Teachers need better days — not status quo

Look to charters’ success, cut administrative mumbo-jumbo

The Journal editorial staff attempts to make a case for extending the school year by 10 days, citing “a legislative report to state lawmakers,” a “survey of teachers” and “legislative analysts.” These sources tell the story of how devastating the pandemic was, how many days were lost, and how it could take years for students to catch up. Sounds like 100% gloom and doom. Sorry, it’s not 100%; at some New Mexico public charter schools, kids’ grades and graduation rates were relatively stable for the last two years because of better management and better commitment from parents and students.

But let’s get to the heart of this ill-advised newspaper opinion. If you speak to anyone involved with education at the level of the student, the following is 100% true: Everyone is burned out. Students, administrators and particularly teachers are all completely spent. If forced to extend 10 more days, what do you think will actually happen during that extra time? You are correct if you replied “Nothing.” Only parents like this idea because it means “free” babysitting.

The Journal notes that more than half of the school districts chose to reject the K-5 Plus extra day legislative program last year. Let’s examine how the Legislature and the PED fail miserably year in and year out. These bureaucracies spend taxpayer money on the latest and greatest studies coming from big-time universities on the coasts, written by individuals who haven’t seen a public school classroom in decades. According to these “intellectuals,” the answer to everything in education is “add time” and “add money.” These are the same dimwits who created the ridiculous, ever-expanding, and hugely expensive nonsense known as “special education,” which is the real enemy of serious class time everywhere. If regular ed teachers could just regain the inordinate number of hours lost to the slippery slope of safe places and the pronoun mumbo-jumbo — each with so many pages of PED-mandated administrivia to fill out — they could teach everything and then some in a regular school year. Or perhaps a school year with 10 fewer days.

Journal editors, don’t drink the legislative Kool-Aid. Why in the world would any New Mexico voter give any merit to a Legislature and state education department which continue to make the same mistakes over and over again while sticking the exorbitant bill to the taxpayers? The politicians and bureaucrats are those who must step up. Some state has the right to say “We’re No. 1!” If we continue doing the same stupid things in education, what’s our mantra? “Watch out Puerto Rico”? It’s not funny.