While watching a left-leaning TV show a few weeks ago
(either Steven Colbert’s or Jon Stewart’s—I can’t recall), the host took a dig
at a Republican Senator, Stacey Campfield, and his recent proposal of a bill
that would cut welfare benefits for parents of children who are not making “satisfactory
academic progress” in school.
It was a strange moment for me because hearing that proposal
would have probably infuriated me (a person who has only ever voted Democrat
and joined Teach For America with the determination to combat social injustice
in the education system) if I never had the experience of being a Baltimore
City public school teacher.
As detailed in the article above, Campfield made some valid points
(regardless of where he stands on other issues). He essentially said that
student success is dependent on good schools, good teachers, and good parents—and
pointed out that education reform currently focuses more heavily on holding
schools and teachers accountable than it does on holding parents accountable.
Specifically, Campfield proposed that parents of students who
do not pass their State standardized tests would experience a 30% decrease in
welfare funds (currently they can already lose 20% if their children do not
attend school regularly). In Baltimore City (at least at the schools where I
have taught), that would affect the majority of students because very few of
them pass the MSA. However, I think every single one of them is capable of
passing the MSA (assuming any necessary modifications are provided for those
with IEPs).
I think the reason most do not pass is because teachers end
up having to spend so much class-time managing misbehaviors that they do not
get to effectively teach the necessary content. Because those misbehaviors
often hold even the well-behaved kids back from achieving on standardized
tests, I would propose that the decrease in welfare funds be tied to Report
Card grades instead (perhaps the funding that is taken away from parents whose
children are failing could be given to other parents on welfare whose children
are making all A’s).
If a bill like this were to be put into place, I
definitely believe parents of failing students would be in a lot closer communication with their children’s schools and teachers to ensure their kids get on and stay on the path to success.
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