Stupid In America Documentary Part 1.flv

00:40:46
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUmcjbSHYq0

Summary

TLDRThe video "Stupid in America" hosted by John Stossell critiques the state of America's public education system, highlighting several key issues such as poor student performance compared to international peers, particularly by high school, and the ineffectiveness of simply increasing funding to improve education. The documentary accuses teachers' unions of protecting underperforming teachers and hindering changes necessary for improvement. It posits that introducing competition through school choice and vouchers might spur innovation and elevate educational standards. Additionally, the video emphasizes frustration among parents concerning the subpar education in public schools and suggests that despite smaller budgets, some private and charter schools manage substantially better outcomes. Overall, the documentary makes a case for a fundamental restructuring of how educational choices are offered in America to leverage competition and improve outcomes.

Takeaways

  • 🔍 America's education system shows significant shortcomings.
  • 🌍 U.S. students lag behind internationally, especially in higher grades.
  • 💰 More money doesn't equate to better education outcomes.
  • 🛡️ Teachers' unions protect underperforming teachers, complicating reform.
  • 🔧 School choice and competition could drive improvements.
  • 🏫 Private and charter schools outperform despite lower funding.
  • 👩‍👦 Many parents are disillusioned with current public schools.
  • 🇧🇪 Comparison to Belgian system highlights the benefits of school choice.
  • 🚫 Difficulty in firing bad teachers hinders progress.
  • 💡 Introducing vouchers could foster educational innovation.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    American schools are failing students, who aren't learning effectively. Public perception that schools in suburbs are excellent is misleading. Issues include boring teachers, lack of control, and inadequate reading abilities.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Compared to international standards, American students are falling behind, with lower performance in global tests. The problem isn't with the students but with the educational system, which fails to maintain progress as students advance in grades.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    Increased spending on schools has not translated to better student performance. Despite significant funds invested in facilities like Olympic-size pools, educational achievement remains stagnant, suggesting that more money isn't the solution.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    Alternative schools demonstrate success with less spending by focusing on essential teaching and involving school leaders in direct education. These schools often outperform public schools despite lower budgets.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    Parental choice and school competition improve educational outcomes. In Belgium, where school funding follows the student, schools are incentivized to perform better or risk closure, unlike the limited choice system in the U.S.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:30:00

    The lack of school choice in America traps students in underperforming schools based on their geographical zone. The wealthy can escape to better schools, but most students suffer from unchangeable assignments to schools.

  • 00:30:00 - 00:35:00

    Union rules protect even incompetent teachers, making it nearly impossible to dismiss them. This protection hinders the removal of poor educational performers, adversely affecting the quality of education.

  • 00:35:00 - 00:40:46

    Charter schools, free from many traditional regulations, show improved performance and student engagement by holding teachers accountable, rewarding excellence, and innovating educational approaches.

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Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What is the main issue discussed in the video?

    The video discusses the failures and issues within America's public education system.

  • Are American students performing well internationally?

    No, American students often fall behind peers in other countries, especially by high school.

  • Does more funding improve school performance?

    The video suggests that simply increasing funding does not improve student performance.

  • What role do teachers' unions play in school performance?

    Teachers' unions are shown as protecting underperforming teachers, making it difficult to improve education quality.

  • What is one suggested solution to improve education?

    Introducing competition through vouchers and school choice is suggested as a way to improve education.

  • Are private schools performing better than public schools?

    Some private and charter schools are shown to perform better despite receiving less funding per student.

  • How do parents feel about the current public schools?

    Many parents feel frustrated and disappointed with the public education system's performance.

  • What comparison is made between U.S. and other countries' education systems?

    Countries like Belgium are mentioned as offering more choice to parents, which improves performance.

  • How are bad teachers dealt with in public schools?

    It is often very difficult to fire incompetent teachers due to union contracts and lengthy processes.

  • What is the impact of school choice on education?

    School choice is seen as a potential driver for innovation and improvement in education.

