The Sun on What Ails Education

Last week the Lowell Sun repackaged its standard attack on public schools in the form of twin editorials on Wednesday and Thursday. The constant refrain that public schools get too much money and that greedy teachers unions and impotent administrators are the cause of all the evils in public education got old a long time ago. The Sun editorialists have so embraced privatization of public schools that one would think they’re heavily invested in the Edison Project. What these folks always ignore is that public schools work wonderfully in affluent suburbs where almost every student comes from a supportive, stable household, well above the poverty line where English is typically the first language, books are plentiful and promoted and high speed Internet connections are a given. Take those students as a goal, put them exclusively in any existing school in Lowell with the same staff and the same teachers and guess what will happen? Those same teachers will produce wonderfully educated students. It’s not the teachers. When students don’t get sufficient food and adequate clothing at home – never mind computers and trips to museums – those students will not become top performers UNLESS the school can provide all of those non-educational things that are typically received in the home. And that will take a lot of money, but it will be money well spent.