Saturday Night: John Stossel’s New ‘Stupid in America’
Before it was fashionable to Wait for Superman, partake in The Lottery or criticize The Cartel, John Stossel was highlighting some of the serious problems in American education on ABC. His special report, “Stupid in America,” was a sobering take on the reality of our public schools — and especially how poorly they serve the students who need it most.
The title put off many in the ed community. Stossel explained in 2006:
“Stupid in America” is a nasty title for a program about public education, but some nasty things are going on in America’s public schools and it’s about time we face up to it.
Sounds fair to me. It was one of the most honest examinations of where we’re at with American education — and more importantly, why we’re there — that I’ve seen.
Nearly a million people have watched Stossel’s original ‘Stupid in America’ on YouTube, and it’s a must-watch for anyone interested in the state of our schools and how we might improve them.
Unfortunately, Stossel’s expose isn’t dated. The same problems he highlights still exist: poorly-spent funds, bizarre teacher training/competency monitoring, and a general inability to address student needs.
This Saturday at 10pm (both EST and PST) on Fox News Channel, Stossel will interview union leaders as he tries to shed some light on ‘The Blob’– that conglomerate of special interests that influence public education:
And the most powerful part of the Blob is the teachers’ union.
This Saturday, I interview Nathan Saunders, the President of the Washington DC Teachers’ Union, and Joseph Del Grosso, President of the Newark Teachers’ Union. They say things like, “the unions have a pretty strong history of advocating for high-quality public education… We have progress as a result of unions.”
Their predecessors were more candid. When the Washington Post asked George Parker, when he headed the Washington, DC teachers union, why he fought a voucher program that let some kids escape failing government schools, he said, “As kids continue leaving the system, we will lose teachers. Our very survival depends on having kids in DC schools so we’ll have teachers to represent.”
It’s a must-watch, even if you’re allergic to Fox.
12 Comments
Did I hear Stossel right? Nathan Saunders went to Catholic school. Hilarious. Did you read Turque’s piece about Saunders firing 8 WTU staffers this year? You can’t make this stuff up.
Anthony,
I wonder how many people watched these interviews — or will watch? It seems that people love to see a disaster of a school, but they’re not so interested in interviews with any of the folks who made it that way.
Anthony, I hope you watch the show. It does show the good, the ones who made it. I agree with most of it. In fact, I’m looking for the online math classes to find out more.
Hello all,
My name is Christopher Reindl and I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I can hardly believe the images of classrooms in our best American high schools. I do not understand why children would act like this to their teachers. We are so behind the rest of the world in the realm of education that we must take control of this extreme situation. We must allow our students to become a part of a new way of teaching. We must use technology as a tool to promote creativity and self improvement. We have to focus more on learning and not test taking, but we have a huge hill to climb. We must dig in and take on this problem together or we all will fail.
We can start by getting rid of the teachers union.
Christopher,
I’m a bit fan of Dr. Strange and what he’s done with EDM 310 — really, really impressive stuff! Commentary from EDM 310′ers, current and alumni, is most welcome.
I can’t believe it, either. It’s daunting to think of all the different variables, some inside school, some not, that result in a zoo of a scene like the video shows. I think you’re entirely right — we need to tackle it together, because parents, students, teachers and administrators all have a role in our failure. It isn’t fair or accurate to lay the blame on just one, but it’s appropriate to say that we’ve all got some serious work to do.
I remember when this first aired and how “fired up” I got. It had the same affect on me today.
Mrs. Sanford, former first lady of South Carolina said, “It’s too important to me to sacrifice their education. I get one shot at it. If I don’t pay very close attention to how my boys get educated, then I’ve lost an opportunity to make them the best they can be in this world.”
That’s how a lot of parents across America feel, but they also feel powerless because of the arrogance of teachers and other school officials who belittle or make them feel stupid for expecting schools and teachers to do their jobs.
Is it any wonder that parents seek out charter schools or alternative educational opportunities for their children? I, myself, have my children in a charter school. Why? One reason is the low quality of education at my “zoned” school.
In my opinion, the teachers unions make the egregious assumption that parents are not able to make suitable choices for the education of their children. Maybe they are really afraid of giving the power to the parent.
It upsets me that bureaucracy is okay with sacrificing our children (in so many ways), and I’m thrilled to be reminded that I am not the only one in the fight for better education.
