At 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 8, not only do I plan on showing my own students President Obama’s address to all the nation’s schoolchildren, but I intend to use the brouhaha over it as a teachable moment, of how precious freedom of speech is even if it means allowing hateful people to say things that are not true.

What insanity has taken over parts of this country when a presidential address to young people is perceived to be mistrusted as if an alien dictator has taken over that will brainwash their minds? Former President George W. Bush gave an anti-drug speech to the nation’s children and few screamed about indoctrination.

Some parents intend to keep their children home that day so that they don’t see the message.  My gosh, folks, this is the President of the United States we’re talking about.

How far this country has lost its way when the President cannot make a simple “do well in school” speech to America’s youth without controversy.

Paranoia is the key word involved with the vile antagonism expressed by some parents who wish their children not to hear the President of the United States speak to them about their future. 

I was amazed when my son brought home a note from his first grade teacher offering parents to opt out of hearing the message.  The problem with such a notification is that it creates the sense that what the President has to say is somehow controversial so parents who probably would not have said a peep about the whole thing might now decide to have their children not be present, even though the entire text of the President’s speech is available on line on Monday at whitehouse.gov.

At the high school where I work, the principal sent a carefully worded e-mail regarding the speech, leaving the matter in the hands of individual teachers (as it should be) whether or not to show it in the classroom.

What a shame that such an exciting moment for young people, the President speaking directly to them about their education, has been twisted by ignorant parents and ratings-addicted media pundits into a scary, heinous message that serves to indoctrinate our children.  But isn’t having young people stand up, put their hands over their heart, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance a form of indoctrination?  Many of these same parents desire religion to be taught in public schools, but that would not be indoctrination, would it?

What is wrong with people today?  Don’t we want a president who cares about health care and education?  Since when does everything the president does or says has to pass through some kind of “Democrat Liberal” filter?  Wasn’t the election over with 10 months ago?

Why any good American would desire a president to fail is beyond reason.  There’s only one explanation why some people so vehemently oppose the president:  because he’s black.  How frightful that this country has so many parents who still cannot accept that an African-American is the president of all of us. 

This isn’t the country I grew up in where people viewed the President of the United States as the president of us all whether you voted for him or not. 

We are living in dangerous, uncharted times when a presidential address to young people about the importance of education is perceived to be indoctrination.  I dread what may happen next.

           “Sex sells” used to be the mantra of Madison Avenue.  Today it is smut that sells. 

        Better quality teachers are the best chance any child has in a classroom.  Just ask President Barack Obama when he said this week that “the most important factor in [a child’s] success is . . . the person standing at the front of the classroom.”

        When President Obama made this remark in his speech on education, teachers across America felt a collective sense of relief.  After years of former presidents claiming to be THE education president, it appears that this country might actually have one.

          Who would have thought we would have a Democratic president advocating merit pay? Remember how President Reagan was severely criticized for proposing the same thing a quarter of a century ago? 

         An outstanding teacher who motivates children to learn and be curious about life deserves $100,000 or more.  There are a few districts that do pay teachers six figures, but usually that’s only the very top salary after decades of experience and specialization.

        All the principal playmakers in the game of educating children play by some common rules, and rule number one has been around since the invention of the pencil.  That rule says that you cannot distinguish one teacher from the next nor should you.  All teachers get paid the same.  All teachers get treated the same.  Why does a teacher who engages students, gets them thinking, and makes them look forward to attending class paid the exact same amount of money as another teacher who couldn’t care less about the students, mumbles incoherently all day long, and races past the students for the exits at 3:00? 

        Quality is not acknowledged, applauded, spotlighted nor rewarded.  Such a system deters many bright people from ever entering the teaching profession. 

        Should the best teachers earn six-figure salaries?  Yes.

        Should all teachers be paid six-figure salaries?  No.

        A few forward-thinking school districts in Denver and Houston have implemented performance-pay systems, often overriding union’s objections.  The concept may sound familiar.  Pay people for how well they do their job.  How innovative is that?

        By paying teachers a qualitative salary, i.e., a salary based on how well they teach, public schools can begin to have a major mindshift towards rewarding quality.  Maybe they can even use it in promotional slogans such as “quality your child can trust.”

