Education is an industry. Like most major industries that grew out of the industrial revolution, it has its factory workers and their unions, its managers, its special interests and consumers. Over time, a productive business, whether the local bank or a large national corporation, downsizes to stay afloat. Not so with education. Education is bigger than ever. It has lost its friendliness and ability to respond. It has grown out-of-control; not because consumer satisfaction has allowed it to, but because of laws and regulations that stop schools from working.
Since 1945, the number of school districts has been consolidated from over 100,000 to just 15,173 school districts in 1992. Instead of locally run, the public school system has become more and more centralized, with power in the bureaucracy, not the community. State and federal education dollars carry layers of regulation and conditions. For example, the California State Education Code is over 6,000 pages long. In Indiana, a much smaller state, all state education codes amount to 1,250 pages. In the first half of 1994, the federal government passed nine new laws mandating how dollars are spent and how schooling should occur.
How did this happen? How did the business of schooling get so out of hand? The American tradition of schooling rests with the states, where it is delegated to individual communities. State Boards of Education and legislators are supposed to set the broad goals, and those closest to our children are supposed to decide and carry out what really happens. But as the layers of bureaucracy have increased, parents have been able less and less to make a dent in their schools in any basic way. Yes, a parent can volunteer in a classroom or library in some cases. And, she can probably help the teacher design a plan for her child's progress through history class — sometimes. At one time, that parent could have influenced the character of the school — its teaching methods, curriculum, and special programming — through her votes for the school board. Things are no longer that easy.
Why They Call it "The Blob"
Parents say they have little power to affect good things in their schools. They feel that no matter where they turn, they cannot get through the maze of bureaucratic rules. In some cases, even school personnel can be hostile to their concerns. And with the government dictating what they do, the schools are powerless to respond and build real partnerships with parents. Much of this has happened by sheer momentum. Much has been caused also by the very groups whose stated mission is to "better" our schools. These groups are the education establishment -- the blob. As a testament to their position, the National Education Association (NEA) president boasted to his board of directors in 1993: "NEA had unprecedented input into several key education issues including education reform legislation... NEA also played a major role as President Clinton began forming his cabinet and senior staff. NEA was directly involved in helping to build the best team possible for the U.S. Department of Education."
Including the NEA, the education establishment has over 200 groups with a vested interest in a particular aspect of the education industry. From the National Alliance of Business to the National School Public Relations Administrators, the blob now runs the schools because it is so influential in politics — both in school board races and lobbying state leaders and Washington. They have the money, the power and have been a political fixture for years. They not only have secured a safe haven for their own agenda but have severely limited the ability of individual communities to maintain input, much less control, over the schooling their children receive.
At the local level, parents are often paid lip service, and parents who ask a lot of questions are considered troublemakers. Administrators are now accountable to other administrators, not to the people. Parental involvement is often just window dressing. When a complaint or suggestion is voiced that is not consistent with the views of the education establishment, the parents are branded as "difficult" or worse. This has set up a situation that frustrates even the most enthusiastic supporters of public education.
The picture is bleak. Even the best spirit of cooperation in the most unified community will yield few results if those active in that community do not know the right questions to ask and what the obstacles are. As people's satisfaction with their schools has declined, the groups claiming to defend the schools cling tighter to the status quo and lobby harder and louder for more of those programs — many non-education in scope — that will protect their position. Sadly, the rank and file of any of these education groups are helpless to do anything about it. Teachers, the most important people in our schools, next to our children, have been left out in the cold.
Next: The Teacher Unions
See also:
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Excerpted from The School Reform Handbook, a trademark publication from The Center for Education Reform.
The Center for Education Reform (CER) creates opportunities for and challenges obstacles to better education for America’s communities. Founded in 1993, CER combines education policy with grassroots advocacy to foster positive and bold education reforms. For more information, contact CER at (202) 822-9000 or send us email .
