Education Reform

U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) penned an opinion piece for Politico on Monday evening titled, “Updating No Child Left Behind.” In it, Senator Harkin argues the No Child Left Behind legislation needs an overhaul that retains “its commitment to educating all children to high standards, while overhauling elements of the law that have proved ineffective.” Harkin’s measures for reform sound very reasonable, including focusing on “teaching and learning, not testing and sanctioning,” and eliminating “one-size-fits-all approaches” by replacing existing law with “state-designed accountability systems.” Further, Harkin writes, “the bill aims for a federal role that does fewer things – more effectively.” Wow, he almost sounds more like a Republican here than a liberal Democrat.

Few would argue that Harkin, as Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions, is a central figure in efforts to reform education. And to many, Senator Harkin seems the ideal man for the job.

For the first time tonight, in what appears to be a settled field of Republican candidates for the nomination to run as the party’s standard bearer for President, many issues were debated. One of them was education.

A question was posed to Texas Governor Rick Perry about his record on education and recent budget cuts. Perry acquitted himself well, pointing to the fact that companies continue to come to his state to relocate their businesses because there is a strong, well-educated work force.

That is all well and good, but what struck me was the question itself. The implication was – from the pointed bias – that cutting money for education equates to diminished returns on education. Some may believe that America’s education ills are a matter of money. I suggest that it is not.

This is mindboggling. Lisa Leff of The Associated Press is reporting the California State Senate “has approved legislation that would require California’s public schools to include gay history in social studies lessons.”

Seriously. At a time when America’s youth are falling behind the rest of the world in their studies and children are not being taught the basic fundamental principles, traditions and values of our Republic, California lawmakers want to make sure students are well versed in gay history. This despite a recent study that estimates homosexuals comprise about 2% of the population. 2%! Even if you take the higher end of the spectrum, that 3 to 5% of the population is homosexual, you have to wonder why “gay history” is so important.

Education reform is of vital importance. America’s youth are falling behind the rest of the world in their studies. Children are not being taught the basic fundamental principles, traditions and values of our Republic. These are irrefutable facts that come despite the massive amounts of money we spend to correct the problem.

Real reform must look deep into the root causes of why our country is failing the children and at the same time understand that throwing more and more money at the problem is not the solution. Think about it, if money was the obstacle, we would have solved the problem long ago. After all, that’s what our government does best, spend money. Our government is so good at spending money that it has spent $14.2 trillion that we don’t have and can’t pay back.

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) has long been a champion for education and the disabled. His signature legislative achievement is the Americans With Disabilities Act. So it is unusual to say the least that the relationship between Harkin and Au Clair School founder Ken Mazik goes back more than 17 years. In December 1993, as Mazik was gearing up to lobby welfare reform, Mazik and his business associates and employees contributed at least $14,000 to Harkin’s campaign committee, “Citizens for Harkin.”

Contributions have flowed into the campaign coffers of Harkin connected campaign and leadership PAC accounts ever since. But the relationship between Harkin and Mazik appears to have taken on more than the ordinary relationship of a donor who supports a politician who in turn is of course, grateful.

When setting course to reform education, specifically to “out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world,” as President Barack Obama declared in his State of the Union Address in January, the interests of the children should come first and foremost. The interest of the taxpayers should also weigh heavily.

President Obama’s architect on education reform will likely be Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions. Where do Harkin’s interests lay? Are they with the children, taxpayers, or the country? Or do his interests intersect with those who support him? This of course is no easy question to answer. So let’s take a look at some facts and figures, primarily Harkin’s benefactors.

President Barack Obama’s plan to “out-educate and out-build the rest of the world” includes spending a staggering $77.4 billion in the next fiscal year, an increase of nearly 4.5% above previous levels. This won’t be easy in this climate of necessary budget cuts. With Republicans controlling the House of Representatives, Obama’s go-to legislator will have to be in the U.S. Senate where Democrats still control the agenda and can carry his water. The Senator who Obama will rely on to implement his plan is likely to be Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions.

Senator Harkin seems the ideal man for the job. In the vein of Obama, Harkin’s a liberal’s liberal who views government as the primary solution to problems:

In Presidential politics, the maxim is always “are we better off today, than we were four years ago?” That question could apply to education: are we better off today than we were 30 years ago on the education front? The answer is, clearly not; but what to do?

President Barack Obama, the self-styled “agent of change,” appears set to travel down the same road we’ve been traveling, throwing more good money after bad at the symptoms, not the causes. Case in point, President Obama has repeatedly called for an “investment” in education. The so-called investment comes at the same time we face a severe fiscal crisis where the federal government is running trillion dollar, unsustainable deficits, and the nation’s debt exceeds $14.2 trillion.

Regardless, President Obama clearly controls the bully pulpit and will use it to drive the education agenda. We already know what direction he’s decided to go in: more spending.

Americans are keenly cognizant of the necessity for a proper education, not only for themselves and for their children, but also for their neighbors.  So much so, that in every local, state and federal election, as some public policy issues wax and wane, education is a constant.  And with good reason, as it is without question that education today in the United States is in a state of crisis.  More pointedly, the federal educational complex that has risen through the decades is like ten miles of bad road, full of potholes, built on a swamp.

It is now evident, more so than ever before, the potholes are sinkholes and the very nature of the swamp cannot be changed by merely addressing the symptoms and implementing the quick fixes that are always at the center of debate.  However, rarely does the discussion turn to substantive deliberations on the root causes of why education is in such disarray and how to fix them.

In April 2009, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the “primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations,” found little improvement in long term assessments of math and reading, despite stating “improvements seen in reading and mathematics.”

Reading Assessments:

Nine-year-old students scored an average of 215 in reading in 1980 and an average of 220 in 2008, an increase of 5 points through nearly three decades.

Thirteen-year-old students scored an average of 258 in reading in 1980 and an average of 260 in 2008, an increase of 2 points through nearly three decades.

Seventeen-year-old students scored an average of 285 in reading in 1980 and an average of 286 in 2008, an increase of 1 point through nearly three decades.

Math Assessments: