Bless the Blind for They Can Not See

"Baby close that suitcase you've been packin'
Just sit down and talk to me a while
I know you tried to tell me what was lackin'
But I guess I must have missed it by a mile" - Travis Tritt




Finally, some one who wants to connect public school education with the real world. and here.

We malcontents and non-experts-because-we-don't-have-a-teaching-degree need a banner carrier like this person. Instead of sitting in the bleachers and booing the team, now we can move closer to the band section and at least cheer for a 3rd-and-long pass completion.

Parents who really do have an educated point of view in a given area or subject that have more than a few times (note: not isolated incidents) been discounted or summarily dismissed by "expert educators" know what I am talking about.

A frequent reader of this blog would know my feelings about the arrogance of some public educators when they exploit their position to bulldoze over reasoned challenges to their actions.

Now I have someone I can identify with and say "that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!"

Examine this statement by Sen. Don Gaetz:

"In business, we listen to the customer or we go out of business," he said. "In education, we're uncomfortable with that notion. We think we don't need to listen to parents and taxpayers and business leaders because we in education have the answer book."

Then examine this response by Kim Black, president of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association:

"I'm thrilled at the idea of embracing career education opportunities," Black said. "But you don't see teachers going to the private sector and saying, 'Here, let us tell you how to run your business."


I respectfully submit that Mr. Black's response may be the crux of why the public education system continues to find itself becoming more and more disconnected. In fact, it makes Mr. Gaetz's statement as profound as any statement could be. Reread both of them for effect.

This is the type of arrogance that I speak of. A business in the private sector recognizes when they need help because of their bottom line. If a business needs help, they either get it or they go out of business. Arrogance alone will not support them.

The argument that public education is not a business misses the point of the need for reciprocity. The fact that public funds are continuously pumped into a system thereby maintaining the system’s existence does not speak to “productivity” or effectiveness of the system. There have been and continue to be many efforts to embrace the public education system within the real world. For the public education system to continue to reject these offers of assistance reminds me of a story.

Some of you may have heard it. The story is about a person who, in times of a natural disaster, rejects offers of help from the community service people because the person believes that God will take care of them. To make a long story monotonous, let’s say it was a hurricane with flood waters. The person rejects radio warnings and advice and person to person warnings and advice. Eventually, as the waters rise, the rescue trucks come and are rejected. The rescue boats come and are rejected. The rescue helicopters come and are rejected. In the natural order of sequence, the person dies and goes to heaven. Upon meeting God, the person says: “You were supposed to save me. What happened?”

The God said: “Well, I sent the radio messages, I sent the……”

Even God can’t overcome arrogance.