Response to “Ms. Edelman’s “America’s Public Schools – Still Unequal and Unjust"

The cult of equality is in full swing, and our schools are suffering as a result.

Suspensions are up in California's public schools, not because of poor teaching, or because of limited funds, but because of poor parenting. Shackling teachers and administrators with less authority to hold students accountable only hurts the student.

When pundits began arguing that education was a right, they created a flood of problems for schools to tackle. Now that courts are getting involved, now that parents can file lawsuits when they perceive that their children are being discriminated against, there seems little hope left for teachers to deal with unruly students.

The reason why most minority youth contend with less-experienced teachers is that most teachers eventually quit the profession after their first or second year. They are not give adequate training in classroom management because their teaching credential instructors, like politicians and activists, have given in to the cult of equality, which forces educators to pity youth instead of hold them accountable, regardless of their race or ethnic background.

Part of education includes adequate discipline, responding effectively to studentsconsistently for poor conduct. School districts cannot be blamed because they are trying to create learning communities that are safe and sound for their students. Instead of casting a wide condemnation on the schools, it’s time to hold parents accountable.  Children do deserve a loving home, but not every school can provide an adequate environment to replace it; but to straitjacket schools for not reaching every kid is simply preposterous.

“American public education is serving as a portal to the cradle-to-prison pipeline for millions of poor children of color.” No, Ms. Edelman, it is the state, which has taken on the authority to shepherd millions from cradle-to-grave, which has created an underclass of low performance and low expectation. Schools cannot be the panacea for society’s ills, and we cannot expect parents who want the best for their kids to force them to go to a low-quality school. A voucher program, more accountability from district leadership, fewed mandated standardized tests, plus a reform of tenure and the weakness of the public sector unions: all of these reforms will limit the expanse of the state, promote more choice, and put the destiny of the students back in their own hands, where it belongs.