Blue Serials (2/14/16)

February 12, 2016June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

Happy Forced Affection Day!

Yet another faux consumerist holiday built on male terror of ‘getting it wrong’ (or is that just me?) To be fair, it’s also a wonderful opportunity to belittle those without a ‘significant other’ and suggest they’re in some way inadequate or doing life badly based on our cultural need to demand reproductive rituals of all 320 million of our neighbors right damn now!

I’m rather blessed to have found a really good one and trapped her early. It’s been long enough now that it’s not worth the trouble of sheddin’ me, so she stays. I don’t usually do personal nods here, but since I’ve been exposed to the world as a vitriolic issue-blurrer, I might as well say “I love you” on Valentine’s Day.

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Sorry you’re stuck with someone ruining the children, honey. Oh – and can you pick up cilantro on the way home? The bunnies are out.

But Let’s Talk About Love and Commitment, and Voices and Power.

They’re not so unrelated, are they?

Identity, Power, and Education’s Algorithms – Audrey Watters, writing on Medium.com, starts off talking about changes to Twitter and ends up wrestling with the many ways power and the dominant narrative force and reinforce themselves in education and other realms. This one made my brain and my soul hurt at the same time – usually a good sign I need to pay closer attention. Follow Watters on the newer, more capitalistic Twitter at @audreywatters.

Burn It Down – Tom Rademacher, of Mr. Rad”s Neighborhood, tackles a similar theme much closer to home. “Whiteness is f***ing up schools. Whiteness is creating failure. Whiteness is blaming the victims of racism and genocide for being victims of racism and genocide, and suggesting what they really need is to be around a lot more white people… Yes, the system is failing them. Because it is supposed to.”

I know, right? The thing is, if it makes you mad just reading that bit, he’s already hit a nerve. So read it all. Several times. I triple-dog-dare you. *makeschickennoises* Follow Mr. Rad on the Twitters at @MrTomRad.

Risk and Rules – It’s not every week that we turn to Curmudgucation to LIGHTEN the mood, and this one isn’t exactly a knee-slapper, but Peter Greene has written a great post about the tricky and ever-shifting balancing act between rigid expectations / mandated outcomes and all of the instinctive, seat-of-the-pants, people-serving guesswork we do with it, through it, or instead of it.

Beauty, the Rip, and Expectations – While we’re at it, a more recent post also from Curmudgucation about expectations and messages. IF YOU SKIP EVERYTHING ELSE IN THIS WEEKLY WRAP-UP, READ/WATCH THIS ONE. Later, of course, you’ll have to deal with the shame and self-loathing which naturally result from missing the other amazing things shared this week – but at least you’ll have this one. Follow Greene on the new, more Facebooky Twitter at @palan57.

And Now I Simply Must Talk #OklaEd.

The House Edu-Committee hears the first of the eleventeen or so Vouchers/ESA/Tax-Supported-White-Flight bills put forth this session on Monday (2/15/16).

As you call, or write, or visit, please remember – we’re trying to convince them we’re professionals and stuff like that. Be clear, concise, polite, and precise. They’re busy this time of year – the good ones, the bad ones, the useless ones, and the ones with tons of potential. Modify your strategies accordingly.

We need to woo them, not earn spots on Maury Povich with them. Oh, and read these before you begin:

10th Amendment & #OklaEd – David Burton of Idealistically Realistic explains why “states’ rights” implies and intends “states’ obligations.” This one should be celebrated across the edu-nation, especially in states who – like ours – proudly seek an ignorant, incarcerated, and impregnated populace with all their lofty might, because… federalism! Follow Burton on the Twittering at @psalmofdavid. #oklaed

Please Stop Digging! – Rob Miller, A View From The Edge. The public at large may not realize that while some are still calling for teacher raises or better support or whatever, most of us at this point are simply in fetal positions wrapped around as many of our kids as we can shield, begging power to put the whip down for awhile. We get it! You gave all the money to your wealthy donors! You hate us because… equity is communism, or something! Put down the shovel and step away from the bloodied remains of what was already a broken system…