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  • 00:00:00
    stel
  • 00:00:01
    special what's going on in America's
  • 00:00:04
    Schools they're not learning anything
  • 00:00:07
    it's insane kids fail to make the grade
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    because their schools fail them my son
  • 00:00:13
    is now 18 and he is not reading tonight
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    stop kidding yourself about your child's
  • 00:00:19
    School the people in the suburbs say our
  • 00:00:22
    schools are great but they're not so
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    what do schools really need we just need
  • 00:00:27
    a little more money that is the biggest
  • 00:00:29
    lie in America is the real problem Bad
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    Teachers you prove I'm a bad teacher and
  • 00:00:35
    you can't prove it don't try it and we
  • 00:00:38
    hate to compare but why can't kids here
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    keep up with students over there if the
  • 00:00:43
    kids in America couldn't do this they're
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    really students the failures the
  • 00:00:48
    successes learning should be
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    fun we'll teach you a thing or two about
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    being stupid in America how we cheat our
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    kids now John stel good evening
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    Elizabeth Vargas is off tonight stupid
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    in America that's a nasty title but some
  • 00:01:08
    nasty things are going on in America's
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    public schools and it's about time we
  • 00:01:12
    face up to
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    them we see so many movies showing us
  • 00:01:17
    wild kids kids arriving at school doped
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    up who was Jonah Arc the movies tell us
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    the kids are stupid Noah his
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    wife the Republican controlled House of
  • 00:01:31
    Representatives in an effort to
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    alleviate and the teachers boring anyone
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    anyone are real teachers that doll
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    students told us yes some teachers are
  • 00:01:40
    very boring so everybody falls asleep
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    and is school as bad as the movies
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    suggest you see kids all the time
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    walking in the school smoking weed you
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    know it's it's a normal thing here
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    normal kids say here at Abraham Lincoln
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    High in New York four years have been
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    miserable in this school it's like a
  • 00:01:56
    hell hole a hell hole really it makes me
  • 00:01:59
    want want to know more but it's hard to
  • 00:02:01
    get our cameras into schools New York
  • 00:02:03
    City School District wouldn't allow us
  • 00:02:05
    in at
  • 00:02:06
    all Washington DC's District steered us
  • 00:02:09
    to the best classrooms like this one
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    taught by Jason Camas the national
  • 00:02:13
    teacher of the year 24 positives and 10
  • 00:02:16
    negatives draw it
  • 00:02:18
    out this is nice and there are many
  • 00:02:21
    outstanding teachers but we wanted to
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    tape typical classrooms we were turned
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    down in state after State finally
  • 00:02:28
    Washington DC did allow us to give
  • 00:02:30
    cameras to a few students they
  • 00:02:32
    handpicked at two schools they
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    handpicked one was this one woodro
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    Wilson ha Newsweek says it's one of the
  • 00:02:39
    best schools in America hit what the
  • 00:02:41
    students taped wasn't confidence
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    inspiring this is Wilson High School we
  • 00:02:49
    dance note that the teacher is in the
  • 00:02:51
    class when he does this you would say
  • 00:02:54
    well it's a game on that day this
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    teacher had his world geography class
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    playing Monopoly right now we're going
  • 00:02:59
    to ask Mr grer What Monopoly has to do
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    with World Geography like Monopoly we
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    have countries that do better than
  • 00:03:07
    others based on where you live it was
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    after finals and I don't know if
  • 00:03:12
    Monopoly can help teach geography but I
  • 00:03:14
    do know that this teacher didn't have
  • 00:03:16
    much control over his class Phil get off
  • 00:03:19
    the desk and sit in your seat ladies and
  • 00:03:22
    gentlemen listen up look Mr grer raise
  • 00:03:26
    your hand it's hard to believe you can
  • 00:03:28
    learn much while this is going on guys
  • 00:03:30
    who are talking stop please Hey listen
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    and this is one of America's best public
  • 00:03:35
    schools put the dice away now you may be
  • 00:03:39
    thinking these things don't happen at my
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    kids school 57% of American parents give
  • 00:03:44
    an A or B grade to their kids Public
  • 00:03:46
    School the people in the suburbs say our
  • 00:03:49
    schools are great but they're not that's
  • 00:03:51
    the thing and the test scores show that
  • 00:03:54
    education reformer Kevin Chavis says
  • 00:03:56
    American schools on the whole just
  • 00:03:58
    aren't that good America isn't going to
  • 00:04:00
    buy that America's not going to buy that
  • 00:04:02
    America's been buying because America
  • 00:04:03
    doesn't know what it doesn't know right
  • 00:04:05
    most Americans don't know what stupid
  • 00:04:08
    schools are doing to American kids we
  • 00:04:10
    gave parts of an international test to
  • 00:04:12
    some high school students in Belgium and
  • 00:04:14
    in New Jersey answer the questions to
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    the best of your ability what the
  • 00:04:18
    Belgian kids think considering the test
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    we usually get here um this was kind of
  • 00:04:23
    piece of cake it's very easy the New
  • 00:04:26
    Jersey kids were also confident how was
  • 00:04:28
    the test easy hard it was actually
  • 00:04:31
    pretty easy I think I did good they have
  • 00:04:33
    reason to be confident New Jersey
  • 00:04:35
    students in general test above average
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    and these kids attend an above average
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    New Jersey school but the Belgian kids
  • 00:04:42
    cleaned their clocks they got 76%
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    correct you got 47% correct I'm
