by David Safier
I'm pleased to say that Matthew Ladner of the Goldwater Institute found my first column about some of his assertions (Fool's Gold: Cut teachers, improve schools) provocative enough he was moved to answer me in the Comments section beneath the post. Then I commented on his comment. Then he commented on my comment-on-his-comment. And I just posted my most recent reply.
It's an revealing discussion for any of you interested in contrasting educational philosophies. I'm at a sizable disadvantage in the matchup, of course. Ladner has a PhD., is vice president for research at the Goldwater Institute and has published numerous papers and briefs on education. I'm a poor-but-honest retired high school English teacher with over 30 years of experience in the classroom and a number of education classes under my belt. I lack his vast research and publishing experience, not to mention the political savvy he's developed over the years pushing the Institute's conservative agenda.
But I feel I have one advantage that may even things out. I don't try to spin the facts to my advantage. Conservatives are experts at cherry picking data and pretending to care about people they actually don't give a damn about if it furthers their argument. The reason is, they know if their true agenda is exposed, few people will agree with them. They have created a vast, nationwide think tank industry, of which G.I. is a prime example, whose primary task is to figure out ways to frame their message to make it sound more palatable than what they truly believe. All I have to do is point out the spin and stick close to the facts.
Note: I inadvertently misspelled Mr. Ladner's name when I first wrote this, then I went back and did what I always do when I make corrections — I crossed out the mistake and wrote in the change afterward. I have removed the misspelling. I apologize for the error.
I’m glad you accepted my explanation/apology. In fact, I do sometimes use cross-outs as jokes, but I also try very hard not to alter anything in a post without telegraphing it so I’m not pulling a “1984” and revising history while shoving the old version down the memory hole. Because I’m a bit of a compulsive reviser, I usually make a dozen stylistic changes in the first 5-10 minutes after I write a post, but after that, I telegraph any changes I make.
I couldn’t figure out for the life of me why Lardner would be an insulting phrase, but you know me, Al.
I’m happy to accept your explanation at face value. The blogs I read frequently use cross-outs in order to make jokes, so I am afraid I had a flashback to Helena Park Elementary School circa 1976. My apologies. Something about the memory of soybean burgers and bell bottom jeans can be very unsettling.
Thane, first of all, I appreciate your granting that I made an inadvertent spelling error of Mr. Ladner’s name. That’s absolutely the case.
As for the Basha’s comparison, the market only supplies excellent goods to those who can afford it. That makes perfect sense to me. I consider education a public good which everyone deserves in a just society. I consider our poor schools as inherently unjust for that reason, since they deny students the chance to reach their full potential.
I have no problem with parents who can afford it buying their students a high priced private education, tutors galore, SAT prep, the works. But we need to offer everyone a good education. And I honestly don’t think conservatives agree with me on that.
I kind of suspected my comments about conservative doctrine didn’t apply to you, since you take a wide variety of positions on different issues. I’m not surprised you label yourself a libertarian.
Honestly, Mr. Ladner, the misspelling of your name was entirely unintentional. I spelled it correctly when I was responding to your comments, because I had it in front of me, but when I wrote it from memory, I got it wrong. The reason I made the reference to Ring Lardner, the famous American short story writer whose writing I used to love, is because I hadn’t thought of him in years, and thought to myself last night, “Hmm, Lardner is such an unusual name. I wonder if Matthew is related to him.”
That is the absolute full and gospel truth. When I first read your comment above about the misspelling, I didn’t understand it until I realized that “Lardner” could be used as a childish taunt. I don’t indulge in name calling. Really.
The reason I crossed it out and rewrote it is a matter of blogger’s protocol. When you make a correction after you’ve posted something, you cross out what you did incorrectly and substitute the correction. That way the original record remains intact, and you don’t rewrite history. However, I will now go back and remove the crossed out misspelling.
My apologies for the misunderstanding or the sense that I was insulting you. It was totally unintentional.
I’ll skip commenting on Mr. Ladner’s comment above with the exception of repeating my recommendation that politeness and presumption of good faith can go far if those involved are really interested in discussion of means, methods and end results rather than concerning ourselves overmuch about misspellings of our respective last names (I certainly have come across a few as I am sure Mr. Safier has).
I agree that people with money can buy good education so with either a monopoly funded government education system or not, money can always buy more. The problem we both agree lies with those who may not have the money to just outright buy the education needed.
People manage to buy some fantastic technology these days, some [the bootstrap crowd you mention] content themselves with the basics (tv and cell phone) while those with more money buy better and fancier television, television services, fancier cell phone and fancier cell phone services.
Basha’s Food doesn’t have at heart the children and citizens of Arizona at heart but they manage to perform an amazing job of filling our needs because they have to to obtain revenue (money).
There are people who object to the many indoctrinary aspects of providing government education via taxes (I do).
I don’t claim the label conservative as I am a registered Libertarian.
How delightful- “Lardner.” I haven’t heard that one since, oh, about third grade. Your thirty years of teaching obviously did not go to waste- your students have trained you well in the nuances of reasoned debate.
Sadly, I can see that I am way out of my league with a intellectual heavy-weight such as yourself. I dare not continue the discussion, given that you have crushing counter-arguments lying in wait, such as “MATT rhymes with RAT!!!”
No amount of mere evidence can compete with such virtuosity, and thus I retreat.
You’re right about the spelling, Thane. I was channeling the writer, Ring Lardner. I went back and corrected the misspellings in this and another post. But Ladner refers to me as Mr. Saifer in his comments, so I’m not alone.
To answer your more serious comment, I honestly don’t think Ladner or other very conservative educators have the best interest of “children and Arizonans in general” at heart. My sense is, they want to create a two-tiered educational system where those who have money get a first class education and those who don’t have money get a second class education. The exception is, children from the lower economic reaches who show real academic promise will be nurtured and brought into the educated class.
This is much less expensive than trying to give everyone a first class education. It also fits with the conservative model which believes in an economic meritocracy — those who have “made it” deserve what they have, and those who haven’t should either pull themselves up by their bootstraps without government’s help or stop whining about how poor they are.
I don’t know if you’re that kind of a conservative, Thane, but those who have ascended to the heights of Republican power are that kind of conservative. And their educational vision doesn’t include quality education for all children.
I’ll put in my two bits as a fellow Arizonan who wants the very best education (which isn’t necessarily government education) for everyone.
Even though you may not believe that conservatives/Goldwater Institute/Matthew Ladner (note the spelling) beliefs are ‘wrong’ that shouldn’t keep you from allowing that they might, just might, care about the education industry and maximizing good education of children and Arizonans in general.