Miller puts it more professionally, of course – he’s not as unreasonable as I am. Just between you and me, I don’t think he even deserved to be slandered in that MiddleGround piece. I’m WAY more destructive to the youth of America than he could be on HIS BEST DAY. If you don’t believe me, follow Rob on Twitter at @edgeblogger and see for yourself. #oklaed

Two Things: Call Me A (Civil) Naysayer – Rick Cobb, aka OKEducationTruths, the third member of the #OklaEd issue-blurring, vitriolic trifecta of hurtful commentary, brashly and unprofessionally uses partisan political ideology like facts, quotes, figures, and a hair metal video from the 80’s, to question the sincerity and practicality of all these faux calls for ‘teacher raises’ and this sudden ‘support’ for public education in Oklahoma. And he’s doing it on a forum to which CHILDREN have access! The rest of the internet is so pure, and he has to go ruin it for everyone. Be corrupted by Cobb on the Twittering at @okeducation and decide for yourself which of us is the MOST evil. (Hint: ME.) #oklaed

The Blaine Game, Part One (Information) – by Me, The Unbearable Blueness of Cereal. I don’t normally link to myself here, but this is my best shot at explaining the background issues to the ESA/Voucher debate starting up again on Monday (2/15/16). I’ll also keep updating the #OKElections16 page related to ESAs/Vouchers, which reminds me that I have a few things to add even today. #oklaed

Meaning I Gotta Go!

Happy V.D. The day is what you make it – choose to love someone in some way, or yourself better than you have been. Then go teach the %#&* out of those little @#%$ for the same %#$*{“|= reason – stubborn, reality-free, idealistic, chosen love. They need you now more than ever – that’s not feel good motivation-talk; it’s simply so.

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RELATED POST: For far more updates to the #12345 challenge than I ever anticipated, check out last week’s Blue Serials (2/7/16). They just keep coming in – and they make me feel SO much better to read.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (Guest Blogger: Matt Cone)

February 8, 2016June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

Last week, Anthony Purcell of Random Teacher Thoughts issued an edu-blogger challenge which he kindly initiated by responding to his own questions. It concludes by asking the respondent to name five people he or she would love to see complete the challenge as well – making this a blogger pyramid scheme of sorts.

One of the folks I named was Matt Cone, who is not actually a blogger, edu- or otherwise. He is, however, a helluva teacher and education consultant, and wildly entertaining for someone so much smarter than me. He doesn’t even Tweeter, so I had to tag him on Facebook just to get his attention.

I’m glad I did, because this was the result.

What has been your ONE biggest struggle this school year?

I’m sure that there will be a lot of responses that deal with issues of students feeling too entitled, lacking “grit,” and being unable or unwilling to work for things these days. These are all very valid observations/complaints.

I, however, have struggled more with convincing them of the larger picture for which they should be working. I teach U.S. history. In years past, I have taught American government. Both of these classes take on a new tone during election years. It is already difficult for students to confront some of the big issues of U.S. history (slavery, the plight of Native American peoples, etc.) without students developing an overpowering sense of cynicism. I still, in light of everything, believe in this country and what it’s supposed to stand for.

That has been hard to sell to students in the current political climate. The pervasive anger, lack of civility, and name calling brought about by the current campaign makes it hard to sell students on the idea that our system, with all of its inherent flaws, is still the best option. And lest we point our fingers in only one direction, this problem originates on both sides of the political aisle and is amplified by the dueling echo chambers of social media. If you don’t agree with one side, you’re a tree-hugging, America hating, Socialist who is simply awaiting the imposition of Sharia law. If you don’t agree with the other side, you’re a Bible-thumping, gun toting, misogynistic racist who simply hates everyone and everything.

