October 15, 2013
Mary Sanchez
The Kansas City Star

RE: Why can’t Johnny read? – Some comments on your oh so predictable column in today’s Miami Herald on why spending more money on education will make us smarter as we close the “equality of outcomes” gap. You can guess that I rank that up with the drowning polar crisis.

Ms. Sanchez,

One of the many perks of being an ink stained modern American Liberal wench is that you get to write sentences such as

“That is, there’s a strong correlation
between poor education and poverty…”

and then this gem

“For nearly two generations, an elite has been busy
remaking our society into a plutocracy…”

followed up by this beauty

“This elite has made war against any policy that
aims to produce equality of outcomes.”

without being flogged by the outraged Gods of Journalism.

[Would not Logic dictate that if we had “equality of outcomes” that every member of every graduating class of every high school in America would be both salutatorian and valedictorian? Theme for the Common Man, Kumbaya, and Imagine would be the only music allowed, right? Tennis matches would last forever, what with there being no net and no points – Endless Love, so to speak]

American education has some monstrously huge short.

Start with tenure.

Paying a bad teacher as much as a good teacher is insulting to Logic.

Paying a bad teacher anything is criminally moronic, not to mention insulting to Logic.

Why aren’t History teachers held to the same high standards as the football coach?
The Broward Board of Education employs swarms of “diversity experts”. What in the names of McGuffey’s Reader and the Dictionary of Cultural Literacy do those layabouts [N.B. I didn’t say overpaid layabouts since all layabouts are, per se, overpaid]
do? What contribution to the Western Canon have they made, will make?

Which policy would you recommend that would “produce equality of outcomes”? Can you mention one that has worked? Could you tell me where and when it has “produce[d] equality of outcomes”?

I was a freshman in high school when Sputnik was launched in 1957. 12 years later we flew to the moon, walked around, picked up some cool souvenirs, and came home. I mention that because your ideological journalistic forebears began an never ending sermon of Jeremiads that proved to be incorrect.

Take a look at the Nobel Prize winners’ list since Sputnik was launched. Deo gracias that there is no “equality of outcomes” in those contests. Whole cultures, indeed whole continents, are missing from the honor roll. Are you suggesting that we should award them on an Affirmative Action basis? Race, gender, religion, country…it shouldn’t take long to level the playing field, right?

Modern American Liberals say that more money equals better education.

Can you cite one year where less money was spent on education than the year before?

It is empirically self-evident that urban education is a train wreck that has been carpet bombed with cruise missiles. Spending more money on it just makes it worse. Speaking of urban education, wouldn’t it be an inspiring move, one filled with hope and change, if the Obamas sent their daughters to any of the really fine public schools in Washington, DC? Just asking.

Why not offer hazard pay to college graduates to teach in “inner city” schools? [Thank God for euphemisms] They must be unburdened by education degrees.

If they succeed they earn a bonus equal to the losers’ share of the Super Bowl

If they fail we are no worse off.

Dante came out of the cave and looked up and “saw the stars”. I’ll settle for the moon.



KEVIN SMITH
WARRIORBARDIT@BELLSOUTH.NET