Danny Tarkanian, a well-educated attorney (Horsford
never graduated from college) comes from a family whose every action is
rooted in the education system. His mother, Lois, has a Ph.D. in
education and has been as active as anyone I know
in supporting Nevada’s education system. I’m not sure how Danny’s
conservative views line up with his mother’s liberal views. Danny
believes the U.S. Department of Education should be dissolved and the
millions of dollars used to support it should be returned
to all the states. It would have been a great help if Horsford had
talked directly to me in the last five years about his views on
education. I’ve asked him to explain those but until he does so in
writing, I’ll have to assume Tarkanian has been more thoughtful
and analytical in solving these very serious problems.
I went to school in Massachusetts. I graduated High School just as the US Dept of Education came along. Massachusetts schools were then and are now among the best in the country. My family moved 3 towns over to enroll us in the Framingham schools. That was akin to the school choice being pushed by today's conservatives. I agree with it, it helped both my brother and I. It also took the direct involvement of my parents. Mostly my mother, who was stay at home then.
ReplyDeleteCCSD is very centralized, but even under this bureaucratic monster, parents do move with the intent of placing their children in a better school.
30 years ago I used to say Nevada Democrats made Massachusetts Republicans look downright liberal. Today, not so much. Massachusetts still has schools that are among the best in the country and they do it with some of the smallest districts in the country. Its not how much money they have, its how they spend it. Today the High School in Framingham is housed in a building over 40 years old. My Middle school (Walsh) is in a building over 40 years old. My elementary school (Brophy) is over 40 years old. During my school years overcrowding was rampant and Framingham opened a bunch of new middle schools. They have since re purposed the new schools and kept the old ones open. You see, those new schools had the "open" classroom design someone in Washington DC said was best. Framingham found that to be not so true. The old school designs the state and local districts built for themselves were then and today remain, the best.
I graduated High School just as the US Dept of Ed was in its infancy. I too say it has been a failure and the money should stay in the states where it belongs. But I speak from experience, not from a high perch in Washington DC.
My mom fits the definition of a Massachusetts liberal, then and today. You can tell I am not one of today's liberals. A note about Massachusetts, the largest block of registered voters in that state are not Republican or Democrat. The largest block of registered voters are independents. I have been registered independent since I was old enough to vote. That state is blue only by choice. Considering my own history, I feel ok with Danny Tarkanian. He and I have the same grounding. AND we both have much to learn, are not afraid to admit it and look forward to learning it.
Most of Today's conservatives remind me of yesterdays liberals, Jim.
Perhaps it is time to slow the wheels of "progress" and take a look at where the road forward is taking us.
Another thing, I built my first crystal radio in Walsh Middle School. 6th grade. I wonder how many kids do that today?
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