Public School Leaders Should Be Liberals

If you want to be an astrophysicist and you believe the earth is flat and the sun orbits the earth I would strongly recommend you consider other career options.  Your beliefs and your profession are in direct conflict.  If you want to be a biologist and do not support the scientific theory of evolution I would strongly recommend that you consider other career options.  If you are an atheist and aspire to be a preacher, if you are a pacifist and aspire to sit on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, if you hate technology and aspire to be a computer technician, if you hate contact sports and aspire to coach football, if you are very concerned about our environment and global warming and aspire to be the CEO of an oil company, etc., etc., then I would strongly recommend you consider other career options. 

If you are a member of the board of a public school system, if you are a superintendent of schools, if you are a principal, if you are a teacher and you are conservative, then I strongly recommend you vacate your position or have an epiphany.  Your beliefs and your profession are in direct conflict.  Hopefully this piece will encourage epiphanies.

Public schools in the US are supported by tax payers for the purpose of providing education to all the kids in the community.  Not some of the kids.  All of the kids.  Not just the brightest kids.  All of the kids.  Not just kids without disabilities.  All of the kids.  Not just white kids.  All of the kids.  Any governmental operation that provides a universal service regardless of prerequisites is by definition a liberal operation.  Operations that are competitive or have entrance requirements tend to be conservative.

Even more, the employees of public education are paid by tax dollars.  The buildings and equipment of public schools are owned by the public.  In short, public education is a socialistic operation.  It is not free enterprise, it is not competitive.  It is equally applied to all and owned by all.  That in its simplest form is socialistic.  It is democratic socialism.

Conservatives do not support public schools.  They consistently reduce funding.  They consistently increase accountability.  They consistently attempt to channel tax payer dollars to private sector interests such as charter schools or by using vouchers to decrease public school funding and reward private schools.  It is hard to imagine a conservative agenda that is helpful to public schools.  Standardized testing is a conservative push.  High teacher accountability based on test scores is a conservative push.  Judging schools and school districts based on high stakes accountability tests is a conservative push.  Forbidding teacher unions is a conservative push.  Increased teacher certification standards is a conservative push.  Standardized lock-step curriculum is a conservative push.  Text book adoption and curriculum adoption that supports the conservative party line rather than uncensored knowledge is a conservative push.  In short, anything that decreases funding for public education while making the success of public education less likely is a conservative push.  Conservatives want to reduce taxes and decrease governmental services.  And few operations are as expensive as public schools. 

Liberals support public schools.  They consistently argue that without a basic education our democracy is at risk.  Without students who are critical thinkers, problem solvers, and innovators our future economy is at risk.  In the information age students do not need to know facts as much as they need skills to find facts and analyze facts.  That requires creative, innovative, motivated teachers.  Such teachers are hard pressed to survive in the rigid conservative schema of defined curriculum and high stakes testing.

Liberals want to increase funding of public schools.  Liberals want to eliminate all the private sector vampires attached to public schools that suck away tax payer dollars for private enterprises inclusive of charter schools and companies that generate standardized tests.  Liberals know that reducing class size is expensive, but will reap huge rewards. 

In short, if a school board member, a superintendent, a principal, a teacher supports the conservative agenda they are biting the hand that feeds them, they are working for a philosophy determined to reduce public education effectiveness so that more tax dollars flow to the pockets of private sector people.  Every time a teacher laments preparation for the high stakes testing he or she should recognize that is what conservatives want.  Every time a superintendent and school board must wrestle with the issue of increasing teacher salaries or providing support for increasing health care premiums or increasing the number of teachers to meet the needs of more kids they wrestle with the conservative impact on public schools.  All of these folks should be liberals.  If not, they are like the atheist in the pulpit.

How would you know if your school leadership is conservative or not?  There are simple tests.  Does your board and administration endorse positions at the state level that decreases school accountability and increases funding?  If not, they are conservative.  Does your board and administration promote competitive activities over providing quality education to all?  For instance, does staffing coaches take priority over staffing teachers?  If the coach to varsity player ratio is better than the teacher to kindergartner ratio they are conservative.  When election results in your area are posted is it clear that most of the teachers must have voted for the conservative candidate?  When national issues like gun safety and control arise does your school leadership land on the side of protecting students or protecting gun owners?  If they protect gun owners at the expense of students they are conservative.  Does your school leadership promote political involvement and activity of students and staff.  If not, they are conservative.  Does your school leadership feel like prayer should be implemented in school, that theories and discussions regarding critical issues should only have the conservative perspective presented, that teachers with liberal bumper stickers should be fired?  If so, they are conservative.

They shouldn’t be.  Those leaders should be liberals.  As long as tax dollars flow to employees of public schools and they in turn support policies that reduce the flow of tax dollars to public schools and policies that continue to hamstring effective instruction then public school people are working hard to undo the profession they have chosen. 

Public schools are a notion of a liberal democracy.  Many nations do not support educating all kids.  Many nations do not support providing more than one view of the world in their schools.  Many nations are simply concerned that the privileged few actually get an education.  That should not be true in America.  That should not be true in a democracy.  Until the leadership in public schools stands up and says that the agenda of the Secretary of Education for instance, is in fact un-American and anti-public schools we are at risk of the ability to maintain the notion that all men (sic) are created equal and have the right to the pursuit of happiness.

I repeat, if you are a member of the board of a public school system, if you are a superintendent of schools, if you are a principal, if you are a teacher and you are conservative, then I strongly recommend you vacate your position or have an epiphany.  Your beliefs and your profession are in direct conflict.