Jim and I first came across "Ed in 08" in July 2007. At that time the agenda of the group was not clear but we both expressed concern that it appeared to be a group whose sole function was to get more money for education.
Last night Jim attended an Ed in 08 meeting in Henniker. One of those present was state educrat Fred Bramante.
The movie started an hour before Jim arrived. After the meeting three panelists discussed Ed in 08. Questions from the audience were often hijacked by Fred Branante's self promotion. Many in the audience were education students from New England college. The meeting ended exactly at 8:00 with no serious discussion about education reform.
After the meeting Jim approached the other two speakers, fully knowing that prior conversations with Fred Bramante were fruitless.
Jim pointed out that ED in 08 had no clear mission, making their motives suspect. The
speaker said others have pointed that out as well. The speaker admitted that one goal was to nationalize educational standards.
Schools have a spending problem not a funding problem. Millions of dollars are wasted at the national level with The Department of Education, providing no educational benefit to students sitting in a classroom. The same can be said of the New Hampshire Department of Education - bureaucratic bloat conferring no educational benefits
to students.
True education reform would include:
1. Full parental school choice with the money following the child not the
institution.
2. The elimination of tenure.
3. Full right-to-work opportunities for individual teachers with the right to
completely sever ties with the union if they so choose.
4. Use of effective educational methods such as phonics to learn to
read and Singapore math as opposed to educational fads such as
everyday math, Chicago math, trailblazers. Focus on Core Curriculum.
5. The rights for parents to direct their children's education.
6. Full homeschooling rights.
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