        One study found that when teachers get paid according to their performance, their students’ performances increase.  In other words, money does motivate people to work harder. 

        The President is going to have a fight on his hands in trying to get the National Education Association to endorse merit pay, a concept most teachers unions vehemently oppose.

        Here are the union arguments against performance pay.  “It is unhealthy for teachers to compete with one another.”  Well, it is unhealthy for good teachers to continue not being acknowledged and applauded for the terrific work they do. 

        “It is impossible to quantify good teaching.”  No it’s not. I can take someone off the street and show them a classroom with an effective teacher and one with an ineffective teacher.  That stranger could easily distinguish the difference. 

        “It allows management to play favorites.”  Management already plays favorites with teachers’ schedules and other things.  As long as human beings are in charge, subjectivity will play a role.  However, there is less of a chance of a single administrator playing games if teachers were evaluated by a panel of master teachers and administrators from different schools.

        The big question that needs answering when it comes to paying teachers more is “where is the money going to come from?”

        Let’s say ten percent of the three million teachers in America are worth $100,000 or more, and that such compensation would in effect double their current salaries of $50,000.  Multiply 300,000 times $50,000 and that equals $15 billion.  Remember, the annual education bill is $500 billion so $15 more billion is not so outrageous.  Still, the money is already there by lowering the top salaries of veteran teachers who do little but show up and collect paychecks.

        How outrageous that we expect our children to get a first-rate, Bloomingdale’s-like education but pay teachers Wal-Mart-like salaries.

        This must change.  You can’t expect topnotch K-12 instruction without paying for it.  As President Obama said, “The future belongs to the nation that best educates its citizens.”  Nothing less than our country’s economic future is at stake.   

With states across the country facing huge budget deficits and potential devastating cuts to services, the time has come to start charging parents tuition for their children’s public school education.

If parents of the 47 million students in the United States who attend kindergarten through 12^{th grade were billed $360 per child per year, that’s $2 a day for each of the 180 days of instruction, nearly $17 billion would be generated. However, let’s say only half of the parents can foot the bill. That still leaves $8.5 billion to deliver to public schools.}

Cutting a week out of the already skimpy school calendar as a way to save money, an idea proposed by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, is not the solution to a fiscal crisis, though if the week cut out was the one for state testing, many teachers and students wouldn’t mind. Already American kids attend school fewer days than most other industrialized nations. While a free education for all is a wonderful gift, it’s simply not possible anymore.

Can half of America’s parents afford $360 per year for each of their children? For the price of a cup of coffee, a child can get educated for a day. For the price of a movie ticket, a child can get educated for a week. For the price of a cellular phone bill, a child can get educated for a month. For the price of a videogame console, a child can get educated for an entire year.

There should be no sticker shock about this. Already parents pay for athletic uniforms, musical instruments, lab fees, school-embossed clothing, and field trips. Plus, they get nickled and dimed to death from schools throughout the year to donate money for art and music programs, to get their cars washed for athletic programs, to consume cardboard pizza so that a few dollars will go to the schools. Children would no longer have to go begging relatives and neighbors to buy coupon books.

For years community colleges charged no tuition. Then 20 years ago they started implementing a $50 per semester fee which rose to $60 per semester in the 1990’s. "How dare they" demonstrations broke out proclaiming the beginning of the end of community colleges. Well, today the colleges have more students than ever before, and the current fee is $20 per unit. For an average class load of 15 units, the cost of one semester tuition of college is $300. Nearly half of community college students get their tuition waived anyway due to their low-income status.

Look, nobody enjoys paying for services that used to be free. However, a generation of people have grown up with cable television and don’t even remember that TV used to cost nothing. Paying $360 a year for a child’s education is half of what the average person spends on watching television. Which is more important?

Attaching a price to "free" services will help students and parents understand the value of education. Psychologically it’s interesting how people view something that is "free": they tend to place less value on it than if they have to pay for it. Walk onto campuses right after lunch, especially at high schools, and notice the garbage strewn around. Kids would less likely trash their schools knowing their parents had a vested interest in the property.

Beyond charging for tuition, parents should be billed whenever their children are truant. Since schools receive funding based on average daily attendance, parents should foot the bill whenever their children miss school for non-illness reasons.