As a history teacher, I know that this is not new. The campaigns of the late nineteenth century were as bare-knuckled as they come, and race-baiting fear has been used to win elections for far longer than anyone wants to admit. However, it is getting harder and harder to point to true leaders who are looking for real solutions to America’s problems, and that is making it harder and harder to teach classes whose main goal is to build solid citizens.

TWO accomplishments that I am proud of.

I won’t point to two specific things here, but I will address two ways in which my life as a teacher has changed.

First, I have been a better leader. I was a department chair for twelve years. While I did enjoy being a part of setting the agenda for may department, hiring new people, and providing input on issues with our administration, dealing with budgets and supplies, going to more meetings than I care to count, and being a constant conduit between my colleagues and my administration finally wore me out. One of the biggest things I had to do was be a filter. My administration did not necessarily need to hear every complaint or comment made by my fellow teachers; my fellow teachers, in my opinion, did not need to be privy to every minute detail and every edict handed down from admin. The only to filter some of this out was to absorb it, and that can be mentally and emotionally taxing. At the end of the 2013-2014 school year, I resigned that post.

As odd as it sounds, stepping out of “leadership” was the first step toward being a better leader. Much of the time I spent in meetings is now spent working through the new AP US history curriculum and developing lessons on both content and skills. I have used the redesign as an opportunity to have my team re-evaluate the way we do some things in our classes. Energy that used to be spent managing the budget and monitoring supplies is now spent mentoring new teachers. I am now a lot freer to say what I want, rather than what I’m supposed to, and I have built up enough credibility on my campus that I can still walk into my principal’s office and give my two cents. It was my principal, in fact, that confirmed all of this for me. I told her that I had to learn how to be a leader when not in “leadership.” Her response: “those are the most important leaders to have.”

My second “accomplishment” is not an accomplishment in a traditional sense. I guess it’s really more of an affirmation. I attended the school’s musical this year (a fantastic performance of “Legally Blonde”). During intermission, three former students approached me and told me that they knew I was there because they heard me laugh. I have been told that my laugh is not particularly obnoxious or grating (though that may have been to save my feelings), so I took that as a great compliment. In a dark room with more than five hundred people in it, my students could discern my laugh. There’s only one way that’s possible: they had heard it enough to know that it was me. The fact that laughter is big enough part of my class that this could happen is, to me, a great accomplishment.

THREE things I wish to accomplish before the school year is out:

I had to re-work some of my class resources last year to accommodate the AP US history redesign. I have had to re-re-work some of those resources this year to accommodate the new and improved redesign, as well as a new textbook. I am looking forward to getting that done.

I have set a goal to integrate more web-based tools into my class. Google Classroom has been a nice addition, as has the timeline generating tool, Preceden. I would like to use more web-based tools as we get into review season in (yikes!) a few more weeks.

On a related note, I would like to do more with podcasts. “Freakonomics” and “My History Can Beat Up Your Politics” have great podcasts for social studies. I would like to find more; more importantly, I would like to do more with them than just dump one more thing onto my students’ plates.

FOUR reasons why I remain in education in spite of the tough culture.

1. It’s still fun. I get to work with great kids and, as I said before, we get to laugh a lot.

2. I teach at the school from which I graduated. I have always viewed teaching as a way to give back to the community in which I grew up. Being a part of the community especially important to me as my hometown continues to evolve and as my kids grow up here.

3. I’m not sure what else I would do. This is not a lamentation about not being qualified to do anything else, though having taught in one place for almost twenty years does make me a less attractive candidate in this job market. I simply can’t think of a job that combines my love of learning, my love of kids, and my love for my community into one job that someone will actually pay me to do.

4. I pulled some new teachers into my office last week and pulled an old yellow file folder out of a file cabinet. I told them “This is my ‘warm fuzzy’ file. It has letters and cards from former students in it. You’re good teachers and you’re gonna get a lot of these. Keep them. You never know when you’ll need to pull one out and read it to remind yourself of why you’re here. Also, just know that I keep this file in the bottom drawer here; so if I get hit by a low-flying blimp tomorrow and someone needs to plan my funeral, you’ll know where to go.”