Dear John Stossel,
I have been following your programs on the poor quality of education in the United States. I am a retired Emeritus Professor of Music from Boston University, but I taught in the Los Angeles Public school
system for thirteen years: 3 years in Junior high, seven years in high school in Hollywood and 3 years at Northridge State College. I refused to join the teachers’ union which tried to dampen my ardoiur for teaching.
Much of what you have been saying about the education system and the teachers’ unions is true, but in mjy opinion you have missed the most important problem of all, and that is the fact that most teachers in the public schools are not proficient in the subjects which they teach and they are really not interested in the subjects which they teach. Beating them and their unions is like beating a dead horse, because the main problem lies with the colleges and universities that thrive on handing out degrees in the “subject” of education: they purport to teach but require little or no proficiency in the subject matter to be taught .. Just examine the education curriculum of any institutiion of higher learning. It is replete with so-called ‘education’ courses. For example, a math education student takes math courses quite different and much less demanding than a regular math major. The same is true for all subject concentrations.
In my opinion every teacher should be required to take the same professional courses as subject majors and achieve a satisfactory degree in that subject. After achieving a bona fida degree in the subject to be taught he/she might be required to take one or two courses in educational psychology and methodology.
The system as it exists today is a windfall for the colleges and universities who thrive on the income from a multitude of unqualified would-be teachers who are interested only in getting an easy job (and are not qualified to make it in a regular curriculum)
As for the teacher-union bosses who purport to have the answers. Send them to Afghanistan. Maybe they can train the Taliban!
Sincerely,
Murray Lefkowitz, Ph.D
Professor Emeritus
Boston University
There seems to be a lot of scapegoating the teacher. The teachers end up being the sacrificial lambs in Stossel’s biased report that omits data from sources such as Kappa Delta Pi, of which I am a member. First, students are not widgets that can be checked a la quality control style.
Second, charter schools are known for cherry picking the best students and leaving the rest in the public school. That makes the public school aggregate test average go downward while the charter school tests are falsely elevated. They, as well as private schools, are not forced to take everyone.
Third, why are teachers not paid a professional salary similar to a lawywer or stock broker? That was why tenure was stared in the first place. Substituting at $15 per hour is not going to help me pay for my double masters.
Fourth, not all students do well in the test environment so a “standardized test” my not show their ability as well as a portfolio of work.
Fifth, why should a teacher salary be linked to a child’s test score? How does this measure teacher effectiveness? One teacher who had students scoring in the 90% range moved to a poor school. The same teacher now has students scoring in the low 70% or below. Does this mean she is now less effective? What about the accountability of the students and the possibility they do not want to do well on the test or in the class.
We now have non-English speakers, special ed of varying physical or mental abilities mixed in to give them the “least restrictive environment” by law. What about the fact that the wide range in abilities in the same classroom is the most restrictive on the gifted and the climate handicaps how I have to teach everyone? Does this environment really serve?
Your double masters degree in education will NOT make you a better teacher. I find it amazing that we place such honor, prestige, and mobility to what ever degree a person has infront of their name. Most colleges are worthless. They are socialist propaganda mills. You will find that you either have the gift of teaching or you don’t. Period!! No amount of education will give someone the tools needed to be a great teacher. It is God given. Read your
Bible and you’ll find out I’m right. Finally until teachers get rid of the the union that protects the morons in their ranks you will never have my support or respect. It’s amazing to me that smartest people in the room, the teacher, are not smart enough to figure out that the union is a detriment to their success in so many ways…
Talk about missing the point! The entire problem comes down to ACCOUNTABILITY, good teachers (there are a few) who try to hold thier students acountable are harrassed endlessly by the run amok system Stossel is describing. Yes, there are many bad teachers,but that’s because the system and the out of control students have driven out nearly all good teachers. Today a student was out of class, wandering the halls with her friend and brother. I questioned them and she refused to give her name and tried to run back to the class where a substitute was trying to control a mob. When I demanded that she give me the vest pass, she went berserk and started yelling at ME in front of her class. I called security and had her removed, but NOTHING will happen to her for skipping class, insubordination or for lying to myself, the administrator and the security guard. Worse still, I was directed to NOT call the parent, because it was certain that the parent would back up her child.
On one of your programs you featured a story about a man that developed a method of teaching some young relatives math. You explained that this program is now used around the world. Can you E-Mail me contact information? Thank You.
Trackbacks