Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Just John

When Bill Clinton was president he had a saying, "It's the economy, stupid." Well, he was half right.

The simple facts are, "It's education, stupid."

Without an educated workforce industry won't locate in an area, no matter what other benefits a community or state offers. After all, the backbone of all successful businesses are the employees.

Unfortunately, we in Arkansas, have a governor who has an apparent hatred of public schools and public educations, though he is a public school graduate himself. His time in office has been spent putting forth programs fraught with problems and mismanagement, along with trying to use state money to build church schools.

While there's nothing wrong with church schools, it's doubtful churches are going to want to open their books and records to the public under the state's Freedom of Information Act, as they would should they receive public funds. And, it would only fair to the taxpayers of the state those books be open for public scrutiny.

The Arkansas Department of Education has shown a propensity to change programs seemingly on a whim, instead of giving the programs time to see if they could work or be salvaged. My personal analogy is if I were to plant an apple tree, would I cut it down in two years if it weren't bearing fruit. No, it would be foolish to destroy the tree in so short a time, yet this is done with educational programs across the state.

There has also been talk of tying teachers's raises to the performance of students on standardized tests. This simply isn't right or fair. Teachers can impart knowledge, but it's up to the student to receive and use it. No teacher can make a child do well on standardized tests.

Over the years I've worked with several school districts, and all of them have voiced the same complaints when it comes to these tests. First, the tests, as they currently exist, aren't equitable nationwide. Each state can give its own version. Administrators have told me the tests used in Texas are based on the fundamentals of core curriculum, while Arkansas's tests are much harder. This is not a level playing field.

If these mandatory standardized tests, which are useless in my personal opinion, are going to be used, then all states should use the same ones, and the tests should not have regional biases as many do.

It would be better if more emphasis were placed on the students doing well enough in their classes to be able to score in the low 20s on the ACT test, which is more important in the long run.

Another problem all of the districts I've worked with have stated is the lack of parental involvement. Many parents just don't appear to care if their child(ren) are doing well in school or not. Shame on them.

Here's an idea on how to stimulate parental involvement for one segment of the population, and yes, I know exceptions would have to be made in some instances. Those families getting welfare checks from the state should have the amount they receive tied to how well their children are doing in school.

Yes, this is harsh, but it would be an effective tool in getting some parents involved in their children's education. While this sounds prejudicial, it really isn't, as no single race is involved.

Granted, a lot of these parents won't be able to help their children with homework due to their own lack of education, but this shouldn't stop them from trying to find tutors, or someone who can help. The idea would be for them to make sure their children are learning, and they could learn along with them.

At this point, I don't have a solution for the lack of parental involvement for those families not in financial difficulties, unless fines or public service could be levied based on student performances.

Parents in this community need to be involved with their children's education, even if it's just showing up at school and watching what goes on in the classroom now and then. Parents should also not be quick to blame teachers for "not liking their child" when a discipline issue arises.

Discipline is important in school, and corporal punishment, believe it or not, is a vital part of maintaining it. For some reason, when the seat of the pants is warmed, it stimulates brain cells.

Now remember, to succeed economically, it's all about education, stupid.