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    shocked cuz it just shows how much
  • 00:04:53
    Advanced there compared to us this boy
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    got the highest score among the
  • 00:04:57
    Americans but didn't come close to the
  • 00:04:59
    top scoring belgians the test was so
  • 00:05:01
    easy I think that if the kids in America
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    couldn't do this they're really stupid
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    stupid really Jay Leno's routines make
  • 00:05:09
    you think it's true what state holds the
  • 00:05:11
    Kentucky Derby every year think about it
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    the Tonight Show says these are not
  • 00:05:15
    stake these are their real answers
  • 00:05:18
    Kansas finish name of this book War
  • 00:05:22
    and the big sex war and sex what is the
  • 00:05:26
    Bill of
  • 00:05:28
    Rights you're going to law the Bill of
  • 00:05:31
    Rights okay what's the purpose of the
  • 00:05:32
    Bill of Rights
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    um I don't know what was the major cause
  • 00:05:38
    of the Civil
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    War I don't
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    know American High School kids are
  • 00:05:45
    beaten on the international tests not
  • 00:05:47
    just by kids from Belgium but by kids
  • 00:05:49
    from most countries even poorer ones
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    like Poland the Czech Republic South
  • 00:05:54
    Korea so are American students stupid no
  • 00:05:57
    we're not stupid but we just we could do
  • 00:05:59
    better I think it has to be something
  • 00:06:01
    with this this
  • 00:06:04
    school because I don't think we're
  • 00:06:05
    stuper or lower than down right
  • 00:06:09
    something with the school because the
  • 00:06:11
    longer kids spend in American schools
  • 00:06:13
    the worse they do fourth graders take
  • 00:06:16
    International tests and at that age
  • 00:06:18
    American kids do well above average but
  • 00:06:20
    by High School they've fallen way behind
  • 00:06:23
    are the kids stupid the kids are not
  • 00:06:24
    stupid the system is stupid these
  • 00:06:27
    parents and grandparents are furious at
  • 00:06:29
    what they learned about their kids
  • 00:06:30
    Public Schools it's a joke it's insane
  • 00:06:33
    they're not learning anything Pam Von
  • 00:06:36
    Goran who used to be a teacher was
  • 00:06:37
    appalled when her granddaughter came to
  • 00:06:39
    stay with her she can barely add and
  • 00:06:41
    subtract numerals one through five she
  • 00:06:44
    was with me for a week she's reading
  • 00:06:46
    fluently when she goes back and she
  • 00:06:47
    knows her math facts 1 through 20 in one
  • 00:06:50
    week you taught her what the school
  • 00:06:51
    couldn't teach her in months what's
  • 00:06:53
    going on so what is going on well the
  • 00:06:56
    schools say they need more money do they
  • 00:07:01
    when 2020 returns we'll follow the money
  • 00:07:04
    to a city that spent billions on first
  • 00:07:06
    class school
  • 00:07:07
    facilities are the kids doing better
  • 00:07:16
    next what's the biggest problem facing
  • 00:07:19
    Public Schools money that's what
  • 00:07:21
    everyone says lack of
  • 00:07:24
    [Applause]
  • 00:07:27
    money at this California round teachers
  • 00:07:30
    told us schools need much more money
  • 00:07:32
    there's nothing that money can't fix in
  • 00:07:35
    Massachusetts parents bake cookies and
  • 00:07:37
    sold all sorts of things to raise money
  • 00:07:39
    for a school system that is desperately
  • 00:07:41
    trying to make ends meet more money
  • 00:07:43
    please say the South Carolina school
  • 00:07:45
    officials how much money would be right
  • 00:07:49
    how much
  • 00:07:51
    oo millions and it would really make it
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    right they're spending 10 thou per kid
  • 00:07:56
    now 15 thou 20 thou
  • 00:07:59
    25 30 the more the better the more the
  • 00:08:03
    better that was the thinking years ago
  • 00:08:05
    when a judge ordered more must be spent
  • 00:08:07
    on Kansas City schools so they did $2
  • 00:08:11
    billion
  • 00:08:13
    more Kansas City built this olympic size
  • 00:08:16
    swimming pool state-of-the-art gyms with
  • 00:08:18
    indoor tracks these computer labs and
  • 00:08:21
    more they had so much money that when
  • 00:08:23
    they wanted to bring in more white kids
  • 00:08:25
    they didn't just bust them the Kansas
  • 00:08:27
    City District used about 120 taxes but
  • 00:08:30
    the result of all this spending on
  • 00:08:32
    student achievement it got worse by
  • 00:08:35
    2,000 Kansas City schools failed to meet
  • 00:08:37
    any of the state's standards and they
  • 00:08:39
    lost their accreditation if money were
  • 00:08:42
    the solution the problem would already
  • 00:08:43
    be solved Jay green is the author of
  • 00:08:46
    Education myths we've doubled per pupil
  • 00:08:49
    spending adjusting for inflation over
  • 00:08:51
    the last 30 years and yet schools aren't
  • 00:08:53
    better adjusted for inflation adjusted
  • 00:08:55
    for inflation we now spend more than
  • 00:08:57
    $10,000 per pupil per year here's a
  • 00:09:01
    graph of the increased spending the line
  • 00:09:03
    goes straight up but student achievement
  • 00:09:06
    flat graduation rates flat the extra
  • 00:09:09
    money didn't help the kids how can that
  • 00:09:12
    be more money but no results it's a lot
  • 00:09:15
    of money think about it
  • 00:09:17
    $10,000 per student for a classroom of
  • 00:09:20
    25 that would be
  • 00:09:22
    $250,000 per year where does the money
  • 00:09:25
    go it certainly isn't all going to teach
  • 00:09:27
    the
  • 00:09:28
    kids in Orange County California
  • 00:09:30
    Jennifer Beal's kids have been learning
  • 00:09:32
    in Portable Buildings like this while
  • 00:09:34
    her school district spending $35 million
  • 00:09:37
    to build a new building not for the kids
  • 00:09:39
    it's for administrators it's insane we
  • 00:09:42
    call it the Taj Mah halt it's so
  • 00:09:44
    enormous and overwhelming you can give
  • 00:09:47
    Public Schools all the money in America
  • 00:09:49
    and it will not be enough everyone has
  • 00:09:52
    been conned I'm not doing it today okay
  • 00:09:55
    Ben Javis is a former public school
  • 00:09:56
    principal who now runs this alternative
  • 00:09:59
    school that spends thousands of dollars
  • 00:10:01
    less per student he laughs at the public
  • 00:10:03
    school's complaints about money they all
  • 00:10:05
    say it's the answer no it's not we just
  • 00:10:07
    need a little more money that is the
  • 00:10:09
    biggest lie in America they waste money
  • 00:10:12
    to save Chavis asked the students to do
  • 00:10:14
    things like keeping the grounds picked
  • 00:10:16
    up and setting up for lunch we don't
  • 00:10:18
    have fulltime janitor um we don't have
  • 00:10:21
    security guards we don't have computers
  • 00:10:24
    we don't have a cafeteria staff thanks
  • 00:10:27
    Doan there's no pool or world class gym
  • 00:10:30
    on your mark get set go for gym class
  • 00:10:35
    his students often just run laps around
  • 00:10:37
    the block if you come to school you're
  • 00:10:39
    going to have the advantage over
  • 00:10:40
    everyone else when it means there's more
  • 00:10:42
    money left over for teaching is that a
  • 00:10:45
    complete sentence or fragment even
