copy of a current valid photo ID OR a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or other government document that shows your name and address in this county.”

 

So – make a copy of one of those things, staple it to the completed Voter Registration Form and mail it to the “Voter Registration Office” in your county – see the list [8] of addresses below:

 

 

Please do it now!  So you won’t forget – and so the rest of us can depend on you to be ready to vote on Election Day.

 

Mail it today.  It will be the best investment of $0.39 you will ever make.  AND – you will be joining the rest of us by getting ready to elect leaders who can govern for all of us – not just for the special interest groups who hope you stay home on Election Day (and who hope you don’t even send in your Voter Registration Form).

 

WHAT’S COMING NEXT

Over the next six weeks, I will be sending additional articles about the end of education in South Carolina – and what we – you and the rest of us – can do to stop the end from coming.  We’ll talk about the Governor’s race.  We’ll talk about the races for seats on the State Budget and Control Board.  And we’ll talk specifically about the race for State Superintendent of Education – and the differences between Jim Rex [9] and Karen Floyd [10] – and why that election can be the end of education in South Carolina.  Look for the next article by the end of the coming week.

 

As you read the coming articles, you may or may not agree with me.  That’s alright.  You should decide for yourself.

 

And, if you mail your Voter Registration Form today, you will be able to vote based on your own decision.

 

But remember one very important thing:  Bad politicians are elected by people who don’t vote – and bad policy soon follows.

 

So, do the registration thing today.  Don’t wait.  Print the form, fill it out, sign it, and mail it.  Right now, before you forget – because forgetting costs you your right to vote. 

 

If you don’t register by October 7, you don’t vote in November.  And, if you don’t vote in November, you will have let the rest of us down.  Please get registered today.

 

And, then, forward a copy of this article and the Voter Registration Form to anyone else you know who might not be registered or who might not vote.  You can help them do the responsible thing.

 

 

Endnotes

[1]    I’ll have nothing else to say about the September 11 attacks or its anniversary, except to ask that you support, in your own personal way, the men and women who are serving the rest of us by serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other battle stations around the world.  Each of them is a hero.

 

[2]    U.S. Department of Labor, “The History of Labor Day”; http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm.

 

[3]    South Carolina is a “Right to Work” state.  For more information on Right to Work states, see http://www.nrtw.org/rtws.htm.  For more information on South Carolina’s Right to Work Law, see http://www.nrtw.org/c/scrtwlaw.htm.

 

[4]    In conversations with readers of previous articles I’ve written, I’ve been taken to task for using the word “democracy” to represent our government.  Folks like to point out that our government is a “republic” – not a “democracy.”  And, of course, I know that’s true.  In a true democracy, everybody votes on everything – and the majority rules.  In a republic, everybody votes for somebody to represent them – and then their representatives vote on everything – and the majority of the representatives rules.  If you want to see how many different ways people can look at the differences between the two, just do a Google search on “democracy republic” – and be careful which site you choose, because each seems to define the terms – and their relationships – to serve its particular agenda.

 

[5]    The National Council on Economic Education; “The Mystery of Voters Who Don’t Vote”; http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.cfm?lesson=EM181.

 

[6]    I know that the purpose of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is to spur growth in student achievement – which is a commendable goal, in and of itself.  But, when I use the words “unrealistic standards,” I’m not just moaning and groaning about something new or something that changes the way things have always been done.  I really mean “unrealistic.”  Specifically, NCLB requires that 100% of all students score above average on tests in English and Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies.  That’s right – 100% of all students must be above average.  Now, I’m a math major – and I know what “above average” means.  It means there is a middle somewhere that represents half-way between the top and the bottom.  Always, half of the stuff will be below the average for all the stuff – and half of the stuff will be above the average for all the stuff.  It is not possible – absolutely not possible – for all the stuff to be above the average for the stuff.  That would mean that the average would be below the lowest piece of stuff – and that’s just not right.  I don’t care whose math book you’re using, you cannot find an example of 100% of anything being above the average for that thing.  So – when I use the word “unrealistic” to describe some of NCLB’s standards, I might as well say “impossible.”  But, I’ll contend to you that the purpose of those unrealistic standards is to make education look bad – on the way to doing away with it altogether.

 

[7]    PDF is an abbreviation of “portable document format,” a file format developed and owned by Adobe Systems.  Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDF.  You can also find the online voter registration form at   http://www.state.sc.us/scsec/votereg.htm; click that link, then click your county name; you will see the address and other information about your local voter registration board; see the link “click here to fill out an application”; right now, you’ll see another link called “NEW Voter Registration Form”; click it; then click the “open” button; when the form opens, print it, fill it out, and sign it; attach one of the accepted forms of ID; then mail it to your local voter registration board.  Please do it now.

 

[8]    Addresses taken from the website of the South Carolina Election Commission; http://www.state.sc.us/cgi-bin/scsec/cntyboard?county=all. 

 

[9]    Campaign website for Jim Rex; http://www.jimrex.com/.

 

[10] Campaign website for Karen Floyd; http://www.karenfloyd2006.com/.

 

 

About the Author

Gary West has lived in South Carolina for more than 30 years.  He has been an educator for all of those years.  He is a firm believer in accountability, in change, and in one-size-does-not-fit-all.  He believes that accountability should measure what it says it measures and that everybody doing the same job should be measured the same way (for example, public and private schools).  He believes in change that has purpose and that can result in measurable growth – but not in change-for-change-sake that results in not measuring the results (for example, giving tax dollars to private schools and then not holding them accountable in the same way public schools are held accountable).  He believes that everyone should be able to look for his or her own size – and not be locked into a two-sizes-fit-all education system (for example, private schools for the well-to-do and training schools for the rest).  Mr. West believes there should be more than two sizes – more than just the “haves” and the “have-nots.”

 

You can reach Mr. West at garywwest@earthlink.net. 

 

This article and others can be found online at http://home.earthlink.net/~garywwest/.  Permission is granted to share this article in electronic or printed format as long as you don’t change it or charge for it.  Read responsibly.