We get a lot of grief from outside. We’re punching bags for politicians, targets for lawyers, and scapegoats for parents. On the inside, however, where it counts, we do sometimes reach the students. As corny as it sounds, it does make the rest of it worthwhile.

FIVE that I hope will answer these. (I guess I’ll link them to this once it’s out there)

Lee Ferguson – A personal and professional mentor and friend. I hope to be like her when I grow up.

John Stewart – He is a great sounding board for ideas. There have been many times that I have sent him an e-mail and said “does this sound too crazy?” John does what I do, but in a completely different set of circumstances.

Matt Tassinari – As with John, he is an APUSH teacher for whom I have a lot of respect and dear a friend who teaches the same class that I teach to a radically different demographic.

Renee Birdsell – A good friend and colleague who is looking at all of this with much younger eyes than mine.

Lance Morse – Lance is a new friend who teaches theatre. I would love to hear what it’s like in the trenches of fine arts education.

RELATED POST: Blue Serials (2/7/16) {contains links to a dozen or so other responses to the challenge.}

What A Wonderful Opportunity!

February 7, 2016June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal ~ 1 Comment

You may remember less than two months ago when Oklahoma Secretary of Finance Preston Doerflinger proudly announced the initial wave of the state’s budget woes – $900 million less projected revenue for the next fiscal year and a massive “revenue failure.”

“The fact that we find ourselves in this position is providing us with a tremendous opportunity,” Doerflinger told reporters. “I’ve been talking for years about the structural problems the state faces. Now, we find ourselves in a very challenging situation. Panicking about the situation is not productive. We need to use this as an opportunity to do the things we otherwise might not have the will to do.”

As it turns out, the things they might not otherwise have the will to do meant massive cuts to public education and other services, but thousands – literally, numerically, THOUSANDS – of raises and new hires for state agencies. For the chosen bureaucratic favorites of our ‘small government’ Republican leadership.

As quoted by news9.com:

Doerflinger says the purpose of the freeze, primarily, was to add another layer of scrutiny to personnel decisions, especially those with the potential to impact the budget.
“And it’s caused conversations to occur.” Doerflinger stated, “And a higher level of scrutiny, as agency heads made decisions about hiring.”

OK. But… THAT’S NOT A FREEZE.

A freeze is when you stop doing something because you can’t anymore. What Doerflinger is describing is actually another layer of red tape in an already bloated process. At best it’s a ‘minor chilling’ of some sort.

Do any words actually MEAN THINGS to these people?

Doerflinger also announced in December that the budget crisis would mean AT LEAST a 2% – 4% cut ACROSS the BOARD. He neglected to add “Except for us. We’re going to be fine, because $#%& you commoners.”

He neglected to mention that they’d still prioritize eliminating any lingering revenue from the top sliver of the most successful in the state. If we can’t tax ourselves into prosperity, then eliminating taxes altogether means the state now has ALL the money, right?

As you watch me having my daily rhetorical seizures and you tire of the whining of educators around the state, please keep in mind that for all the talk of how helpless and hopeless and impotent and incapable state leadership suddenly insists they are in every possible way, they are

Objectively

Literally

Undeniably

Entirely

Intentionally

Maliciously

So full of $#&* I don’t know how they can walk without exploding. “It’s an opportunity,” he says – knowing damn well that at best it’s another excuse to do exactly what they did when oil was selling at 3x and 4x what it is now – funnel everything in their grasp to the chosen few, the elite specials, and piss on the rest of us.

We have a crisis, sure – FOR YOU. For the stupid and the busy and the easily frightened. For those of you too tired or in denial or simply unwilling to deal with the layers and layers of inanity. YOU have a crisis. You probably don’t have the time or energy to deal with it, however, because you’re trying to get through the day unbroken.