  • 00:10:47
    spending less money Pursuit Javis pays
  • 00:10:49
    his teachers more than public school
  • 00:10:51
    teachers get his school also thrives
  • 00:10:54
    because the principal gets involved
  • 00:10:56
    Javis shows up at every classroom and
  • 00:10:58
    uses gimmick like small cash payments
  • 00:11:00
    for perfect attendance do you come to
  • 00:11:02
    school for the money or do you come to
  • 00:11:04
    school to get an
  • 00:11:06
    education and the
  • 00:11:07
    money since he took over four years ago
  • 00:11:10
    this school has gone from being among
  • 00:11:12
    the worst in Oakland to being the best
  • 00:11:15
    his middle school has the highest test
  • 00:11:16
    scores in the city you've boosted the
  • 00:11:18
    scores from where they were by spending
  • 00:11:20
    less money it's not about the money but
  • 00:11:22
    what about kids who've come from broken
  • 00:11:23
    families poor families give me the poor
  • 00:11:26
    kids and I will outperform the wealthy
  • 00:11:29
    kids who live in the hills and we do it
  • 00:11:32
    PR other spunky Independent Schools do
  • 00:11:35
    well with less money like this one in
  • 00:11:37
    South Carolina run by Teresa Middleton
  • 00:11:39
    we saw that the kids here were
  • 00:11:41
    enthusiastic about learning my children
  • 00:11:43
    are so excited can we play this today
  • 00:11:45
    can we do popcorn can we do relay math
  • 00:11:47
    can we play Bingo can we play phonics
  • 00:11:49
    around the
  • 00:11:50
    world learning should be fun and fun
  • 00:11:54
    seems to teach these first graders can
  • 00:11:57
    read get ready to work
  • 00:12:00
    I've had threeyear olds sounding Out
  • 00:12:01
    words my below average child can go to
  • 00:12:03
    public school and make the honor
  • 00:12:06
    Ral yet she spends only $33,000 per
  • 00:12:09
    child versus the $99,000 South
  • 00:12:12
    Carolina's Public Schools spend and
  • 00:12:14
    still fail to educate students like
  • 00:12:16
    Dorian Kaine my son is now 18 and he is
  • 00:12:21
    not reading he's on a fourth grade level
  • 00:12:24
    and it's a huge problem you want to take
  • 00:12:26
    a shot at that Dorian struggles to read
  • 00:12:29
    just one sentence in this first grade
  • 00:12:31
    book one day Uncle Jack came to visit he
  • 00:12:35
    says he wants to learn to read you know
  • 00:12:37
    there is a whole world that can open up
  • 00:12:39
    to you if you are able to read yeah I
  • 00:12:42
    know that did they try to teach you to
  • 00:12:46
    read from time to time test was je has
  • 00:12:50
    been after Dorian schools for help for
  • 00:12:52
    years you have to beg you know whatever
  • 00:12:55
    you ask for you you're begging because
  • 00:12:57
    they have the power now they've had
  • 00:12:59
    meetings with you to talk about your son
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    yes here is one of them good morning I'm
  • 00:13:04
    Fred Stevens director of programs for
  • 00:13:06
    exceptional children this is where some
  • 00:13:08
    of the money goes to educational
  • 00:13:10
    Specialists the director of programs for
  • 00:13:13
    exceptional children the school
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    principal a resource teacher a gym
  • 00:13:17
    teacher the school counselor and the
  • 00:13:19
    district's special ed coordinator but
  • 00:13:22
    they hadn't done much for the boy who
  • 00:13:23
    can't read have you had the opportunity
  • 00:13:26
    to counsel with Dorne well first of all
  • 00:13:28
    I really hadn't had the opportunity to
  • 00:13:30
    really counsel with him I'll be frank
  • 00:13:32
    with you the principal said Dorian was
  • 00:13:34
    doing well I've seen great progress in
  • 00:13:37
    so I don't have any concerns the meeting
  • 00:13:41
    went on for 45 tedious minutes Dorian
  • 00:13:44
    looked defeated his mother just kept
  • 00:13:46
    raising the one issue that concerned her
  • 00:13:48
    most me the only issue I have is his
  • 00:13:50
    reading level and that's what's
  • 00:13:52
    important to me all right come on have a
  • 00:13:55
    seat so we decided we'd send Dorian to a
  • 00:13:57
    private Learning Center
  • 00:14:00
    could they teach Dorian to read when the
  • 00:14:02
    South Carolina Public Schools hadn't all
  • 00:14:04
    right click on okay for me you bet after
  • 00:14:07
    just 72 hours of instruction using
  • 00:14:09
    computers and workbooks dorian's reading
  • 00:14:12
    was up more than two grade levels his
  • 00:14:14
    mother loves the private program they're
  • 00:14:17
    doing what they supposed to do they are
  • 00:14:18
    on point but I can't say the same for
  • 00:14:21
    the public schools no she can't South
  • 00:14:24
    Carolina over 12 years spent nearly
  • 00:14:26
    $100,000 on dorian's education but they
  • 00:14:29
    left him
  • 00:14:31
    behind when we continue what if schools
  • 00:14:34
    had to get good results or flunk out of
  • 00:14:38
    business so the fact that some schools
  • 00:14:40
    fail and close that's that's the success
  • 00:14:43
    that's a good thing that's a good thing
  • 00:14:46
    that's
  • 00:14:47
    [Music]
  • 00:14:52
    next if you're a parent with money you
  • 00:14:54
    have choices you can pay for a private
  • 00:14:56
    school or buy into a neighborhood hood
  • 00:14:59
    that has a better public school kids
  • 00:15:02
    kids wait a real estate agency even runs
  • 00:15:05
    commercials about it anyone know the
  • 00:15:06
    student per teacher ratio in your
  • 00:15:08
    classroom they show a mother to be
  • 00:15:10
    desperate to find a good school is crazy
  • 00:15:14
    no she's not in San Jose California
  • 00:15:16
    parents want to get their kids into
  • 00:15:18
    Fremont Union Schools they're so much
  • 00:15:20
    better than neighboring schools that
  • 00:15:22
    parents sometimes cheat to get their
  • 00:15:24
    kids in what's cheating pretending to
  • 00:15:26
    live in the district when you don't
  • 00:15:29
    inspector John Lozano goes door too to
  • 00:15:32
    check if kids really live where they say
  • 00:15:34
    they live is uh here yeah really oh
  • 00:15:39
    great nice to finally meet you how long
  • 00:15:41
    you guys been here then Lozano says he
  • 00:15:43
    still needs to look inside the house to
  • 00:15:46
    make sure she really lives there I don't
  • 00:15:48
    mean to embarrass you so he sounds nice
  • 00:15:50
    but think about what he's doing the
  • 00:15:52
    school district police go into your
  • 00:15:54
    daughter's bedroom he even goes through
  • 00:15:56
    drawers and closets if he has to well we
  • 00:15:59
    have a computer we have some 17
  • 00:16:01
    magazines we have pictures of the
  • 00:16:03
    student and her friends on the wall this
  • 00:16:05
    girl passes I was looking for but the
  • 00:16:08
    grandmother who listed this address is
  • 00:16:10
    caught people who answer the door say
  • 00:16:12
    she doesn't live here she says that she
  • 00:16:14
    lives here and that her grandson's going
  • 00:16:15
    to live here with her that's so they can
  • 00:16:17
    go to school at Homestead High School oh
  • 00:16:18
    I have two yeah caught she's definitely
  • 00:16:21
    caught and two days later I talked to
  • 00:16:23
    the grandmother I was actually crying
  • 00:16:26
    it's kind of creepy that they force you
  • 00:16:28
    to go to the black market to get your
  • 00:16:31
    kid a better education I was crying in
  • 00:16:34
    front of this 14 years old why can't
  • 00:16:36
    they just let parents get in the school
  • 00:16:40
    of their choice why can't they changing
  • 00:16:44
    schools can change a child's life Patty
  • 00:16:46
    Bower's kids were stuck in a public
  • 00:16:48
    school that wasn't teaching them but
  • 00:16:50
    then they got McKay scholarships which
  • 00:16:52
    let them attend this private school that
  • 00:16:54
    works with kids who have special needs
  • 00:16:56
    they would invite Joey has been brought
  • 00:16:59
    up four grade levels in Reading Alan's
  • 00:17:02
    gone from C's and D's to be an honoral
  • 00:17:05
    student but last week a Florida Court
  • 00:17:07
    killed a similar Choice program and
  • 00:17:09
    Patty fears her kids will soon be forced
  • 00:17:11
    back into public school if they take
  • 00:17:13
    them Cas scholarship away I don't think
  • 00:17:16
    I'm
  • 00:17:17
    sorry I don't
  • 00:17:19
    think Joey will finish
  • 00:17:22
    school why can't she choose her child's
  • 00:17:25
    School most countries that beat America
  • 00:17:27
    on International test give parents that
  • 00:17:29
    choice there were a few people who got
  • 00:17:32
    very very high scores here in Belgium
  • 00:17:34
    the government spends less than American
  • 00:17:36
    schools do on each student but the
  • 00:17:37
    money's attached to the kids so they can
  • 00:17:40
    go wherever they want to a state run
  • 00:17:42
    school or a Catholic school or a Muslim
  • 00:17:46
    or monori school because of that choice
  • 00:17:50
    it makes it a lot harder for schools
  • 00:17:52
    because there's a lot of pressure Kate
  • 00:17:55
    vanen Sao runs a state school in Belgium
  • 00:17:57
    she says because the money is attached
  • 00:17:59
    to the kids she has to please the
  • 00:18:01
    parents and that makes a world of
  • 00:18:04
    difference if we don't offer them what
  • 00:18:06
    they want for their child they won't
  • 00:18:08
    come to our school so she provides
  • 00:18:11
    extras like cooking more sports program
  • 00:18:15
    Furniture building Electronics is this
  • 00:18:19
    what you like best yeah you think that
  • 00:18:21
    America doesn't leave any child behind
  • 00:18:24
    but um I think that we don't leave any
  • 00:18:29
    child behind and that you guys have some
  • 00:18:33
    kind of a problem with that I wouldn't
  • 00:18:35
    send my child to an American public
  • 00:18:37
    school not even for a million dollars
  • 00:18:40
    her son lives in Belgium now but when he
  • 00:18:41
    was six his family lived in America and
  • 00:18:44
    his mom was upset when he was assigned
  • 00:18:46
    to a school in America I sort of had to
  • 00:18:49
    beg please please uh give me a good
  • 00:18:51
    school for my child and here in Belgium
  • 00:18:54
    they're all over the place that is if
  • 00:18:58
    they're not good they're gone you shut
  • 00:19:01
    down bad schools that's healthy because
  • 00:19:03
    it says to people that that that
  • 00:19:06
    incompetence won't work so the fact that
  • 00:19:09
    some schools fail and close that's
  • 00:19:12
    that's the success that's a good thing
  • 00:19:14
    that's a good thing that's a real good
  • 00:19:16
    thing what happens to those kids in
  • 00:19:17
    those schools then they'll go to another
  • 00:19:19
    school why should we keep them in a
  • 00:19:20
    school that's not working that's what
  • 00:19:22
    we've been doing for
  • 00:19:23
    decades giving kids a choice forces
  • 00:19:26
    schools to try harder
  • 00:19:28
    you have to be Innovative all the time
  • 00:19:31
    you have to look for new means of
  • 00:19:33
    working new means of thinking
  • 00:19:36
    on P and Sal so if we don't succeed we
  • 00:19:40
    just run out of business I think it's a
  • 00:19:42
    Pity that American children don't have
  • 00:19:44
    the same opportunities and and same uh
  • 00:19:47
    choices as we have but um if you're used
  • 00:19:50
    to it maybe it's just normal no choice
  • 00:19:53
    is just normal in
  • 00:19:56
    America when 2020 inss kids are learning
  • 00:19:59
    in school the question is what they were
  • 00:20:03
    giving him the answer he said they're
  • 00:20:05
    teaching me to cheat
  • 00:20:10
    next stupid in America continues with
  • 00:20:13
    John stel why are you watching us you
  • 00:20:16
    don't have to you have choices but
  • 00:20:19
    suppose you had only one channel and the
  • 00:20:21
    government told you what you had to
  • 00:20:22
    watch that's generally how it works for
  • 00:20:27
    schools
  • 00:20:29
    when the Sanford family moved from
  • 00:20:30
    Charleston to Columbia South Carolina
  • 00:20:32
    they had a big concern where would their
  • 00:20:34
    kids go to school first thing I did was
  • 00:20:37
    look up on the computer where are we
  • 00:20:38
    zoned what schools would those be you
  • 00:20:41
    have to go where you're zoned you go
  • 00:20:42
    where you're zoned in South Carolina and
  • 00:20:45
    most everywhere you must attend the
  • 00:20:47
    public school in the zone where you live
  • 00:20:49
    but the middle school near the Sanford's
  • 00:20:51
    new home was rated below everage it
  • 00:20:53
    turned out however this wasn't a problem
  • 00:20:56
    for them cuz the reason they were moving
  • 00:20:58
    to colia was that Mark had just been
  • 00:21:00
    elected governor dly installed as
  • 00:21:02
    governor of South Carolina so they were
  • 00:21:04
    offered special options people from
  • 00:21:06
    better school districts invited them to
  • 00:21:08
    send their kids to those schools and I
  • 00:21:11
    said but that's not fair because if I
  • 00:21:13
    lived down the street here they wouldn't
  • 00:21:14
    be allowed to do that would I be allowed
  • 00:21:16
    to do that and they said no you would
  • 00:21:17
    not he said but we're going to wave that
  • 00:21:19
    requirement because you're the governor
  • 00:21:20
    and and the I said that's not fair it's
  • 00:21:23
    not fair but that's often how it works
  • 00:21:25
    in America as we showed you the kids of
  • 00:21:28
    the privileged can escape bad schools by
  • 00:21:30
    moving to where the better schools are
  • 00:21:32
    if you could buy a $250 or $300,000
  • 00:21:35
    house you're going to get some great
  • 00:21:36
    public education but most everyone else
  • 00:21:39
    is stuck with what the government gives
  • 00:21:40
    you been in a public school system no
  • 00:21:42
    matter how much you complain about it no
  • 00:21:44
    matter how much you you cry about what's
  • 00:21:45
    going on with your children your
  • 00:21:47
    children are stuck because of their zip
  • 00:21:48
    code these South Carolina parents say
  • 00:21:50
    their kids Public Schools were bad they
  • 00:21:52
    not teaching the kids if you hadn't
  • 00:21:54
    pulled them out of the public schools I
  • 00:21:56
    think it would have ruined his life
  • 00:21:59
    Dale's grandson said some of his Public
  • 00:22:01
    School teachers helped him pass tests by
  • 00:22:03
    telling him to cheat they were giving
  • 00:22:05
    him the answers they were giving him the
  • 00:22:07
    answers and he said they're teaching me
  • 00:22:09
    to cheat so they could pass him on to
  • 00:22:12
    the next grade the No Child Left Behind
  • 00:22:16
    thing you know send him on up to the
  • 00:22:18
    next class get him out of
  • 00:22:21
    here they really did not care Lizzie
  • 00:22:24
    Murphy's son was in kindergarten for a
  • 00:22:26
    year without learning the basics of
  • 00:22:28
    writing he just learned to write his
  • 00:22:31
    name and that's through me telling him
  • 00:22:34
    that an m is a hump hump a kindergarten
