Archive for the '101 Reasons to Abolish' Category

Parent Rights in Education

Published
by
Tunya Audain
on October 21, 2008
in 101 Reasons to Abolish
. 0 Comments

 

Continuing to compile 101 Reasons to Abolish School Boards

7.  Parents Rights and Their Children’s Education is a taboo topic in school boards. 

Why?  When someone, naively and earnestly says that parent rights, written in a pamphlet or school handbook would help empower parents, that person is praised, then diverted to another topic or “convinced” in no uncertain terms that there are “many stakeholders, partners, decision-makers, channels of authority…..ad infinitum, to follow”.
Since 1975 I’ve been involved with a project, Education Advisory, to help empower parents as both consumers and producers in the education system.  The pamphlet, with the above title has been produced and reproduced in many parts of the English world, in print and online and is available here.
 

Influence Peddling in School Boards?

Published
by
Tunya Audain
on October 3, 2008
in 101 Reasons to Abolish
. 2 Comments

Continuing my list of 101 Reasons to Abolish School Boards:

 

6.  Influence peddling  has no place in school board business.

Why would a potential trustee, a parent particularly, seek endorsement from a teacher union in seeking election?  That’s rank conflict of interest, especially since you have to pass the test of whether you are “progressive” or not!

For a union to actively advertise their offer of power to help elect is rank influence peddling in my view.

It skews, manipulates, and distorts the intent of what school boards are supposed to do – pursue education of children.  And, it’s the illegal practice of using influence to obtain favors.  It’s a form of bribery, a form of corruption that alters the behavior of recipients in ways not consistent with discharging their public duty.  Do you think this story in the Vancouver Sun about a teacher union’s promise to help elect “progressive” trustees if they sign a pledge fits the definition of influence peddling? They seek through trustee pledges to advance 7 points including reducing class size, minimizing standardized testing, and supporting local – instead of provincial – bargaining.

 

School Boards are Obsolete

Published
by
Tunya Audain
on October 1, 2008
in 101 Reasons to Abolish
. 0 Comments

 

Continuing my list of 101 Reasons to Abolish School Boards:

 

5.  School Boards are Obsolete

 

     ‘These institutions served their purpose well in the past. But it is clear that the larger and more bureaucratic they become, the less they are able to fulfill the basic goal of providing a high-quality education. They tend to be dominated by educational elites who serve other goals. Elections have turned into pro forma exercises that mock the purpose of democratic control. School boards also seem incapable of guaranteeing high academic standards. They are now failing to provide children, their parents or taxpayers with enough value to justify their existence.’ 

 

Recommendation #1 of “Are School Boards Obsolete: Low voter turn out, rising costs, time to move on…?” by Dennis Owens for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, Oct 01/1999)

101 Reasons to Abolish School Boards 1-4

Published
by
Tunya Audain
on September 12, 2008
in 101 Reasons to Abolish
. 0 Comments

 

101 Reasons to Abolish School Boards (Boards of Education, Local Education Authorities….)

    1. An unnecessary level of government

If private and independent schools can operate efficiently with parents as unpaid school boards at each individual school, hiring, firing, etc., why can’t public schools?

    2. Politics of lay acquiescence

Well-meaning lay people run for school boards hoping to have a say on behalf of parents and children for better education.  How long does it take for a turnaround — before they become socialized, domesticated puppets of the establishment and against parents. I’ve talked to trustees and some actually warn that the system has to be protected from parents, that they have to work for the "community".  How is it that the trustees are to be the gatekeepers, the barricade against parents and the public?  Don’t they see that they themselves have fallen into place as puppets and kept at "arms length"?  What kind of "training" or "re-education" do these trustees get? (Please see post for Sept 10/08 and the accompanying visual about a 1986 "training".

   3. Conflict of Interest of trustees

Look at your list of present trustees?  How many are teachers or ex-teachers or principals?  How many are ex teacher union leaders? Some jurisdictions see the danger and have strong conflict-of-interest prohibitions in regulations and legislation. Not in BC.

   4. Trusteeship just a stepping stone to senior politics

How many senior politicians do you know who started out as trustees?  It’s a great training school for politics.  You learn to schmooze, to pull strings, to wheedle, to promise…….You learn who the power brokers are in the community as trustees get their share of attending so many committees directly unrelated to education:  health, parks and recreation, municipal leadership training camps, …..You deal with provincial and federal politicians and bureaucrats as you seek grants and favors, funds and tax benefits….