The elite leadership and their power structure don’t have a crisis – they have a bonus check. New work buddies. While you’re moving to off-brand mac’n’cheese, they’re lamenting having bumped into a higher tax bracket.

The Oklahoman, OKC’s major daily, recently called for #OklaEd bloggers to be more ‘civil’ on our #OklaEd website that allows people to use Twitter (they apparently aren’t much for the Interwebbing or the Facegramming). Using their best lofty old men-in-suits accent, they scolded us for not being more reasonable as we mutually address the challenges that blarglemugglefarfehnugen.

I have some civil discourse for them, for Gov. Fallin, Mr. Doerflinger, and everyone else slinging their pompous patronization around while smugly snickering at the unwashed masses and their sad state – er, as it were.

Kiss my big fat angry blogging ass, you sick twisted lying $#%&ers. You may beat us all while we’re here, but if you’re anywhere close to correct in all that theology you sling around to justify sh*tting on people, then ‘freezing’ is the precise opposite of what will soon be your biggest concern. Don’t worry, though – think of it as an amazing ‘opportunity’.

Blue Serials (2/7/16) – Updated

February 6, 2016June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

Sometimes lyrics just speak to you…

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I can’t stand it I know you planned it – I’m gonna set it straight, this watergate

I can’t stand rocking when I’m in here, because your crystal ball ain’t so crystal clear

You’re scheming on a thing that’s a mirage – I’m trying to tell you now it’s sabotage…

Excuse me – I need a tissue, and not just for this rather touching moment. The 2016 legislative season started this week as well. It’s not the ONLY reason to cry these days, but it’s certainly one of the biggest.

Keep tabs on the issues and inform yourself this election year with #OKElections16, brought to you by Blue Cereal – because I care enough to ruin your day.

Nevertheless, there are SO MANY GOOD THINGS you simply shouldn’t miss in…

Essential Edubloggery This Week

On The Turning Away – Rick Cobb of OKEducationTruths figures that as long as our state legis don’t believe we need no education, he might as well explore the issues they’re creating using Pink Floyd lyrics (hence my inspiration for the title above). #oklaed

Alice’s Adventures in Public Ed – Jennifer Williams as JennWillTeach explores a day in the life of the average student through the eyes of a famous literary character. I’ll let you guess which one. This one is a bit dark – but it hurts so brilliantly. #oklaed

2-Minute Zen: Just One Thing – Dan Tricarico as The Zen Teacher has a gift for lowering your blood pressure and decluttering your world in simple ways that seem so obvious once pointed out, but you’d completely miss otherwise. He could probably do this with song lyrics or literary references, but why complicate things, right?

And this week, we all learned how to count to five…

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 – Anthony Purcell on Random Teacher Thoughts started something he maybe didn’t quite mean to when he issued an edu-blogger challenge built around a simple series of five questions. His timing couldn’t have been better – to be honest, I think we all really needed it this week. #oklaed

Here (in no particular order) are some of the responses so far. I’M POSITIVE I’VE MISSED A FEW GOOD ONES – please email me or call me out on the Twitters as you discover them and I’ll add them here. There’s not one of these that doesn’t make me feel better about teaching in this sorry state.

5 4 3 2 1 – Meghan Loyd, For The Love

5, 4, 3, 2, 1… And We’re Off! – Scott Haselwoood, Teaching From Here

Challenge Answered… – Lisa Witcher, One Good Thing

5-4-3-2-1 or 1-2-3-4-5, or whatever… – Cory Williams, An Early Model Millenial

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Challenge – Rick Cobb, OKEducationTruths

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Challenge – Kimberly Blodgett, KimBlodgett

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 – Kelly Husted, OklaEdFam

1… 2… 3… 4… 5… called out – T.M. Lunday, middleschoolstationconductor

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – A Bloggers Challenge – Erin Barnes, Educating Me

