Bill White Launches First TV Ad, Talks About Moving Texas Forward on Education

Wordy but unimpressive (0.00 / 0)

How any of us respond to the "education" issue depends on where we are coming from, since pre-K, K-12, and secondary education are all separate issues.  I can't see an expanded pre-K program, for instance, helping with high school dropout rates.  Greater access to college won't help the dropout rates either.

My own concern is with the public K-12 grades, although my children are no longer affected.  I see mainstream education as key to the future of our economy and our democracy - and I see it failing, miserably.  In Texas, but not only in Texas.  

White's ideas have the advantage of showing that he cares about the issue - and the disadvantage of showing that he, too, has little clue about what to do.  His primary platform plank for K-12 - bumping up teachers' pay - sounds great to the teachers, but experience across the country shows that some of the highest-spending school districts in the country are among the worst performing.  Success will not come from spending, but about changing community and family attitudes toward school.  In this regard White's ideas for dealing with dropouts is quite good - but unless the quality of teaching is improved, will hardly matter.  I'm mostly concerned about the kids who are not dropping out, and are still getting a terrible education.  

White and others can talk about "master teachers", but where will they come from - Texas?  From people who got their education in a state that fails to adequately educate its students?  You can't turn a toilet bowl into a salad bowl.  Although I am a native Texan, I am so grateful that most of my public school years were spent outside of Texas.  Only Mississippi was worse, but at least it was only for ten months.

Finally, I ask BOR readers - if education is so gosh-darned important to you, why are you so attached to a Lt. Gov. candidate with only a ninth-grade education?    

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by: Dale Napier @ Mon Feb 01, 2010 at 11:47:20 AM CST

Actually, Dale (0.00 / 0)

The U-Teach program here in Texas is being touted nationally as a great program. And since I have friends that went to school in Texas, graduated from the UT school, and are now teaching because of that program, your "pulled out of thin air" criticisms are both uninformed and unfounded.

Now, a very great man once said that some people rob you with a fountain pen.

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by: Phillip Martin @ Mon Feb 01, 2010 at 13:03:27 PM CST

[ Parent ]

To Dale Napier (3.00 / 1)

Actually, pre-K does help with dropout rates.  Pre-K has been shown to help children in numerous ways that translate to success in school right away.  Kids who have had pre-K are much less likely to fail in school and thus drop out.

And last I looked, there's more than 1 candidate for Lt. Gov. on the ticket and the one I'm interested in went to law-school, I believe.

Why aren't you jumping up and down about a candidate that at least has some ideas about improving our schools, rather than candidates that are happy with the toilet bowl? (as you put it) Or worse yet, would probably be happy to see public education completely dismantled?

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by: godmother @ Mon Feb 01, 2010 at 12:49:36 PM CST

obviously (0.00 / 0)

white's poll numbers show that shami won't even be getting close.

nice spots.  i especially like that he speaks spanish in the spanish-language spot.

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by: colin @ Mon Feb 01, 2010 at 13:29:41 PM CST

To Dale - (0.00 / 0)

I was about to write that pre-k does in fact help with dropout rates, and I was going to sing the praises of UTeach, but it looks like two very smart people beat me to the punch.  So ditto what they said.  I think Perry has even called for expanding UTeach to 4 additional universities to help with math & science teacher recruitment.

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by: Joe @ Mon Feb 01, 2010 at 14:02:48 PM CST

and I should note (3.00 / 1)

bumping teacher pay does in fact help with recruiting quality teachers.  If you had a math or science degree, you could make much more money going into research or some other field than you could teaching.  You've got to provide an incentive to teach.  Higher pay is a pretty good way to start.

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by: Joe @ Mon Feb 01, 2010 at 14:04:26 PM CST

[ Parent ]

This isn't as important (0.00 / 0)

as the other posts on this thread, but has anyone else noticed that the music in Shami's new "insourcing" ad sounds a little like something out of "Dexter"?

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by: Triangulation of Death @ Mon Feb 01, 2010 at 14:40:12 PM CST