The 1% and Education

In a blog post last week, I linked to an article in the Washington Post called “Teacher: Why ‘I just can’t work in public education anymore’.” In this article, which was shared widely online last week, a former public school teacher details the reasons that she feels she can no longer work in public education. 12 year public school teacher Stephanie Keiles wrote:

‘I have been forced to comply with mandates — from the Republicans at the state level and the Democrats at the national level — that are NOT in the best interest of kids. I am tired of having to perform what I consider to be educational malpractice, in the name of “accountability”. The amount of time lost to standardized tests that are of no use to me as a classroom teacher is mind-boggling. And when you add in mandatory quarterly district-wide tests, which are used to collect data that is ignored, you get a situation that is beyond ridiculous.

‘Sometimes I feel like I live in a Kafka novel. This is No. 1 on my district’s list of how to close the achievement gap and increase learning: Making sure that all teachers have their learning goals posted every day in the form of an “I Can” statement. I don’t know how we ever got to be successful adults when we had no “I Can” statements on the wall.’

The professionalism of this article also shows the education, commitment, and concern of our teachers, for the students’ best interest. The control of our class room should and must be returned soon to the teachers. The continuing maturing of our students will not wait on the greedy, bumbling, and careless politicians. Education is one of many areas of “Collateral Damage” as the lawmakers continue protecting the 1% that are in control of the multinational corporations that are devastating our economy, by adversely manipulating much of our country’s cash flow for the self-serving interests of the 1%.

The Democrats and Republicans have both been in the pockets of the 1% for decades. Politicians from both parties frequently talk about the importance of education to America’s future, but they all happily tear our education system to pieces in order to funnel more money and profit to their corporate friends. As the governor of Wisconsin, Scott Walker made massive funding cuts to the University of Wisconsin system, decreased per-pupil spending at one of the highest rates in the country, and stripped teachers of their collective bargaining rights – driving many of the best and brightest teachers out of the state or out of their profession.

As the governor of Florida, Jeb Bush increased the tuition at Florida’s public universities by 60% and stripped schools of their funding. Even after two terms as Florida’s governor, with plenty of time to turn things around, Florida’s graduation rate of high school students is dead last in the nation. And the other politicians hoping to become the candidates for their respective parties are no better. Not a single one of them has any plan for improving America’s education system, but each of them has plenty of ideas for making their friends richer!

Education of our young people is one of the most vital services that our government provides. Our education system has been gutted by decades of Wall Street rule, and none of the establishment politicians are going to do anything to correct the situation (and Trump is even worse – he doesn’t just represent the 1%, he IS the 1%!). If we want anything to change, we need a president whose priority is the success of our nation. When I am president, I will put the classrooms back in the hands of the ones who know what to do with them – the teachers! If you want to support our teachers and our education system, then I urge you to cast your write-in vote for me, Art Drew, for President of the United States.