Fred Grimm, The Miami Herald

December 14, 2008

Fred Grimm
The Miami Herald
One Herald Plaza
Miami, Florida 33132-1693

RE – Bailing out the Big 3 and bailing out our schools – A different perspective on drawing sustenance from the eternally lactating public mammary.

Mr. Grimm,

First, a comment on lies, damn lies, and statistics.

You said that “members of Congress from the 48 states that spend more per student than Florida might balk at helping out schools in a state that won’t help itself”.

Are you saying that spending more money guarantees a better education? No place spends more money per student than Washington, DC. If, as you say, more money means better schools why are the Obama children not going to public school there? Why didn’t Chelsea Clinton go to public school there? Why didn’t any of the Gore children go to public school there?

President Bush’s daughters attended Austin Westlake High School – a public high school. You knew that, didn’t you?

Your comparison on the failing American automobile industry and the failing American public education system is predicated on never letting facts interfere with your argument.

After decades of failing the Big 3 want the American taxpayer to bail them out. They make an inferior product that is overpriced. These wounds, ones of design flaws and absurd union contracts, were mostly self-inflicted. The market place has spoken. There will be no end to the public transfusions.

American public education is predicated on the convoy system. The slowest ship sets the speed limit for the rest of the convoy. Since success can’t be rewarded and, worse, since failure can’t be penalized mediocrity is the norm. Taxpayers already pick up the tab. The notion that more public money will make a better product is offensive to Logic.

American education has been failing so long that it thrives on this public failure. It’s always someone else’s fault that Johnny can’t read. Florida high school football coaches have a very short use life. Effort doesn’t count; results do. If the coach doesn’t perform he is fired. If the math teacher doesn’t perform he gets a raise. If the principal has a stable filled with horses’ asses he is looked on as a friend to animals. If the superintendent looks on the letters FCAT as a vampire looks on a sun drenched holy water dousing he need but cry “More Money” and he is regarded as a saint.

Madness.

Since nothing else seems to work here is a modest proposal.

Each and every child of each and every public employee – appointed or elected – must attend public school. No exceptions.

How about culling the herd of jackass administrators? Did you know that the Broward Board of Education pays more than $100,000 a year to people who are listed as “diversity experts”? Use automatic weapons. Most of them couldn’t find a class room with a blood hound and a GPS.

You say that states that spend more per pupil would resent us. Shouldn’t Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama resent the Hell out of us? By refusing to drill off the Gulf coast of Florida we place an unfair burden on those states who do drill off theirs.

Even an educationally deprived Florida student, a student who has grown up hearing his teachers caterwauling “If only we had more think how much better we would do”, knows that.