The Times Union looks at education through rose colored glasses

The Times Union looks at local education through rose colored glasses. They sum up our problems as a lack of communication between an administration they constantly fawn over and an ignorant public who doesn’t know what is really happening in our schools.

I wonder if they have ever considered that they the editors are the ones that have no idea what is happening and the reason is they rely on just one source and that’s the superintendent and his staff who have six figures worth of reasons to put a positive spin on what is occuring in our schools. The editors are like Bernie Madoff’s investors who asked him if everything was all right.

Jacksonville has two interstate highways that intersect; we are on the ocean and have a major river, a port, an international airport and one of the best park systems in the country. We have the Jags and how we are close to entertainment hubs in central Florida and southern Georgia. We have lots of room for growth and much of the infrastructure is already in place to do so and we are a pro business city, in a pro business state that doesn’t have an income tax. Why instead of bribing businesses to come aren’t we turning businesses away? Is it because like the Times Union postulates the public is, bussiness owners are simply ignorant or do they see something that the editors don’t and that’s our education system is not top tier, it’s not where it could and should be?

There will be no quick save either but we could start the process of turning our schools around and making our system something top to bottom, not just pockets here and there, that we can be proud of but it’s never going to happen while we have the same leadership at 1701 Prudential drive and the Times Union with their constant passes and calls for patience just doesn’t get it.

There are solutions that don’t break the bank, reinvent the wheel or out source our schools to education management organizations that we could be employing but up till now the administrations only solutions have been to rotate administrators around and dump more work onto teachers. Disciplined schools, rigorous classes and teacher buy in elude the superintendent because he is more concerned with the appearance of doing good rather than actually doing good because the later is harder.

Take off you glasses Mr. Editor, take off your glasses

Chris Guerrieri
Stake Holder