What "War on Education"?
Cries of the GOP's anti-education stance are never-ending, and evermore misguided. Perhaps the most well-known example of this in recent memory was Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill last year. We all know the general gist, if not the deepest intricacies, of the bill so I won't force us to revisit Madison, but critics said this was not only an attack on teachers' unions, but more importantly (at least, supposedly) on education.
Just a year removed from Walker's signing of the bill (signed on March 11, 2011), a Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators Survey shows that his reforms not only have benefited teachers, but the state's education for students as well.
It's a bit lengthy, but definitely worth a look. Here are a few highlights:
- New teacher hires outnumber layoffs and non-renewals by 1,213 positions
- The three districts with the most teacher layoffs (Milwaukee, Kenosha, and Janesville) didn’t adopt the reforms put in place by Governor Walker
- 98% of school districts have the same number or increased the number of AP courses
- 82% of school districts have the same number or increased the number of art sections
- 93% of school districts have the same number or increased the number of business education courses
- 91% of school districts have the same number or increased the number of science sections
- 90% of school districts have the same number or increased the number of math sections
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Comments:
Feb '11
Re: What "War on Education"?
I think you should post this info around the web in support of conservative ideas which actually work, and of course, to support the Governors' chance to carry on in the future. A big shout out is needed to overcome the Liberal's ideas which have led to the failure of the education system, while pronouncing as their ideas for improving it. As we all know, the Liberal's have just about destroyed a once great educational system.
Keep up the good work of putting forth the facts vs the verbiage of lies.
Feb '12
Re: What "War on Education"?
I'm posting your link on the Member. Great work Andrew.
Re: What "War on Education"?
Thanks, CuriousJohn - glad you liked it.
I agree with your post in the Members Feed: these data should be in every newspaper and broadcast. Yet, the only time we'll hear about Wisconsin's budget reforms will be in regards to the upcoming recall election and Walker's "attack" on unions.
Dec '10
Re: What "War on Education"?
Andrew,
There is a war on education and it is from the left. Their war is on what education is supposed to be about. Education was meant to be about content not form. The left creates meaningless thoughts in the form of knowledge but lacking any real content it is useless.
For 40 years we have seen degrees about nothing earned by believers in nothing funded by an ever inflated currency that is now worth nothing.
Some will go to College and some will not. This is not because an elite cult decided so. This is because Gd decided so. When we can get back to accepting this we will have a system of education again. Not a meaningless degree dispensing summer camp.
Regards,
Jim
May '10
Re: What "War on Education"?
Great stuff. As a teacher, I can tell you what my math colleagues would say: "2 + 2 still = 4"
Imagine that.
Feb '12
Re: What "War on Education"?
The latest edition of City Journal has a good article by Christian Schneider on the same topic. Here's a small bit of it to supplement Andrew's points: