“School,” by Joseph Lyon, age 7

When we talk about education, we’re talking about our children, our workforce, our society, and the future of the entire world. There’s a lot riding on our schools! There’s also a lot of money going into them. It makes sense to closely monitor our approach to public education, to be sure that we’re achieving the best possible return on our investment.

Still, we can’t let the high stakes cloud our judgement or tempt us into fear-driven decisions. We need to recognize when fear is unwarranted, so that we can really stand back and evaluate our path before we continue.

Last night, I watched a movie called Waiting for Superman, about the crisis in American public education. It was produced in 2000, just as the charter-school movement (funded by big donors like the Walton Family Foundation) was taking off. Waiting for Superman depends on a bold claim: Public schools in the USA are spending a lot more money per student than they used to, without seeing any improvement in student achievement.

Data from “Waiting for Superman” purports to show growth in per-pupil spending, even after adjusting for inflation. Student test scores remain the same.

Data like this would scare anybody!

Waiting for Superman (championed by “analog conservatives and digital billionaires” like Bill Gates — who is prominently featured in the film) encourages the American public to believe that our schools are “dropout factories,” chained to the iron ball that is “teacher tenure.”

Note: Teacher tenure doesn’t really exist anywhere in the United States, since the Janus decision effectively made all states “right to work.” Teacher tenure really doesn’t exist in Arkansas, where the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act allows any teacher to be suspended at any time, as long as there is “just cause” (like incompetence.) Once an incompetent teacher has been suspended — even if s/he fights it — it’s only about a 90-day path to termination.

Okay, great! Teacher tenure isn’t the ball and chain that it used to be. But what about the gross overspending? What about poor student achievement? What about high drop-out rates?

Well, it all depends on how you look at it.