What I found interesting about this ad (watch video below) which at first I was not even going to post but I do post for educational purposes namely that after all this media attention to the Catholic church on child sexual abuse by priests it is 100 times more likely your child will be sexually abused by a public educator than a priest. Check out ad below and then click on US Department of Education: Study reveals that kids are more than 100 times more likely to be sexually abused by an educator than by a priest.

One of the many reasons why the national media doesn't report or focus as much attention on this issue than on priests is because the public school system is arguably ran more by teacher's unions than by principles, parents and tax payers. Teacher's unions as most unions usually help finance liberal politicians which goes well with the liberal media. See The department of Political Science at Stanford provides an argument that quality of education must be via weakening or eliminating union power... and labels Labor Unions and Education.



I had a recent discussion with family concerning teachers unions and one point that in critically thinking about this issue that I have thus far come to conclude is that teachers unions are a major flaw in the public school system. First, Charter schools do better than public schools for the most part. Charter schools are mostly not unionized which leaves administration and principles more ability to properly administrate the schools which benefits the children. The teachers unions argue that it benefits teachers less which benefits help teachers to teach better which may be in part true cause unionization does benefit them more but many would argue they overly benefit them at the expense of the education of the children of many tax payers who fund the teachers salaries in the first place. I personally believe that any model of education that undermines accountability by making it hard for principles and administration to perform their roles to hire and fire and try new things to adapt to the changing pressures is a system that is bound to stagnate and fail and is failing. I would also argue that parents need to be involved and how much more do they need to be involved that there are these unions that get in the way of the accountability process.

No system will work without parental involvement. Parents need to hold administrators accountable to administrate and a way to do that is vouchers or some form of school choice. Vouchers would make any system accountable so long as the parents cared.  This would naturally lead to further accountability via parental involvement because they now have a choice about the education of their children and this may encourage their involvement in the process and empower them with more than just words to a school that is failing their children for whatever reason by giving them the ability to take their child and money provided by tax payer's elsewhere. Right now there is really little empowerment for parents. So in the context of accountability a parent can complain all they want but the system doesn't care. Vouchers will make the system care and maybe any system. Maybe the system doesn't matter as much as the accountability via those who may care most about the system working which are those being serviced by the system. And after all isn't that what a public servant is suppose to be about!!! I bet they would be more about that if they saw themselves as public servants which vouchers and school choice would help them do. Even businessmen and women trading out on the market understand this and maybe even more so then our public servants do today. See Public sector workers enjoy better pay as well as better pensions, shorter hours and eariler retirement than private sector all at tax payers expense in the UK for more on that. 

Now, there is a legitimate argument against the parents of those who are not involved or concerned with their child's education that not even vouchers will work. Parents have to care and I think a majority of them do and that will override those who don't cause those schools failing the children will be forced to pick it up or they will go out of business and only those parents who don't care will be screwed but even some of their children would benefit from this accountability structure via those who are served by the structure. I mean right now we are screwing everybody including our economy that this educational system will produce via a poorly educated work force.

Here is a video of teachers discussing further problems with teachers unions from post posted at Values Voter News from back in 12/2008.

The Truth about Teachers Unions from Union Facts on Vimeo.

However, there are more issues for me and my family than just these with the public school system which I believe are reasons for its continued failure like the values of faith, family, life and the blessings of freedom which they have produced but are bit by bit being chipped away at as we leave those values behind in our public education.

Oh by the way I honestly don't know what Susana Martinez's position is on this issue. This is not to say Susana is for vouchers but I would tend to lean in that direction myself for above reasons. For Susana Martinez's position on education she has this quick statement from her web site on the issues:


"In 2003, the Richardson/Denish Administration raided the Permanent Fund and abolished the state school board. They increased education spending by over 40% and they said they wanted to be held accountable. Their report card? Today, 40% of New Mexico students do not graduate from high school. 
I will stop simply throwing more and more money at the problem – a broken school system that is failing too many children – and I will start reforming it.

Instead of accepting mediocrity in New Mexico schools and being bullied by special-interest groups into shying away from real changes, I will take on the establishment and fight for a system that puts children learning first, before anything else.

I believe we must empower parents, raise academic standards, increase school choice and reward our best teachers with higher pay. New Mexico must ensure education tax dollars make it into the classroom and do not get swallowed up by a massive education bureaucracy.

As governor, I will work to make sure New Mexico’s kids go to class. Success in life starts by simply showing up. As District Attorney in Doña Ana County, I hold parents accountable for not getting their elementary aged children to school. For excessively truant middle and high school kids, I hold classes at the DA’s office to ensure students show up each day. As governor, I will work to reduce truancy and fill our classrooms.

The measure of our success will be when New Mexico children have an opportunity to receive a quality education that allows them to chase their dreams."

For another newly elected Republican Governor in New Jersey and his recent battle taking on the teacher's unions see Videos: Governor Chris Christie and the people of New Jersey successfully taking on Teachers Unions


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