Union Blasts Jindal's Choice Proposal for Louisiana Students

Union Blasts Jindal’s Choice Proposal for Louisiana Students

Gov. Bobby Jindal has taken offense at comments made by a teachers union official who criticized the voucher element of Louisiana’s proposed education reforms.

A teachers union official has spoken out against the expansion of the Louisiana’s new voucher program, a key element to Gov. Bobby Jindal’s sweeping proposal to overhaul the state’s education system.

Governor Bobby Jindal has fired back against criticisms of his plan to overhaul the state education system, saying that he was offended by a comment a union official made about school vouchers, writes Jeff Adelson at the Times-Picayune.

Jindal hit out at comments made by Louisiana Association of Educators Executive Director Michael Walker-Jones, who suggested that parents would not be given adequate resources to make informed decisions about their children’s schools.

“To me that is incredibly offensive and exactly what is wrong with the top-down approach,” Jindal said.

Referring to Jindal’s plan, which would provide vouchers to students in low-performing, low-income schools, Walker-Jones doubted whether parents had the information, time and training to bear the burden of educational decisions

Walker-Jones said:

“If I’m a parent in poverty I have no clue because I’m trying to struggle and live day to day.”

Parents in the state are concerned about the large class sizes and lack of special education instruction in their public schools. Jindal believes the voucher program will answer the parents’ calls for more options for their children’s education.

Linda Covington, a parent of three, said:

“Nobody knows my child better than me.

“I can’t imagine not having a choice.”

The voucher program is currently limited to “Opportunity Scholarships” in New Orleans. The program is a key element of Jindal’s broad proposal to overhaul Louisiana’s education system and would make any low-income family whose child was in a school rated C, D or F eligible for public money to send the student to a private school, writes Adelson.

Teacher tenure and the use of seniority in making personnel decisions are also at risk of being cut under the proposals.

However, Steve Monaghan, president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, has attacked these aspects of the proposal and has accused Jindal of using “inflammatory rhetoric” to demonize teachers.

Comments

Margaret Nava

January 28, 2012 at 10:19 pm

I’ve taught the children of rural, poor, uneducated parents for more than 12 years. Every time I think I know more than the parent, the parent will show me up at a parent teacher conference or special education meeting! Parents have a very, very good idea about what their kids need, and no matter how bad they themselves are, they want the best for their kids, excepting the 2% there will always be in any group. Between brochures and word of mouth, –and websites, now– there are very few schools that aren’t known for what they are. Let the parents have vouchers!

Reply
Doug

January 29, 2012 at 8:01 am

The poor do not do badly because of the schools. The poor do badly because they are poor. The lives of the poor are rife with low birthweight babies, poor nutrition, need for glasses and dental care, mobility problems, housing problems, food security problems, lack of parental or tutorial support, and so on. Vouchers will do nothing to fix this.

The way for the poor to do better in school is good jobs and an end to poverty first not later.

Reply
Linda Brees

January 29, 2012 at 1:00 pm

I agree, Doug. Vouchers will not magically alleviate the problems brought on by poverty. They will not give children a quiet place to do their homework, will not raise the quality of the food they eat, will not increase the time parents spend keeping an eye on their kids’ progress instead of rushing off for that second job to make rent. Schools are being scapegoated for problems that no school has the capacity to solve. Until we actually start looking at how education issues begin at home, we’re not actually solving anything but just looking for convenient scapegoats.

Reply
tired teacher

January 29, 2012 at 1:55 pm

parents know their child at home. parents do not know their child at school. and they do not know hoe to educate their child. because they are non objective parents, which they should be, not objective educators.

Reply
- AL Rich.
  
  January 30, 2012 at 7:10 am
  
  Tired Teacher, I am tired of the excuses offered by your profession and your Teachers Union. As a country we continue to pour money down the Public Education hole and get substandard results in return. I hear from teachers all the time that if they had more money they could better. WRONG! We spend more than any of the developed countries per child $7,743.Yet we finish 9th in Science test scores and 10th Math test scores. I guess you all are spending more time on raising the self esteem of the children rather than teaching them anything..
  
