EDUCATING THE KIDDIES

EDUCATING THE KIDDIES

Public schools in our country have undergone what may be described as a checkered history. Gone are the days when the (socially acceptable) career choices of a single young American woman were limited to Secretary, Nurse or School Teacher. Good riddance.
Now, the starvation wages for which School Teachers worked long and stressful hours have receded into faint memory, but their outstanding competence and monumental courage and results are legendary.
School Boards are still looking for those who will work for a pittance. Teachers Unions have held their (school boards) feet to the fire but are also shielding those of their members who under perform.
For US Industry to meet the challenges ahead in the global marketplace, it is no longer sensible to rely on what our public schools are producing. American businesses must get into the K-12 education arena in a BIG way. The time is NOW.
Only through competition will public schools change their outdated and unproductive practices. This applies in particular to urban schools which are still dealing with the loss of funding triggered by the flight of middle class families to the suburbs to escape crime and drug infested neighborhoods.
It is, again, the Small Business community which has the drive and creativity to tackle this thorny issue. Government can help in two ways:

First: Provide tax incentives for Small Businesses who invest in and operate new schools.

Second: Get out of the way and keep the bureaucracies busy with other pursuits.


Richard Todd Snoqualmie WA 7/20/08 toddforcongress