The Scotts Valley School District in Santa Cruz, California is doing just that. The letter sent home entitled "If You Play, Please Pay" informs parents that one child absent for one day costs $36.13. In 2005-06, the district lost nearly one-quarter of $1 million due to students missing school other than legitimate illnesses. While paying the bill is voluntary, many parents, perhaps out of guilt, gladly pay it, further proof that there are parents out there who would pay for school tuition.

A holiday season just ended where scores of parents spent hundreds of dollars on video games, I-pods and cell phones for their children. Is $360 going to break their backs?

       When Barack Obama gets sworn in as 44th President of the United States, he is going to face a tremendous challenge in tackling several important issues from the economy to war to energy.  Yet, without a sound public school system, future wage-earners will be handicapped to tackle problems that will remain years from now.  To neglect fixing this country’s schools today is guaranteeing a bleak economic future for America.

      Education, that other “E” word, was largely forgotten during the presidential campaign.  In order to correct that omission, here are 10 things the Obama-Biden administration can do in the coming months in order to get public schools transformed from their current moribund state to a 21st century institution.  While much of how schools are run is dictated by state and local authorities, the President of the United States can take on a significant leadership role and mandate certain changes if schools which to receive federal funding.  None of these measures would cost a dime but would require school bureaucracies to rethink their antiquated way of doing business.

1. Make a speech to the American people.  Not since President Reagan have Americans had a president who can convincingly connect with people.  He needs to equate the makeover of the country’s public school system to that of the civil rights movement.  Obama should invite the country’s best teachers to a retreat with department of education officials to brainstorm how best to educate young people.

2. Appoint a veteran classroom teacher to a decision-making position in his cabinet.  No doubt President-elect Obama will have a host of experts forming his education policy.  No doubt that none of them will be an actual classroom teacher.  Having a Good Housekeeping-like Seal of Approval from those who work with children would go a long way in validating his cabinet’s plans.

3. Lengthen the school day and the school year.  There is not enough time to cover all curriculum material in 180 days.  Students from industrialized nations who regularly outperform their U.S. counterparts attend school longer. By adding 4 more weeks to the school year and an hour and a half to the school day, children will have an additional year and a half of education between kindergarten and 12th grade.  And they will still get 11 weeks off.

4. Replace tenure with performance-pay.  Let bad teachers be easily fired and not cloak themselves in the teachers union armor.  The best teachers deserve double the money they earn, while those ineffective ones deserve the door out of the profession. It is time to elevate teaching to a real profession with rewards and punishments.

5. Increase class sizes.  Schools can’t find enough highly qualified teachers so have fewer of them.  Yes this will mean more crowded classrooms but better teachers can handle more kids.  The money saved from fewer employees can be added to the salaries of those instructors who prove themselves invaluable as well as help fund the additional days of instruction.

6. Place a moratorium on No Child Left Behind.  Enough with the testing.  Put the focus back on where it should be—the work students perform in the classroom day in and day out.

7. Bring back vocational education.  Instead of shoehorning everyone into college, provide those students who demonstrate non-academic skills with alternative programs so that they, too, can feel successful.  Private industry can help fund these programs, as they do in Europe, since they will benefit from a better trained workforce.

8. Go back and teach students the Golden Rule and have them employ it in mandatory community service.  Look at our society and the mess it’s in.  Much of this has to do with lax parenting and non-existent social teaching in the schools.  Students can become better citizens if schools mandate community service as a graduation requirement. 

9. Put a lid on special education funding.  Nothing has wreaked more damage to the funding of schools than special ed has.  It costs twice as much money to educate a special ed student than a non-special ed student. 

10. Start charging $500 tuition for public schools.  Too many people take public school for granted:  free learning, free books, free supplies, free child care, even free food.  No wonder many kids disrespect their place of learning. Of course there are families who would not be able to afford this.  However, if even half of the 47 million school children could, that would result in close to $12 billion.

Yes, attention must be paid to the wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan and the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression.  However, the best form of homeland security is education security.  

  If America intends on remaining an economic force for years to come, something has to change in our schools to prevent further decline; otherwise, this country will be going from a “nation at risk” to a “save America now” telethon. The education of America’s youth should be viewed as a bulwark against democracy’s demise.
  
  President-elect Obama must make America’s schools a top priority for no price can be placed on the bailout of young people’s minds.