Who’s Running The Schools?

Dear Editor,

One has to wonder who is running this country’s public education system – the states and local municipalities or national teachers’ unions.

You have several local public school systems, and I emphasize the word “local,” that are kowtowing to the national teachers unions, ignoring the needs of the children on the local level and using this situation to grab and consolidate their power over something that is local.

Consider this: Private schools, after a period of time to look at the facts, began a phased reopening of their facilities to the point where several are operating pretty much normal with only minor changes. The question you have to ask is what the difference is between them and public schools.

The basic answer is the power the unions have slowly acquired. I will agree that there are things unions can do to protect or at least give voice to their members. But they have been given so much power, more and more on a national level I might point out, that it’s them that are running the school system, not the people that are affected and pay for the system. Maybe we do need some union representation, but it’s gone beyond representation to them running the system, not the people paying for it and are directly impacted by it.

Another thing is the curriculums that are being pushed into the schools on almost every grade level. More emphasis seems to be being placed on what appears to be social issues then on the three Rs. Comparing curriculums to other school systems around the world show the U.S. is too far down the scale. When I went to school in the ’60s through ’72, I can remember having a couple of radical teachers that would slip in their political opinions by having after school groups and clubs that were supported by the school but not really having any real significance. Now it’s no longer after school activities, but actual parts of the curriculum, and many times it appears they are emphasized over the subjects that are needed to be able to get and hold a productive job. And again, this is more prominent in the public system then in the private schools.

I believe the term I’m looking for is indoctrination vs. education.

Alan Marshall