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 – Jason James, Thoughts on Oklahoma Education

Anthony’s Challenge – Eric Johnson, ‘YourKids’ Teacher

Purcell’s Challenge – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 – Zuzuz Petals, Keep The Wheat

1, 2, 3, 4, 5! – Jen Doty, Teaching CI Mandarin

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Blogger Challenge – Lady Mellot, Choosing the Road Not Taken

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 #OklaEd Blog Challenge – Jennifer Lea, The Tempered Teacher

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (Guest Blogger: Matt Cone) – Matt Cone, who doesn’t have a blog, but if he did, I’d SO TOTALLY marry it every day.

Five Questions – Peter Anderson, Mr. Anderson Reads & Writes

1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 – Marvel’s Agents of Ed

5 Questions – Katlyn Bennett, Reader, Teacher… Writer?

Challenging Thoughts & Culture – Andrew Kauffman, Curiosity, Exploration, Wonder

5, 4, 3, 2, One-derful! – Kas Nelson, A Principal’s Place

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Blogging Challenge – The Evolving Educator

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 – Response to Purcell’s Edu-Blogger Challenge – The Unbearable Blueness of Cereal, Blue Cereal Education

I can’t give you reasons to keep going this week, darlings – but these folks have. I can only thank you, and love you, and tell you that we must.

Illegitimum non carborundum; Domine salvum fac.

The Blaine Game (Updated)

February 6, 2016June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

Way back in 1875, President Ulysses S. Grant called for a Constitutional amendment that would mandate free public schools and prohibit the use of public money for “sectarian” purposes.

The idea of free public schools wasn’t new, but neither was it universal. And it wasn’t unheard of for various state governments to support education provided through religious institutions. It was working, and seemed practical at one time, so why not?

Republican Congressman James G. Blaine was happy to comply and proposed such an amendment. It came close to passage, but fell just short and never became law.

Over time, however, various Supreme Court rulings essentially codified the same principle. It’s a tricky balance sometimes (should states help Catholic schools buy Algebra textbooks?), but generally the separation between church and state is assumed in most circumstances – including school funding.

Most states – including Oklahoma – were less ambivalent, and have language similar to Blaine’s original proposal in their state constitutions, often informally referenced as ‘the Blaine Amendment’. For example, Article 2, Section 5 of Oklahoma’s constitution says this:

No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, donated, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, or system of religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary, or sectarian institution as such.

That language, along with Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First Amendment over the years, is why we can’t have a 10 Commandments monument on capitol grounds. It’s also why ESAs/vouchers are unconstitutional– even those currently hidden behind the shield of ‘special needs’.

The courts haven’t agreed with me on that one yet, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.

Religious diversity in the United States has expanded considerably since 1875, making the distinction between faith and politics even more appropriate. Disputes which used to involve whether or not copper buttons on your coat would cost you your eternal soul now seem quaint compared to disagreements over which god is the “real” one, or what caliber Jesus would use to eliminate children of other faiths.

It can get personal.

For people of relatively orthodox faith in Oklahoma, this increasing diversity looks and feels very much like their fundamental beliefs and lifestyles are under some sort of attack. What used to be assumed is now suddenly controversial, and traditions which used to bind communities together are now accused of being dangerous and wrong-headed.

Take a moment and appreciate how disturbing this is to someone not quite so detached and smugly intellectual as those on the opposite extreme. These aren’t bad people, for the most part – they’re just a little freaked out and worried about the world in which their kids are growing up.

Unfortunately, politics and pragmatism rarely allow for such reflection. Decisions must be made and funds allocated. “Blaine Amendment” or not, there are currently two pathways by which Oklahoma parents can procure state support to send their child to a private school – even a “sectarian” one.

The first is the “Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship.” This was authored by Senator Dan Newberry (R) and signed into law by Governor Fallin in 2011.

