"Credit bubbles are like the tide. They can cover up a lot of rot. In our case, the excess consumer demand and jobs created by our credit and housing bubbles have masked not only our weaknesses in manufacturing and other economic fundamentals, but something worse: how far we have fallen behind in K-12 education and how much it is now costing us. That is the conclusion I drew from a new study by the consulting firm McKinsey, entitled “The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools.”"
Poor Tom. He's become so used to people gushing over everything he says, he now thinks that he can just throw out any old and tired bullshit, and we're just going to applaud and say "Thanks, Tom. We sure needed that kick in the pants!" What's most interesting to me in this case are the posted comments, which pretty much take him to task for the very same thing - especially from current and former educators.
The Obamafied, Democratic call to "Throw as much money at it and see what sticks (as long as it's someone else's money, that is)" has become so tired and nauseating - imagine in just a few short months!- that I want to scream. The fact of the matter is Tom, that we have become a nation of shitty parents - we let our kids watch too much TV, we don't discipline them, we're too concerned with our own acheivement and not theirs, we leave them on their own too much, we think that it's the government's job to teach them right from wrong and not our's, and, worst of all, our politicians and public intellectuals (that's you Tommy Boy) refuse to take us to task for these sins and continue to promote the ridiculous notion that the state can solve these basic problems for us.
You can throw all the dollars you want at failed businesses to help them succeed; but if those entities are run by bad businesspeople or populated with unproductive and unwilling workers, there ain't no point. By the same token, giving our kids the finest books, the most well-meaning teachers, and the most beautiful buildings won't do a damn bit of good if those kids are lousy students who don't know right from wrong, refuse to study, have no appreciation for their surroundings, and are not guided by a strong hand. Friedman's approach is just more of the tail wagging the dog - it doesn't work.
No comments:
Post a Comment