THE MYTH CONTINUES – AT 9:16 P.M. ET:  One of liberalism's enduring myths is that you can improve education simply by throwing money at it.  The myth is mightily assisted by the reality that, when you toss cash at the education establishment, you help powerful organizations, like the teachers' unions, that in turn support the cash tossers in the Democratic Party.  It's a warm, cuddly arrangement.   Now, surprise, President Obama defends the continuing federal ATM.  From the Washington Times:

Saying the country’s competitiveness was tied directly to the quality of its schools, President Obama on Tuesday said there was “nothing responsible” about cutting federal education spending even as lawmakers on Capitol Hill look to trim a ballooning federal deficit.

During a visit to Massachusetts' TechBoston Academy, Mr. Obama held up the pilot school as a national example of how targeted investments and local flexibility can dramatically improve student performance. The academy, housed in what was once a failing high school, has produced student test scores that have soared since its founding in 2002 with help from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Mr. Obama’s remarks put him right back in the center of the spending fight in Washington, where he has tried to put education money off-limits from cuts even while promising to get spending under control.

“We cannot cut back on the very investments that will help our economy grow and our nation to compete,” Mr. Obama said after a tour of the school with Mrs. Gates, wife of Microsoft Corp. founder and philanthropist Bill Gates. “There’s nothing responsible about that. There’s nothing responsible about cutting back in our investment in these young people.”

COMMENT:  It's the same old game.  They find one school that works and make it symbolic of "investment" in education. 

The fact is that we invest vastly in education, but don't get anywhere near the return we should.  And we refuse to face basic issues in education – like the refusal of many parents to do their jobs in motivating their children, and the mediocrity of many of our teachers' colleges.  And, of course, none dare mention political correctness, and what it has done to our educational system.

The education establishment isn't shortchanged, it's bloated.  Do we need to "invest" in education?  Of course.  But we need to do it wisely.

As a citizen, I watched, in the 1960s, as the New York City school system, the greatest urban school system in the United States, was destroyed before our eyes – by changes in population, social theories, racial tensions, and a refusal to face reality.  And, naturally, the very people who swung the wrecking ball then demanded more money to fix the problems they'd helped create.  And they got it.  They got it because it was for "the children," one of the great racketeering lines in politics.

Cut education spending and demand more from the schools, and from parents.  If we have some spine, we can do it.

March 8, 2011