Maybe all the schools in Georgia should be private. At least, then, the incompetent CEO, Kathy Cox, would be fired. Seriously, can you imagine parents at a private school allowing an administrator to remain who failed to align curriculum with the ( not standardized, per Tina) test required for advancement to the next grade? Me neither. But, in this case, Cox thinks that she should face no scrutiny what-so-ever, and says that those who think otherwise are just being partisan.
I work with children every day. Many of them are attending summer school because of Cox's failure. These families cross the political and demographic spectrum-and they are all fighting mad, as they should be. Are they angry that their child is being held accountable? No. They're angry that their children were short-changed and that taxpayers are being forced to fund the solution.
The reality is that our schools are not private (though that is, in truth, the goal of these Atlanta republicans) and our state school superintendent is elected not employed. So, in two years, it's going to be the voter's job to fire her and the rest of the republican team that thinks leadership in education includes the fluff while neglecting the basics. From teacher gift cards to "parental involvement coaches," Perdue and company have systematically funded the icing on a cardboard cake. And, when they're asked to account for their actions-or in Cox's case, her silence, her failure to advocate for children and her preference for political sound-bite over actual reform-they cry foul. They are happy to hold teachers, parents and children accountable, but accountability stops at the door to the gold dome. It's up to the voters to say otherwise.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Cox, Perdue: Duck and Cover
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Shipp: Perdue's to Blame for School Failure
Who better than Bill Shipp to tell it like it is when it comes to Georgia's public schools. The current testing debacle says little about Georgia's students, yet, it speaks volumes about Predue, Cox and the republican-led General Assembly. Half of Georgia's eighth graders failed the math exam, and even more failed the now-discarded social studies exam. Don't you love it? Set children up for failure, then when they fail, and it makes you look bad, toss the results. Oh, don't get me wrong, there was no choice but to toss the results, and they ought to do that with the math, too, but that would get a little complicated. Because of NCLB, the feds would have to agree. But tossing results is not the answer-actually funding and supporting public schools is the answer. Everyone knows that the republican agenda is to privatize public education, so answer me this: in the private sector heads would role in the wake of a failure of this magnitude. Stock holders would insist upon it. So, can someone please explain to me why Kathy Cox should keep her job? For that matter, why would we ever again trust republicans to take care of our schools?
As Shipp so eloquently points out-it's not children and teachers who have failed. It's Perdue, Cox and all who supported their agenda. Until now, those most aware of the ceremonial gutting of our schools were educators. Not so any longer. Parents who must deal with their 8th graders failing test scores are now fully aware of the real price of the republican agenda.
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