Most people reading this are familiar with the American education system. Having the privilege of being woken up early every morning, brainwashed by radical liberal educators and arbitrarily judged on our intelligence is an experience shared by almost every child in this country. Education, I believe, is one of our most important political issues, as it paves the way for progress in the future. Because of this, I have much interest in Gov. Scott Walker and his education efforts. Recently, Walker announced his plans for a new set of reforms. In the spirit of transparency, I feel it necessary to note my mother is a teacher and I participated in the anti-Walker protests here in Madison two years ago, so admittedly I am biased against Gov. Walker. Despite this, I sat down and tried to take an objective look at his proposals. Upon shallow examination, I rather liked some of it. It encourages reading and seems that it would improve teacher training. Quickly, however, I found something to object to. Walker’s reforms propose a system that rewards schools based on test scores. This isn’t a new idea. It’s already quite present in education funding. While I agree that it is important to reward achievement, I believe it is much more important to give aid to schools that need it rather than those that “earn” it.
When something isn’t working, it needs to be changed. We are faced with an education system in need of reform, so it is admirable of Walker to try to do something about it. This system of funding, however, will only perpetuate the status quo. Schools that are currently successful will continue to be successful, but struggling schools will only continue to struggle. This won’t bring change.
I don’t mean to say we should eliminate results-based funding. It is good to incentivize schools to give their students the best possible education. The government, however, should really be focusing its money where it has the most effect. The schools that don’t meet education standards are the ones that need this funding the most. They lack proper facilities and quality programs because they are denied funding, and they are denied funding because they lack proper facilities and quality programs. It is a downward spiral and it is one of the biggest detriments to public education in America.
I am very grateful to have attended great schools and to have had great teachers. Many people seem to forget, though, that this experience is not universal. Children in poor urban areas often are not provided with a fair chance at a quality education. Needless to say, this drastically hurts their chances at obtaining a good higher education. It is because of this that we have affirmative action, which attempts to work against this problem. But affirmative action is only a superficial solution. The root of the problem is the inequality of our schools, and affirmative action will continue to be a necessity until we address that.
I understand the argument against this view. Why would we reward schools for doing poorly? My response to this is twofold. First, it is absolutely ridiculous to believe that a school would sacrifice quality for more funding. It is not a reward. It’s help. Second, and more important, the beneficiaries of this help would not be the poorly performing schools themselves, but rather the children that attend them. By withholding funds from a school, the government is withholding funds from children in need of education. There is no reason for children to be punished for the quality of their school. Rather than focusing on the educational institutions, Walker and his reforms should focus on what really matters.
Mitch is a freshman with an undecided major. Please send all feedback or questions to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