  • 00:22:37
    could barely write his name what's going
  • 00:22:39
    on what are you doing what are they
  • 00:22:41
    doing if you compare SAT scores state by
  • 00:22:44
    state South Carolina ranks last I want
  • 00:22:47
    to tell you that if you look at every
  • 00:22:49
    indicator for South Carolina schools
  • 00:22:51
    South Carolina is not last HZ tenant
  • 00:22:54
    bomb has been State superintendent for
  • 00:22:56
    schools since 1998 we have been ranked
  • 00:22:59
    as having some of the highest standards
  • 00:23:01
    of learning in the entire country may
  • 00:23:04
    you set high standards but the kids
  • 00:23:05
    don't achieve them we are ranked number
  • 00:23:07
    one in the country for improvement on
  • 00:23:09
    Sat 32 you start start at the bottom
  • 00:23:12
    it's easier to improve you've improved
  • 00:23:15
    and you're still last sat is a uh an
  • 00:23:18
    indicator that really shouldn't be used
  • 00:23:20
    to judge any state we're making
  • 00:23:21
    tremendous progress in South Carolina
  • 00:23:23
    we're very proud why be proud half the
  • 00:23:26
    kids who start high school in South
  • 00:23:28
    Carolina don't graduate in 4 years and
  • 00:23:30
    the state's first family was afraid to
  • 00:23:32
    send their kids to the school they were
  • 00:23:34
    zoned for it's too important to me to
  • 00:23:36
    sacrifice their education I get one shot
  • 00:23:38
    at it if I don't pay very close
  • 00:23:40
    attention to how my boys get educated
  • 00:23:42
    then I've lost an opportunity to make
  • 00:23:44
    them the best they can be in this world
  • 00:23:46
    they decided to send their kids to
  • 00:23:48
    private school and the governor then
  • 00:23:50
    proposed giving every parent in South
  • 00:23:52
    Carolina that kind of choice does one
  • 00:23:55
    size ever fit
  • 00:23:56
    all he said state tax credits should
  • 00:23:59
    help parents pay for private schools
  • 00:24:01
    then they would have a choice choice is
  • 00:24:04
    external pressure the public has to know
  • 00:24:06
    that there's an alternative there it's
  • 00:24:07
    just like you know do you get a Sprint
  • 00:24:09
    phone or an AT&T phone he's right when
  • 00:24:13
    monopolies rule little gets done think
  • 00:24:15
    about where we wait in line the longest
  • 00:24:18
    at monopolies the Motor Vehicles
  • 00:24:20
    Department the post office or the
  • 00:24:22
    extreme example the former Soviet Union
  • 00:24:25
    people waited in line an average 2 hours
  • 00:24:28
    every day 5 years over a
  • 00:24:31
    lifetime in this Moscow restaurant I
  • 00:24:33
    waited endlessly while waiters sat or
  • 00:24:35
    talk to each other because with no
  • 00:24:37
    competition there's no incentive to wait
  • 00:24:40
    on me in America the phone company was
  • 00:24:42
    once a government supported Monopoly all
  • 00:24:45
    the phones were black and all the calls
  • 00:24:47
    expensive it was illegal to plug in an
  • 00:24:49
    answering machine installing a foreign
  • 00:24:52
    device the Monopoly called it so the
  • 00:24:54
    next time you complain about your phone
  • 00:24:56
    this clip from sat Saturday Night Live
  • 00:24:58
    is a good description of Monopoly
  • 00:25:00
    service we don't care we don't have to
  • 00:25:02
    we're the phone company but take away
  • 00:25:05
    Monopoly status and poof suddenly
  • 00:25:08
    customers matter your choice of cool
  • 00:25:10
    phones think about the choices
  • 00:25:12
    competition gives you when you buy a
  • 00:25:14
    cell phone can you hear me now there are
  • 00:25:15
    dozens of plans to choose from based on
  • 00:25:17
    how many minutes you want how big your
  • 00:25:20
    family is and a million other thing
  • 00:25:22
    great deal on a cool phone why can't
  • 00:25:24
    kids benefit from similar competition in
  • 00:25:26
    education people expect and demand
  • 00:25:29
    choice in every other area of their life
  • 00:25:32
    letting parents choose he said would
  • 00:25:33
    encourage schools to compete and they'd
  • 00:25:35
    quickly offer parents things
  • 00:25:37
    like music schools schools with uniforms
  • 00:25:41
    schools that open early or keep kids
  • 00:25:42
    later virtual schools where kids learn
  • 00:25:45
    on the Internet Sports schools then who
  • 00:25:48
    knows what ideas might Bloom that
  • 00:25:50
    empowers parents that'll openly improve
  • 00:25:52
    education the governor announced his
  • 00:25:54
    plan last year and thousands of parents
  • 00:25:57
    cheered the idea
  • 00:25:58
    but most public Educators and
  • 00:26:00
    politicians didn't school boards
  • 00:26:02
    objected teachers unions objected PT
  • 00:26:05
    even sent kids home with a letter saying
  • 00:26:07
    contact your legislator how could we
  • 00:26:09
    spend State money on something that
  • 00:26:11
    hasn't been proven it would decimate
  • 00:26:13
    public education in South Carolina and
  • 00:26:15
    it's just not good for us South
  • 00:26:16
    Carolina's public schools are performing
  • 00:26:18
    well the teachers union objects to any
  • 00:26:20
    program that would use tax credits or
  • 00:26:22
    vouchers to let Kids Escape Public
  • 00:26:24
    Schools they paid for ads that argued
  • 00:26:27
    schools are getting better discipline is
  • 00:26:30
    improving legislators voted down the
  • 00:26:32
    governor's plan 60 to 53
  • 00:26:35
    Victory the superintendent of schools
  • 00:26:38
    was relieved it was an unproven
  • 00:26:40
    unaffordable and unaccountable plan well
  • 00:26:43
    it's unpro it because politicians and
  • 00:26:46
    unions won't let anyone try it I think
  • 00:26:48
    if you look at every indicator you will
  • 00:26:50
    see that South Carolina is going
  • 00:26:51
    straight up in terms of academic
  • 00:26:53
    achievement we are not in crisis we have
  • 00:26:55
    a plan we need to stay the course and we
  • 00:26:57
    will see remarkable success over the
  • 00:26:59
    next few years I hope so but how much
  • 00:27:02
    success can there be in a monopoly the
  • 00:27:05
    Monopoly in my town couldn't just fire a
  • 00:27:08
    teacher who sent sexual emails to his
  • 00:27:10
    16-year-old
  • 00:27:12
    student when we continue the worst
  • 00:27:15
    teachers getting away with all kinds of
  • 00:27:18
    things we've had sex cases acknowledge
  • 00:27:21
    sex cases you can't fire them it takes
  • 00:27:24
    Years Years next
  • 00:27:27
    [Music]
  • 00:27:32
    the school system isn't calcified just
  • 00:27:34
    because it's a Government monopoly
  • 00:27:36
    there's another stumbling block the
  • 00:27:39
    teachers United will never be defeated
  • 00:27:43
    it's a union dominated Monopoly the
  • 00:27:46
    muscle and the Zeal that built our Union
  • 00:27:50
    is still with
  • 00:27:53
    us teachers unions in this country are
  • 00:27:56
    very influential because they want to
  • 00:27:58
    get something done or stopped they can
  • 00:28:01
    assemble a crowd 20,000 people and
  • 00:28:05
    thousands more wanted to be here Randy
  • 00:28:09
    wein Garden heads New York City's
  • 00:28:10
    teachers union she put out the word and
  • 00:28:13
    thousands of teachers filled Madison
  • 00:28:14
    Square Garden to demand the new contract
  • 00:28:17
    with more money you are heroes some
  • 00:28:21
    teachers are heroes but not all most of
  • 00:28:24
    the teachers they like they they don't
  • 00:28:26
    really care one of my teachers tells me
  • 00:28:28
    he does this for the health benefits
  • 00:28:30
    I've seen teachers come to school
  • 00:28:33
