Letters: La. science scores still in cellar

“State’s eighth-grade scores in science little changed” was the innocuous headline of a story buried in the back pages of The Advocate Friday morning; in the body of the article, it was pointed out that test scores were “statistically unchanged,” which is even worse because it means despite all the money, all the attention, all the community organizing, all the braying by the politically motivated and especially all the nonsense put out by those with their snouts in the bottom of the trough that we’re still at the bottom (43rd) of the national pile, and because the pile is shifting downward that doesn’t bode well for our students.

All the superstar superintendents, all the union bosses, all their dupes and all the money that’s gone down the drain have made no impact except to possibly convince our students it’s not their fault if they don’t learn. We’ve already decided i.e., in accordance with union demands, that their mothers don’t do a good enough job of giving little Johnny breakfast and lunch, so we’ve taken on that burden as well and convinced little Johnny that proper sustenance alone surely will ensure better grades. If that sounds stupid, don’t blame me, blame the politicians who let the arm-twisting union bosses intimidate them into saying and pretending to believe it all the while they send their own children to private schools along with their peers and anybody else who has better sense and the resources to do it. That proves they do have some sense and only pretend to believe what they are saying and foisting on the rest of us.

Catering to special-interest groups with their hand in the public pocket is not what politicians are supposed to be doing. They’ve abrogated their responsibility to their constituents in favor of getting along with the powerful groups that can get them re-elected and line their pockets. Ho-hum, so what? I mean, this is Louisiana.

Gov. Bobby Jindal is trying to effect some change, and I give him credit for that, but that effort is being targeted assiduously with co-opting tactics by the enemies of the public designed to ensure the status quo.

Just take a look at who gets the bulk of the education dollars in the end and you’ll discover the real reason our students don’t perform. Remember, the more we give, the more they’ll have.

Richard G. Wallace

author

Patterson

Comments

1) Comment by InPVille - 17/05/2012

teacherguy: None of the links posted in comments to the Letters To The Editor and Our Views here are directly linkable. That capability isn't supported. You have to "cut and paste" or type the link letter for letter into your browser window in order to access the link. But from what you said, I wouldn't bother. Apparently we have here another example of the media reporting apple and orange statistics without verifying the nature of those statistics. Another example of this type of thing are the reports of the live birth rates for the United States as measured against those in other countries. How do you improve education in a broken society that is tugging in the opposite direction?

2) Comment by teacherguy - 17/05/2012

Coming soon to a school near you....http://dianeravitch.net/2012/05/17/indianapolis-charters-dumping-students/

3) Comment by teacherguy - 17/05/2012

InPVille...couldn't open your link...but I did research the counries you have listed...what you don't get is that America educates the masses. I have done extensive traveling throughout the world and can honestly say that many of these countries will only allow certain high scoring students to be tested, aspects that do not get reported. I agree that status quo is not okay, and reform can and should happen...however, it amazes me that people who have never taught a day in their life believe they can tell us how to improve education in a broken society.

4) Comment by InPVille - 17/05/2012

Teacherguy: The United States comes in 25th among the following nations. Most or all of which presumably also educate everyone: Hong Kong, Finland, South Korea, Netherlands, Liechtenstein, Japan, Canada, Belgium, Macao, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Czech Republic, Iceland, Denmark, France, Sweden, Austria, Germany, Ireland, Slovak Republic, Norway, Luxembourg, Poland, Hungary, Spain, and Latvia. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/04/AR2007120400730.html http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/a0923110.html

5) Comment by teacherguy - 16/05/2012

What is wrong with you people? Third world countries and the like only educate those most likely to do well in school...the rest work in the fields tending agriculture. America insists on educating EVERYONE and this is why we lag in the international statistics....

6) Comment by InPVille - 16/05/2012

What political and educational figures believe isn't going to result in an improvement in science scores. The Louisiana Science scores(also math) sucked long before creationism became a topic of discussion. The influence of the family and to a lesser extent the general culture have a far greater influence. If a child's inclinations tend toward a curiosity about how nature works and the parents encourage this inquisitiveness, as Melville Feynman did with his son Richard and daughter Joan who both became physicists, the child may direct his/her life toward science. Science and math scores in the entire U.S. lag far behind some underdeveloped countries. Were it not for the ability of the U.S. to attract ambitious individuals from other countries we would be even worse off in this department.

7) Comment by Elderly Man - 16/05/2012

DMJ, thank you.

8) Comment by lovemykids - 16/05/2012

When high ranking political and educational figures start believing in evolution science scores will improve.

9) Comment by teacherguy - 16/05/2012

44% of LA schools are failing...56% are not. The bashing of the 56% that are not will only serve to decrease the amount of young people that will want to teach. It is a shame that the mentality of many in our state insists on the mentality, "the beatings will commence until morale improves" in regard to teachers. Little is said about the gains public schools have made over the past ten years...we are in MUCH better shape than we used to be. Why can't we build on that? http://dianeravitch.net/2012/05/14/what-do-naep- scores-mean/

10) Comment by Whatchange - 16/05/2012

@DMJ; great comment. By the way, what does this letter have to do with science, sounds like union and Governor Jindal bashing to me.

11) Comment by DMJ - 16/05/2012

Bashing teachers unions. Yeah, those greedy teachers, with their $40,000/year salary and their fancy used Honda civics.... Let's get 'em!! One question...how does bashing teachers' unions help to attract talented teachers to public schools in Louisiana? Answer: it doesn't. But hey, don't mind me.... Keep it up....

12) Comment by Elderly Man - 16/05/2012

One private school in Baton Rouge has as its founder and headmaster a man who earned a doctorate in quantum chemistry from Yale and under a professor who later received a Nobel Prize.

13) Comment by Bighug - 16/05/2012

The changes Jindal is making are not about education. The law restricting teacher pay and tenure is purely about giving him control over the employment of teachers, and the law allowing tax money to be transferred to private schools is about giving public funds to religious organizations. Those laws won't help public schools, but will hurt by keeping qualified teachers from opting to teach in Louisiana.

14) Comment by Elderly Man - 16/05/2012

Of course our scores are low—in public, private, and parochial schools, it seems because we refuse to teach core subjects and information but insist on indoctrination into nonsense. I suspect there must be exceptions. I pray there are.

15) Comment by Elderly Man - 16/05/2012

Of course our scores are low—in public, private, and parochial schools, it seems. When we refuse to teach core subjects and information but insist on indoctrination into nonsense. I suspect there must be exceptions. I pray there are.