Broader, Bolder — Bigger Budget

Check out Ken DeRosa’s critique of Broader, Bolder (the union backed plan to improve the struggling education system by doubling-down the bet and expanding the responsibilities of those struggling schools to include health care and other social services). 

Here’s my favorite bit of his post:

“Let’s take Ravitch’s defense first:

I care as much about academic achievement as Checker or anyone else in the world, but I don’t see any contradiction between caring about academic achievement and caring about children’s health and well-being.

The issue isn’t about who cares about children’s health and well-being. The issue is whether public schools, who are by and large failing at their primary task of education, should take on the additional responsibilities of caring about children’s health and well-being. You could care very much about the health and well-being of children and NOT think it’s a good idea to hand these services over to our public schools.

The argument seems to be that since children attend school every day (cough, cough) that social services could be easily provided at school. Then why not hand over these responsibilities to the post office. After all, they make house calls six days a week regardless of the rain, snow, heat, or gloom of night. They could give the kids a quick vision screen and drop off any drug prescriptions.”

4 Responses to Broader, Bolder — Bigger Budget

  1. matthewladner says:

    Perhaps because when you really want something delivered on time, you use FedEx?

  2. You just want to privatize everything, don’t you. : )

    I’ve got an even Broader and Bolder proposal — Why don’t we just raise kids in the schools? If we let them go home they may be exposed to toxins, like lead paint, or the negative influences of their families. An expert committee led by Socrates has endorsed the idea. He’s even more of an authority than Jim Heckman.

  3. Greg Forster says:

    More of an authority? Socrates doesn’t even have a doctorate in education, so what could he possibly know?

  4. tft says:

    Has it occurred to you (and I think it has from your comment above, you snarky dude) that maybe there is something to providing services at a school where the kids are there everyday anyway, and need the services because they are not getting served by their parents? Or just screw those poor bastards? Seriously. Help them, or screw them? What do you choose?

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