The Great Liberator

Did anyone else feel like President Bush snuck whoopi cushions on the seats of the Democrats when they stood in agreement with any of his, rather benign, promises during last night's State of the Union address? As they dutifully would arise when he brushed upon any 'bipartisan' policy, our commander in chief would smile and chortle like a frat boy who had pulled off his greatest prank yet.

The shear dullness of last night's speech made me long for the days of olde; 19th century presidential speeches to congress where the opposition party would shout obscenities, utilize colorful hand gestures and start a congressional wave when the president droned on...or so I would like to imagine it.

Among other American strongholds, the speech celebrated economic prosperity (Magic 8 ball says: Outlook not good), made jokes about the IRS (always a cocktail party hit) and hailed our scientific edge (rapidly diminishing as talent migrates to less restrictive environments). My blood began to boil, however, when the president began to wax 'on education'. Bush began by hailing his initiative to fund the education of 2,600 DC children in faith-based and private schools that are, according to him, disappearing at an alarming rate in all of the nation's inner cities. He proceeded to ask for greater financial support from Congress to "help liberate poor children trapped in failing schools."

Having taught some of the poorest children in our nations capital I am, to borrow his language, shocked and appalled. Public education system is PUBLIC, thus the charge and responsibility of the government. The children are not in bondage, in need of liberation- they are simply being under-served by a public institution and shoved into alternate locations so the problem can shift out of the sight and mind of the public. But these kids, many of whom are talented, driven and frustrated are left on their own while their noble leader works to liberate them rather than working on the more difficult task at hand: public education reform. Real reform! (Not the half-hearted pandering to teachers unions and band-aid solutions that simply shift budgetary issues to localities.) In the president's view, he can serve as the great liberator of poor kids by moving them around like chess pieces and imposing stringent and culturally insensitive standards.

The DC public school system has, by the way, made significant advances in the past year. Yet, none of the gains are of President Bush's doing. Control of the system shifted away from the grip of the federal government and into the jurisdiction of the mayor of the district. The mayor has appointed a dynamic, innovative superintendent who has already shaken things up with staff changes and genuine efforts towards accountability, communication and attraction of talent for school leadership. Real changes are hard and the president doesn't seem up to the task of taking on difficult situations with regards to domestic policy. But for the time being, I'd appreciate if he lay off my students.