WikiPedia describes the metaphor of a “sacred cow” as “an object or practice which is considered immune from criticism, especially unreasonably so”. It is in my humble opinion, generally true that as soon as something becomes a “sacred cow”, it is probably time to do a sanity check, re-examine the assumptions and premises that lead to sacred cow status… and see if a course correction is in order. Public Education has been a “sacred cow” for far too long, and has not been held accountable on two fronts: Fiscally, for the huge amounts of money spent (especially in light of the overall lackluster results), and Philosophically, for the attitudes and world views endorsed and taught to students(this is especially true at the university and college level).
On the fiscal front, not only teachers and administrators seem to think that they are above sharing the pain when the economy turns down… but students do too. All seem to think that they are entitled to not only what public funds they are currently getting, but any increases that they want also. Witness the Rasmussen link above: NJ teachers are demanding a pay increase. And here in GA, there is a facebook group that has several thousand members, who’s sole purpose apparently is to agitate and complain because of a 15% increase in tuition was proposed to help cover shortfalls during the recession we are in. The rhetoric posted, the last time I visited, was almost totally of an entitlement nature. The views expressed were that they pretty much thought that they had a “right” to continue benefiting from the current level of public subsidy for their education…regardless of how bad the economy was; regardless of how many people in the state are taking pay cuts in their jobs; regardless of how many people in the state are out of work; and regardless of how many people in the state are having their homes foreclosed. It just doesn’t matter to them. They think they are entitled to what they consider “their” money, regardless of what other people around them are going through.
These teachers in NJ have found out that they are out of step with an overwhelming majority of people in their state. I think (and hope) that it isn’t just true in NJ, but also around the country.
As far as the “world views” go, public schools have in large part abandoned teaching basic life skills and critical thinking, and have instead been used as a tool for social engineering and brainwashing. And for those skeptical of that last statement, the evidence is there if you open your eyes to it.
And any time the status quo of the “Education” sacred cow is challenged, the rhetoric of the importance of education and the welfare of “children” are trotted out. And this propaganda effort has been enormously successful, even to the point that many people have come to think of a college education as a “right” instead of something to be worked for and earned. The amounts of money thrown at this ever-less-productive enterprise is astounding. Melvin Everson, one of the candidates for GA Labor Commissioner in 2010, said recently that here in GA, 58% of GA tax dollars went to support education. And money does not solve the problem. The Washington DC area schools are just one example of one of the highest cost per student systems in the country, and yet the DC areas public education system ranks toward the bottom of the nation in results.
So, it is good to see that in NJ, people are finally saying “enough” and are just saying “no” to the teachers unions. I hope we see more of the same in other states.