    intoxicated this seems odd because
  • 00:28:36
    teachers I know want to help kids learn
  • 00:28:38
    many turn down better paying jobs to
  • 00:28:40
    teach but in Union Schools there's a
  • 00:28:43
    problem we tolerate mediocrity and
  • 00:28:46
    people get paid the same whether they're
  • 00:28:48
    outstanding or whether they're average
  • 00:28:50
    or indeed whether they're way below
  • 00:28:52
    average Joel Klein is chancellor of New
  • 00:28:54
    York City Schools the biggest public
  • 00:28:56
    school system in the country fourth
  • 00:28:58
    grade like a very big year he says the
  • 00:29:01
    teachers Union's rigid contract makes it
  • 00:29:03
    very hard to fire Any teacher even
  • 00:29:06
    dangerous on I mean we've had sex cases
  • 00:29:09
    acknowledged sex cases one teacher sent
  • 00:29:12
    sexual emails to cuy 101 his 16-year-old
  • 00:29:16
    student this is the most unbelievable
  • 00:29:19
    case to me because the email was there
  • 00:29:22
    he admitted to it it was so thoroughly
  • 00:29:24
    offensive and he confesses he admits
  • 00:29:26
    this I mean you have the email he admits
  • 00:29:29
    that he did it you can't fire him it's
  • 00:29:31
    almost impossible the school board says
  • 00:29:33
    it's almost impossible to fire a teacher
  • 00:29:36
    our Union has actually stepped up to the
  • 00:29:38
    plate and said we'll police our own
  • 00:29:40
    profession well I'd like to police my
  • 00:29:43
    job too but that's not how it works in
  • 00:29:45
    life bosses make these decisions if the
  • 00:29:47
    cases are legitimate they should bring
  • 00:29:49
    them there are procedures it's it's in
  • 00:29:52
    the contract if teacher incompetent they
  • 00:29:54
    can be let go it takes Years Years years
  • 00:29:58
    these are the steps a principal must
  • 00:29:59
    follow to fire a bad teacher look at
  • 00:30:02
    this thing the teachers union got so
  • 00:30:05
    many protections to make sure principles
  • 00:30:07
    don't fire unfairly or play favorites
  • 00:30:09
    that principles rarely even try to jump
  • 00:30:11
    through all these hoops to fire a bad
  • 00:30:13
    teacher in the last two years says
  • 00:30:16
    kleene only two teachers out of 80,000
  • 00:30:19
    have been fired for incompetence it
  • 00:30:21
    makes no sense and you don't know other
  • 00:30:23
    places where this goes on this is not
  • 00:30:25
    like you can say they're doing do this
  • 00:30:27
    at IBM or some other place right this is
  • 00:30:30
    unique to our environment I'm not sure I
  • 00:30:33
    understand how to manage a government
  • 00:30:36
    Civil Service
  • 00:30:37
    organization ge's Jack Welch was revered
  • 00:30:40
    as a great manager he says if an
  • 00:30:42
    organization is to stay vital it must
  • 00:30:44
    reward its best workers and the bottom
  • 00:30:47
    10% have to go we tell people in the
  • 00:30:50
    bottom 10 look you got a year find
  • 00:30:53
    yourself somewhere to go and they do by
  • 00:30:56
    doing that he made GE unbelievably
  • 00:30:59
    successful but what he did at GE is
  • 00:31:01
    forbidden at most public schools we have
  • 00:31:03
    a system in which we don't distinguish
  • 00:31:06
    among people and as a result of that we
  • 00:31:08
    don't reward Excellence why don't you
  • 00:31:10
    reward Excellence because it's barred by
  • 00:31:12
    the contract ah yes the Union contract
  • 00:31:16
    here it is more than 200 pages of fine
  • 00:31:19
    print Union monopolies often create
  • 00:31:21
    documents like this it's not just 200
  • 00:31:23
    Page contract you got all these addenda
  • 00:31:26
    that are incorporated into a contract
  • 00:31:27
    you're talking about hundreds and
  • 00:31:29
    hundreds and hundreds of pages more so
  • 00:31:31
    it is a
  • 00:31:33
    regulatory nightmare so much so that he
  • 00:31:36
    couldn't just fire that teacher who sent
  • 00:31:38
    those sexual emails up down around
  • 00:31:41
    everywhere we've paid him he hasn't
  • 00:31:43
    taught but we have had to pay him
  • 00:31:45
    because that's what's required under the
  • 00:31:46
    contract paid him more than
  • 00:31:49
    $300,000 only after six years of
  • 00:31:51
    expensive litigation were they finally
  • 00:31:53
    able to fire him hundreds of teachers
  • 00:31:56
    who the city calls and in competent
  • 00:31:58
    racist dangerous or guilty of sexual
  • 00:32:00
    misconduct have been paid Millions you
  • 00:32:03
    what do they do with those teachers well
  • 00:32:05
    they put them in the rubber room it's
  • 00:32:06
    what they call it it's not really made
  • 00:32:08
    of rubber but it's a big empty room and
  • 00:32:11
    this building and four other buildings
  • 00:32:12
    around town cuz they don't want these
  • 00:32:14
    teachers to get near the kids so they
  • 00:32:17
    just come here and sit hang around read
  • 00:32:20
    magazines waste time and waste your
  • 00:32:22
    money they wouldn't allow us to take
  • 00:32:24
    pictures inside while the teachers were
  • 00:32:26
    there today the city pays $20 million a
  • 00:32:29
    year to house teachers in rubber rooms
  • 00:32:32
    you insane as that is at the union rally
  • 00:32:35
    teachers told me they support the firing
  • 00:32:37
    rules what if a principal says you're a
  • 00:32:39
    lousy teacher I want to fire you that's
  • 00:32:43
    you prove it you prove I'm a bad teacher
  • 00:32:47
    and if you can't prove it don't try
  • 00:32:50
    it everywhere unions resist the practice
  • 00:32:53
    that made GE and other organizations
  • 00:32:55
    successful weed out the bad there aren't
  • 00:32:57
    really bad teachers the rules must stand
  • 00:33:00
    say unions everywhere Wisconsin public
  • 00:33:03
    schools are Great Schools test scores
  • 00:33:06
    are up the teachers union spend Millions
  • 00:33:08
    on ads saying the schools are great
  • 00:33:11
    there's an explosion of excellence in
  • 00:33:13
    New York Public
  • 00:33:14
    Schools since the schools are excellent
  • 00:33:17
    they say don't mess around with our
  • 00:33:19
    rules and benefits permit members to
  • 00:33:22
    retire without penalty at age 55 mhm
  • 00:33:26
    teachers would work uniform 6 hours and
  • 00:33:29
    40 minute days at all levels which is
  • 00:33:31
    what normally happens in the private
  • 00:33:33
    sector really she says her teachers
  • 00:33:35
    should work regular hours but how many
  • 00:33:37
    of you work a uniform 6-hour 40-minute
  • 00:33:40
    day but the union is powerful and a few
  • 00:33:43
    months after our interview weine Garten
  • 00:33:45
    got a new contract this is a really good
  • 00:33:49
    day look at the smiles in exchange for a
  • 00:33:53
    15% raise the union made concessions for
  • 00:33:56
    example they agreed to work 10 minutes a
  • 00:33:58
    day longer they say it will be easier to
  • 00:34:01
    get rid of sex offenders but it will
  • 00:34:03
    still take all these steps to fire an
  • 00:34:06
    incompetent teacher unionized monopolies
  • 00:34:09
    like yours fail and this case it's the
  • 00:34:12
    children who are who you are failing we
  • 00:34:14
    are not a unionized monopoly and
  • 00:34:16
    ultimately those folks who want to say
  • 00:34:20
    this all the time they don't really care
  • 00:34:22
    about kids those who criticize a
  • 00:34:25
    monopoly don't care about kids nonsense
  • 00:34:29
    and when we return we'll show you what
  • 00:34:31
    parents have to do to escape the
  • 00:34:34
    Monopoly when 2020 returns it's a
  • 00:34:37
    lottery to win something more valuable
  • 00:34:40
