Myth: There's a War against Public Education

December 28, 2005

An interesting exchange occurred recently online. Michelle Malkin posted a column called "Indoctrination, Not Education" containing the line "Reason number 95,385 to keep your kids out of government schools" and some folks took umbrage. Essentially her column simply contained two instances of students being subjected to the political biases of their teachers, with no commentary from Ms. Malkin other than the line quoted above.

But that one line was all some people needed to claim that she was "bashing public education and public school teachers," to quote but one line from Thespis Journal's fourteen hundred word response.

Thou dost protest too much.

The "War on Public Education" is a straw man. There is not, nor has there ever been, such a war. Any time spent defending against such a war is time that diverts much-needed time and energy away from the real issues of public education. Fighting against an imaginary enemy is a sad waste of resources.

If there's no war, then what's the fuss? Who are these imaginary soldiers? They're simply critics, who pointedly remind us of the the many facets of public education which can use serious reform. Which happens to be the entire point to Reform K12.

Now, anyone can be a critic, so we're not really concerned with hot air. We are very interested in the views and observations of intelligent peers who can contribute to the debate in a constructive way. Part of the debate is calling a spade a spade, shining a light on egregious examples of the misdeeds of public educators (and their unions), and aspects of the system of public education itself.

Yes, there are many public schools where excellence is part of the daily culture, where students are given the best chances to lead productive lives after graduation. There are countless public educators who nobly fight the good fight against ignorance and poverty, and who, despite terrible obstacles, defeat these foes daily.

But public school teachers are not martyrs, and we certainly aren't a homgenous group. It should not be offensive to the truly dedicated teachers among us to simply point out the ugly truth where it may lie. And these blemishes aren't just isolated in a system that is by far mostly good, they are endemic, especially in the poorest urban public schools.

To name but a few examples of serious issues, in need of reform: Teacher Unions, Political Activism, Teacher Certification, Mediocrity, Opposition to Competition, Opposition to Home Schooling, Lack of Discipline and Safety, Zero Tolerance Run Amok, and Lack of Accountability. We'll tackle each of these in the coming days.

It is important to note that many of these issues are less prominent in non-public schools, and even in public schools of choice such as charter schools. The simple fact is that when parents choose where to send Johnny, they choose the schools with the fewest problems. This is not an option with many public schools, since parents must take what the government gives them. If you live at a certain address, and your child is in a particular grade, then your child has been assigned to a particular public school. Of course parents who can afford to send Johnny to private school don't have this problem, which is why vouchers are so important for the poor.

This brings us back to Ms. Malkin's comment. She referred to the multiple reasons why not to send Johnny to government schools. There's a very good reason why she didn't use the phrase "public school" for she was talking about schools where choice isn't an option. You simply take what the government gives you. (Remember, charter schools are public schools, and she wasn't criticizing them.)


While there are many valid criticisms of public school policies and procedures, these ultimately stem from decisions made by people, thus any serious effort at reform must begin there.

There are four kinds of teachers and administrators staffing public schools. First, there are dedicated teachers and administrators who are effective. Second, there are dedicated folks who aren't. Third, there are people for whom "it's just a job," and who therefore aren't effective. Lastly, and most seriously, there are incompetent teachers and administrators.

Teachers and administrators in the first group should take no offense at any criticisms of the other three groups, rather, they should be leading the charge for reform. The second group, dedicated public school employees who for some reason aren't effective (due to curriculum or techniques), can be taught how to have a real impact, through mentoring and professional development. Members of the third group, the dead wood, need to be weeded out of the profession. And the incompetent folks in the last group need to be fired, period.


There's no war against public education, there's simply the desire to have effective schools filled with dedicated, capable teachers and administrators. No one should take offense to that.