Local school boards are troublesome to education reform efforts according to Chester Finn, who has great responsibilities to the non-public entity driving common core standards. Finn states the following:
These traditional structures are lethargic, bureaucratic, and set in their ways; while people within them may have experience managing schools and complying with rules, they seldom have the capacity to innovate, to make judgments about matters beyond their customary duties, or to stage successful interventions in failing districts and schools. Moreover, many of these people fiercely oppose the policies they are asked to implement.
Finn gives no support for his claim; however, local school boards are in fact accountable to the parents, community members, and taxpayers in the area they serve. Is he suggesting that democracy is troublesome? Maybe it is a good thing that "many of these people fiercely oppose the policies they are asked to implement."
In this compliance-driven-distantly-mandated landscape, parents have little to say about the educational environment of their students. "Fierce opposition" by parents, community members, and taxpayers is growing and more visible.
South Carolina parents protest punitive high stakes assessment on the State House steps on Saturday, October 8 at 10 AM. They do so because at all levels of educational officials, medical professional advice was ignored so the testing would proceed without regard to parental rights and the duty to protect the health and well-being of children. Grumpy Educators supports these efforts.
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Previous posts related to South Carolina parent opposition to excessive testing:
The State Op-Ed: South Carolina parent asks why students cannot opt out of high stakes assessment
South Carolina parents to protest high stakes assessment
A letter from a 12 year old---
Bringing Parent Opposition and Resistance Out of the Shadows
South Carolina Parents Challenge Standardized Testing
NUT Report: No parent involvement wanted
Private comment: "Folks like Finn see ordinary people as a problem that gets in the way of their solutions."
ReplyDeleteIn April 2011, Florida State Senator Stephen Wise proposed a bill that would eliminate school board member salaries. It failed. The timing of his proposal targeting elected officials was noted at the time.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tampabay.com/news/education/k12/bill-proposes-eliminating-school-board-salaries-statewide/1161633