    than money a seed in a good school
  • 00:34:43
    number
  • 00:34:45
    11
  • 00:34:47
    [Applause]
  • 00:34:50
    [Music]
  • 00:34:54
    next when Public Schools began in
  • 00:34:56
    America most people worked on farms it's
  • 00:34:59
    why there's no school in summer so kids
  • 00:35:01
    could stay home and help with the
  • 00:35:05
    crops today fewer than 2% of us work on
  • 00:35:08
    farms and nearly everything in our
  • 00:35:10
    society has changed dramatically so why
  • 00:35:13
    has there been so little change in
  • 00:35:15
    education we want to do what we want to
  • 00:35:18
    do in classrooms as we've seen one
  • 00:35:21
    reason is that unions fight to maintain
  • 00:35:23
    the status quo but that status quo often
  • 00:35:25
    doesn't serve the kids
  • 00:35:27
    our students are basically just dying in
  • 00:35:30
    their seats at school they're not
  • 00:35:32
    getting the education they deserve and
  • 00:35:35
    the union puts up a barrier for that
  • 00:35:38
    these San Diego teachers fought to make
  • 00:35:40
    their schools Charter Charter means
  • 00:35:42
    there is still a public school but
  • 00:35:43
    they're free of many of the rules set up
  • 00:35:45
    by school boards and unions you got it K
  • 00:35:48
    excellent okay now when a teacher's
  • 00:35:49
    hired she knows if she doesn't do a good
  • 00:35:51
    job she can be fired I'm a good teacher
  • 00:35:54
    I don't need tenure to protect my job I
  • 00:35:56
    need tenure to be be gone to protect my
  • 00:35:58
    students the rule is given for each
  • 00:36:00
    table since this school dropped the
  • 00:36:02
    union rules there's now a waiting list
  • 00:36:04
    to get in many charter schools are
  • 00:36:07
    succeeding friendship charter high is
  • 00:36:09
    located in the same dangerous part of
  • 00:36:11
    Washington DC as baluha one of the
  • 00:36:14
    city's poorest performing schools my
  • 00:36:17
    money kill the student populations are
  • 00:36:19
    similar mostly poor in minority I think
  • 00:36:22
    he's a good friend but at the charter
  • 00:36:24
    school there is order the kids are on
  • 00:36:26
    tag ask and doing better 95% of the
  • 00:36:29
    graduates get into college is this
  • 00:36:31
    school better than the public high
  • 00:36:33
    schools of course well why why of course
  • 00:36:37
    the charter students recognize that
  • 00:36:38
    their school is different the teachers
  • 00:36:41
    they say they're happier to be here what
  • 00:36:43
    does a hyperbola always have to have in
  • 00:36:45
    it this teacher got ran Miller
  • 00:36:47
    interested in math a subject she used to
  • 00:36:49
    hate what she do differently she makes
  • 00:36:51
    it fun she makes it fun thaniel making
  • 00:36:55
    it fun could help them keep their job
  • 00:36:57
    she's here because a third of the
  • 00:36:58
    previous teachers were fired I love
  • 00:37:00
    teaching here the best teachers make
  • 00:37:03
    extra money we can give bonuses we can
  • 00:37:05
    have Saturday school with pay we can do
  • 00:37:08
    summer school and reward certain
  • 00:37:10
    teachers the kids see the results and
  • 00:37:13
    people here care more yes definitely
  • 00:37:16
    good morning get the jacket off phone up
  • 00:37:18
    friendship's principal knows if the
  • 00:37:20
    school doesn't perform he'll be held
  • 00:37:22
    accountable we can be closed we can't
  • 00:37:24
    settle for just being good enough you
  • 00:37:26
    need help this makes Charter Schools
  • 00:37:28
    Innova and if a teammate asks for help
  • 00:37:31
    what do we
  • 00:37:31
    do this one keeps kids in school till
  • 00:37:34
    5:00 p.m. hello and teachers give kids
  • 00:37:37
    their cell phone numbers hello hello
  • 00:37:39
    Miss H and in the evening every teacher
  • 00:37:42
    must be available to answer questions I
  • 00:37:44
    had a question on the um the review
  • 00:37:46
    sheet okay I get phone calls at all
  • 00:37:49
    hours of the night hello teachers say
  • 00:37:52
    the kids call constantly hey cryst
  • 00:37:54
    what's up so many kids want to get into
  • 00:37:57
    those schools the schools have to hold
  • 00:37:59
    lotteries like this one
  • 00:38:01
    35810 51 the suspense is unbearable I
  • 00:38:05
    prayed that they going to pick on so
  • 00:38:08
    much is at stake the winners get a shot
  • 00:38:10
    at a better
  • 00:38:11
    future they spin the drum number
  • 00:38:15
    11 look at that
  • 00:38:17
    smile look at her smile listen to her
  • 00:38:20
    delighted
  • 00:38:22
    scream but why do they have to win a
  • 00:38:24
    lottery if School money were attached to
  • 00:38:27
    the child in the form of a voucher every
  • 00:38:30
    parent could take their child to new
  • 00:38:31
    schools vouchers
  • 00:38:34
    no vouchers no but lots of people hate
  • 00:38:37
    vouchers no public money for private
  • 00:38:40
    schools last week's Florida Court ruling
  • 00:38:43
    against vouchers came after this teacher
  • 00:38:45
    brought a suit to say that competition
  • 00:38:47
    is going to improve
  • 00:38:49
    education it's just it's just not going
  • 00:38:51
    to work you know competition is not for
  • 00:38:53
    children it's not for human beings it's
  • 00:38:55
    not for publiced education it never has
  • 00:38:58
    been it never will be why not would you
  • 00:39:02
    keep going back to a restaurant that
  • 00:39:03
    served you a bad meal or a barber that
  • 00:39:06
    gave you a bad haircut competition makes
  • 00:39:09
    everything
  • 00:39:11
    better why would schools be different in
  • 00:39:14
    the few places where vouchers have been
  • 00:39:15
    allowed like Milwaukee the kids who used
  • 00:39:18
    vouchers did better and the kids in
  • 00:39:20
    nearby public schools did
  • 00:39:23
    better they improved by Leaps and Bounds
  • 00:39:26
    no one lost in Milwaukee everyone did
  • 00:39:28
    better the kids at the regular public
  • 00:39:29
    schools did better and the kids who went
  • 00:39:31
    to the voucher schools did better Call
  • 00:39:33
    of course they did that's what
  • 00:39:35
    competition does choice to me is the
  • 00:39:39
    only way I believe that we can force the
  • 00:39:41
    system from an external vantage point to
  • 00:39:45
    change itself it it will never change
  • 00:39:47
    itself from within public education will
  • 00:39:50
    never change all the reform these are
  • 00:39:52
    well intended people who want to help
  • 00:39:54
    kids all the well intended designs and
  • 00:39:59
    programs toour unless there is some
  • 00:40:02
    competition infused in the equation
  • 00:40:04
    unless that occurs then then they know
  • 00:40:07
    they have a captive Monopoly that they
  • 00:40:09
    can continue to dominate hands
  • 00:40:11
    please but if there were competition if
  • 00:40:14
    parents had a choice the possibilities
  • 00:40:17
    of what we could have are
  • 00:40:20
    [Music]
  • 00:40:23
    Limitless that's our program for tonight
  • 00:40:25
    later on Nightline a man who's making
  • 00:40:28
    lots of money selling books claiming you
  • 00:40:30
    follow his advice you'll never get sick
  • 00:40:33
    it's dubious advice thanks for watching
  • 00:40:36
    our show on education we hope it starts
  • 00:40:38
    a debate I'm John stasel Elizabeth
  • 00:40:40
    Vargas and I will be back next Friday
  • 00:40:42
    for all of us at 2020 good night
Tags
  • Education
  • Public Schools
  • School Funding
  • Teachers' Unions
  • School Choice
  • Vouchers
  • International Performance
  • Parental Frustration
  • Charter Schools
  • Innovation