The Root of Evil 22 December 2012

Teachers are one of the most important resources a nation has for providing the skills, values and knowledge that prepare young people for productive citizenship - but more than this, to give sanctuary to their dreams and aspirations for a future of hope, dignity and justice. It is indeed ironic, in the unfolding nightmare in Newtown, that only in the midst of such a shocking tragedy are teachers celebrated in ways that justly acknowledge - albeit briefly and inadequately - the vital role they play every day in both protecting and educating our childrenIf the United States is to prevent its slide into a deeply violent and anti-democratic state, it will, among other things, be required fundamentally to rethink not merely the relationship between education and democracy, but also the very nature of teaching, the role of teachers as engaged citizens and public intellectuals and the relationship between teaching and social responsibility.1 From the web page of Education Secretary Arne Duncan: U.S. Education Secretary Warns that Automatic Budget Cuts Would Hurt Children and Families Education Secretary Calls on Congress to Work with President Obama for a Long-Term Solution JULY 25, 2012 Contact: Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today detailed the impact of looming automatic budget cuts, saying they would force schools to lay off teachers and eliminate services for students while indiscriminately reducing programs that serve Americans of all ages. Essentially, were playing chicken with the lives of the American people our schools, communities, small businesses, farms, public safety, infrastructure and national security, Secretary Duncan told members of the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee. If we dont work together to solve this problem, it further erodes what little faith remains in our elected leadership to put partisan politics aside and do the right thing for children and families.

Title I funding would be cut by $1.1 billion, cutting off funding to more than 4,000 schools serving an estimated 1.8 million disadvantaged students. The jobs of more than 15,000 teachers and aides would be at risk. Students would lose access to individual instruction, afterschool programs, and other interventions that help close achievement gaps. Funding for special education would be reduced by $900 million. That could translate into the layoffs of more than 10,000 teachers, aides, and other staff who provide essential instruction and other support to 6.6 million children with disabilities. In higher education, the Department would need to slash spending on contracts to support the processing and origination of student loans, which could cause delays that will hurt students as they make decisions about college and could reduce services for borrowers seeking to repay their loans.2 It has been quoted the love of money is the root of all evil.3

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The Root of Evil 22 December 2012

So, why has it been deified, the market apotheosized in the US under the banner of neoliberalism? When politicians follow Grover Norquist and his no raising taxes ever pledge, they are engaging in at the least poor judgment and at its highest sedition: they swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, not Grovers pledge!4 When politicians talk about reducing the size of government, almost NEVER is the militaryindustrial-complex affected with its generals mindful of future positions with defense contractor buds, approve any whacked-out design that wont fly or $1,500 hammer invoices. Reducing the size of government will impact police, fire and emergency services only slightly, since these protect property and life (I meant that order). No. The best way to reduce the size of government is to go after teachers. After all, in the maddening ratio of five lobbyists to one member of Congress (House and Senate)5, teachers dont have anyone advocating their causes or promising to pay for reelection campaigns. They dont have think tanks that give them talking points market tested for the base. They dont have a Grover et al threatening to primary them in political protection rackets and threaten their jobs6. They dont have much to speak of money as free speech, but in many states not under right-to-work restrictive government, teachers do have functional unions that act as mobilizing arms during election campaigns. If one cannot get your vote; they might try to destroy your union or in cases around the country: block your vote. And, when the redux comes to a school district near you, its usually NOT the sports programs that get reduced: football in places like Texas, basketball on the east coast are religion, at the high school level sausage wraps and soft drinks after a $5 admission ticket to the game can net thousands of dollars. No. The best way to reduce the size of government cum school program is the elimination of AP classes, art, music and literature; the layoff of teachers thus increasing class size and room management issues, and demands the same academic performance outcomes. The emphasis of inane standardized testing that no other countries kicking our collective academic assets are imitating7, make it a part of teacher evaluation of success. It reduces our teachers to teach-tothe-test automatons, increasing turnover and disillusionment long after many have departed the profession. It reduces students to bottom-line consumers at best: is THIS the answer (in a choice of a, b, c, d or e: all of the above), or in theory, with sheriff and police deputies to control recalcitrant teens with mace, handcuffs, Taser or pepper spray, a dry run of experiencing lock down in the prison-industrial-complex (one day). No. The best way to reduce the size of government is the introduction of neo-liberal theology in the classroom. If it was good enough for South America and Pinochets Chile: why not here?

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The Root of Evil 22 December 2012

To a 1%er, its quite simple: if you wanted a good education for your kids, you should have paid for it (in your exclusive, gated community). No. The best way to reduce the size of government is the reduction of counseling staff such that they are only schedulers of classes that switch multiple times a year, or credible witnesses at a hearing to sentence a student to an alternative learning center (the last stage before the juvenile justice system). Limiting the counseling staff in scope (and in many cases, number) does not allow in many cases the one counselor-per-grade model; does not allow the one-on-one social work of counseling, of evaluation of mental health challenges: it reduces the counselor to the equivalency of an overworked, underpaid public defender, and lights the powder keg of many a youth that could have been saved: to, in the words of Langston Hughes, explode from dreams deferred, in usually violent, socially unacceptable ways8. It is also ironic that no-taxes-raised-pledge Grover is also a member of the board for the NRA9 that has recently advocated the increase of armed policeman at every school campus in the nation, for 99,000 schools and the median income of police officers of $50,406; that would be a cost of $ 4,990,194,000 (billion) dollars or more to the American taxpayer, an ironic twist of events, reciprocity and math10. My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub. Public education used to be part of the common good. We are all drowningunder a staccato torrent of lead. 1. http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/13367-the-corporate-war-against-teachers-as-publicintellectuals-in-dark-times 2. http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-education-secretary-warns-automatic-budgetcuts-would-hurt-children-and-famil 3. 1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 4. http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2012/05/08/pledging-ourselves-out-of-democracy/ 5. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2010/05/report-bankinglobbyists-outnumber-lawmakers-five-to-one/1#.UNVsWOT7Li8 6. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/20/opinion/the-nra-protection-racket.html?_r=0 7. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Why-Are-Finlands-SchoolsSuccessful.html 8. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/175884 9. http://meetthenra.org/nra-member/grover%20norquist 10. http://swz.salary.com/SalaryWizard/police-officer-Salary-Details.aspx

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