AS USUAL “GOOD OLE DAN” IS AT IT AGAIN…
As usual “good ole Dan” is at it again.
“The Achievement Gap” he harps on all the time.
His real target, public employees pay and pensions.
Somehow this aging fascist is trying to sell to his constituents, mean old white women and men, the dubious argument that you can get something for nothing.
Look, the Achievement Gap is really an opportunity gap.
The demographic of California’s public schools is still separated within by racism and discrimination in housing. Then, add to it, the declining numbers of Caucasians in the state and you get a perfect storm of racism and prejudice.
The real message Dan is selling is to the white aging population, to stop supporting public education once again.
Now, these are the same people who reveled in free COLLEGE EDUCATION decades ago.
I attended Sac State after Stanford. I remember waiting in line to pay my “fees” and being told it would be $50.00. I expected at least $1000 or so. I was told those were student body fees and parking.
In short there was no tuition.
The white middle class go a free public education K-16 in those days.. Graduates of Cal in 1969 still talk about attending one of the best colleges in the world for like $300 fees.
Then came Prop 13 and everything changed. Property taxes wee capped, leading to today’s brutal housing market and ending free college for California students.
And that, in a system that only required a student to be in high school until they were 16!. Many dropped out and went to work as late as 1970.
Today a high school diploma gets you nowhere.
And we are competing in a global economy…no matter how much Trump lies to us: we will only be prosperous as much as we educate our children.
Every major nation in the world compensates their public school teachers more, every one has better benefits (just the socialized medicine alone beats America easily in compensation for teachers.
It is not unusual for a kindergarten teacher in Finland for example to make $100,000 a year (with full benefits existing already in socialized medicine).
And guess what, their achievement scores are way past ours.
Don’t think I know what I am talking about. I still do WASC Accreditation’s. I still see see the opportunity gap all the time (not achievement), and it ALWAYS is by color. ALWAYS.
THAT IS THE THING DAN WON’T TOUCH. HE KNOWS THAT RACISM IS STILL IN CHARGE IN OUR OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL OUR KIDS.
It is not an achievement gap, it is an opportunity and inclusion gap. A child of color still does not have a fair shot.
And Dan’s mercilessly attacks on public school educators is ground rock solidly based in racism.