  Reply
  - Another tired teacher
    
    February 4, 2012 at 7:32 pm
    
    No. We are spending our time trying to discipline students who have more rights in the classroom than the actual teacher. I love my students and hold high expectations for them. I have several students that have entered the education areana because of my influence. However, until you have taught in the classroom on a daily basis and not just looked in the window or had a child in a classroom – you have NO idea what teachers deal with. I spend every waking minute of my nights and weekends preparing for my students and going for my second masters degree (in educational leadership) than I do with my own family. Unfortunately, education and educators are blamed for a variety of things that they have no control over. Enough already!
    
    Reply
Steve Ryerson

January 29, 2012 at 8:31 pm

Doug and Linda, you’re not answering the question; you’re diverting attention. The question is, “Are vouchers and the power they give to parents a help or hindrance?” Unquestionably they are a help. They help to wake up underperforming schools to the fact that they can do better. Are they “magic”? No. Are they the only improvement needed? No. Tired teacher, do you seriously think educators are objective? Get serious! (I’ve taught for 17 years in a variety of settings, BTW)

Reply
Union Blasts Jindal's Choice Proposal for Louisiana Students … « Feeds « Local News Feeds

January 29, 2012 at 8:56 pm

[...] More from original source- Union Blasts Jindal's Choice Proposal for Louisiana Students … Sponsor- Bob Burg- The Art of Persuasion- from Destiny Image Books- How to master the art of [...]

Reply
MattW

January 30, 2012 at 6:42 am

Steve, show me a study or some research that says that all poor schools needed was a “wake up call to do better.” The lie behind vouchers is that schools just chose to perform poorly. The truth is far more complex than that, and until individuals in leadership positions (and yourself for that matter) see that, nothing will get better.

Reply
AL Rich.

January 30, 2012 at 6:57 am

Steve Ryerson,
Great point! Vouchers are not the “magic bullet” but they can be a great tool to help fix our extremely poor and underachieving Public School system. Especially in the poorer neighborhoods where the public schools provide nothing more than a type of babysitting service. As a country we rank in the top ten in expense per child but finish in the bottom twenty five in academic achievement. It is a national disgrace. We have the Teachers Union and incompetent administrators to thank .

Reply
MattW

January 30, 2012 at 8:11 am

“We have the Teachers Union and incompetent administrators to thank .”

Please cite your sources, or are you one of those just here to make teachers look bad on idological grounds?

Reply
- AL Rich.
  
  January 30, 2012 at 5:49 pm
  
  According to the Ntl Center for Educational Statistcs The USA spends roughly $9300 per year per student for public education which places us in the top 3 countries in the world in education expense.
  
  According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) we spend just 0ver $91K total for students from K-12 which places us second only to Switzerland but ahead the rest of the developed world. Spending has tripled in real dollars since 1970. Class size has decreased from an average of 17.4 per teacher to 15.7. Yet reading scores for ages 9-17 are flat for for the same period.
  
  Check out this link:http://mat.usc.edu/u-s-education-versus-the-world-infographic/
  Our student finish 9th in Science testing behind Japan, UK, South Korea, Finland, Denmark, Australia, Canada and France. Our students finish 10th in Math scores again behind those countries with the addition of Russia
  
  In an article online by greatschool.org
  
  “Students in the United States performed near the middle of the pack. On average 16 other industrialized countries scored above the United States in science, and 23 scored above us in math. The reading scores for the United States had to be tossed due to a printing error.” according to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
  
  Regardless it is shameful.
  
  So who is to blame if not incompetence on the part of administrators and poor teachers who have no real competition. This is thanks to the tenure system and the backing of unions who care not for improving the standard of education but rather lining their own pockets and improving memberships.
  
  I do not want to make Teachers or Public Schools look bad. I want them to succeed However the statistics show we pay a great deal more and get mediocre results. I realize that this may be acceptable to some but not to me.
  
  Reply
Union Blasts Jindal’s Choice Proposal for Louisiana Students | reignacademy.com

January 30, 2012 at 10:39 pm

[...] http://www.educationnews.org Posts Related to Union Blasts Jindal’s Choice Proposal for Louisiana StudentsJindal Calls for [...]

Reply