The OEOES gives individuals and businesses a 50% tax credit for contributions made to nonprofit organizations that provide scholarships to students whose parents want them in private schools. Students must live in a district labeled ‘Yucky Doo-Doo Heads’ or worse by the state’s A-F School Shaming System (even if they’ve never actually attended public school in that district) OR live in a household “in which the total annual income during the preceding tax year does not exceed an amount equal to three hundred percent (300%) of the income standard used to qualify for a free or reduced school lunch… “

Threefold the reduced lunch threshold isn’t hardcore poverty by any stretch. This means the parents of little Theodore, who’s always gone to Word of Faith of Hope of Grace anyway, can receive financial aid from wealthy donors who will then be significantly reimbursed by taxpayer dollars.

It’s just indirect enough to pass constitutional muster, and we could quibble over whether or not tax breaks are the same as public support. Right now, however, this is the law.

The second is the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship for Students with Disabilities, which seems to be better-known and more widely-utilized. This bill, passed in 2010, allows students who can secure the label “special needs” to take their portion of state funding and attend a private school of their parents’ choice.

Any student with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) who’s gone to public school in Oklahoma for at least a year OR whose parent is an active-duty member of the armed forces (often moving regularly) is eligible. Once approved, the voucher option continues through high school.

Despite pro-voucher visuals featuring a touching variety of multi-cultural children in wheelchairs and competing in the Special Olympics, it takes much less to qualify for an IEP. Any teacher can tell you the vast majority of mandated modifications are things like “allowed to use a calculator” or “sits near teacher and requires periodic redirection.”

I’m not trivializing the role of educational modification, but we should be honest about the range of students covered by this language.

If little Brittany’s parents can convince that 3rd Grade team that she simply MUST be given extra time on her spelling practice, or if Chauncy’s parents secure the tiniest diagnosis from their family doctor regarding his adorable 2nd Grade lisp (the kind assertively featured any time a child under the age of 20 appears in a TV commercial), they then qualify for these ‘special needs’ vouchers all the way up until their admittance letters from Stanford (Daddy’s alma mater!)

The use of this particular ‘scholarship’ in religious schools has been validated by the courts. Several districts challenged this legislation when it first passed, and were demonized for “suing parents of handicapped kids.” The courts determined the schools lacked standing, so other approaches were tried. So far, they’ve failed.

I’m happy enough for the parents making good use of this to get a better education for their kids. I really am.

Of greater significance, however, is the logistical reality of special needs children in MOST private schools. One of the many freedoms granted non-public institutions of learning is that they don’t have to follow IEPs or accommodations or anything else required of public schools. Ironically, an IEP may be required to GET that funding, but as soon as you’re admitted, it ceases to exist.

While there are a handful of schools committed to better educating certain types of high-needs children – some of whom do amazing work – the vast majority are rather selective about who they do and don’t accept. Whatever their good intentions, most private schools simply lack the resources to make sure little Gertrude gets specialized attention. If she can’t step up and fit in without disrupting the flow, she’s out.

Chances are she’ll never be in to begin with.

Few parents of a child with substantial needs are likely to have the resources to independently fund that full-time aide to follow them from class to class, or the tutoring they’ll need to master basic math. Public schools can’t afford to do it either, but we do – because it’s the law.

Public school educators arguing against vouchers (or ESAs) aren’t doing so out of some twisted venom towards religious instruction (well, some of them might be – but not the rational majority). We’re kicking and screaming because the powers-that-be are manipulating your collective sympathy and desire to do right by kids in order to redirect public funds into the pockets of their chosen favorites – many of whom are perfectly capable of funding their children’s education on their own.

We’re fussing because those who inherited the nicest treehouse keep trying to pull up the ladder so no one else can play, despite the welcome mat hanging from the highest branches and their wailing laments over the ‘choices’ of those still on the ground.

I’m not done with this issue.

RELATED POST: Jonah’s Education