Over the last few weeks, I have spent much of the time on the East Coast. From New York to Virginia, the underbelly of the state of the States has become abundantly clear. It is all about service implosion.
Here in California, we naturally focus on our own problems and think it is as bad as government finance can get. We are, in simple terms, pikers.
Specifically, the State of New Jersey is the poster child for how not to run a government. Going back through Democratic and Republican administrations, New Jersey has lived its own life of failure and corruption. However, as with all sins, good times tend to cover them over, making it less likely anyone is going to tell anyone else the truth.
The latest recession has made it impossible to provide cover any longer. However, as is also human nature, scapegoats are sought. In New Jersey’s case it is teachers. The one who is scapegoating is their governor, Chris Christie.
Among public employees, teachers are perhaps the most difficult to analyze as to performance. Thus, the demagogues who make them the outlet of pent up rage about how bad government is miss the point. Yes, our children are, without question, declining in performance relative to other industrialized countries. But, no, the blame is not just with the teachers. That’s where the problem is.
We have met the enemy and they are us.
A teacher has responsibility for children for a part of a day. They work under increasingly difficult physical and organizational conditions. Generally, they are not well paid, especially in the beginning of their careers. In addition, school administrations and elected officials have some limited opportunities to make important changes, primarily due to public employee unions and a long-standing distrust among the parties involved.
The problem, though, does not lie solely with the time spent in the school room. There are many reasons why there is less and less parental involvement and discipline when it comes to a child’s education. Can a teacher make up for a negligent parent? If no, then how is a teacher solely responsible when a child’s performance declines?
Is this like firing a baseball manager when his team is not performing because you can’t fire the whole team?
Christie’s assault on teachers has met with mixed results. He has polarized a state that needs clarity when it comes to governmental direction. He has blamed the easiest target, because parents don’t like to blame themselves.
New Jersey is, frankly, in an awful state. Its roads are abominable. Its cities are broke. Its service levels are near the bottom in the country. Yet, it asks the most of its residents, financially, than any other state. (By the way, California is nowhere near the highest taxed, contrary to the opinion of many who live and work here.)
It is not the teachers who did this to New Jersey…or elsewhere. Is there a need for reform? Of course. But, this is not a time for blame. It is a time for consensus to get us moving in a different direction than we have. ER
