Although the Obama administration has allocated billions of dollars to the broad category of "Education" in its first (and only?) bailout program, and in its subsequent fiscal budget proposal, it is short-sighted to think that a precision effort at remedying the educational ills in America is underway.  We think that is simply not the case.  Open issues that scream for attention:

• Teacher pay:  Merit pay versus the tenure system.  Merit pay seems to be gaining some traction, but two issues cloud the picture:  (1) what is the criteria for judging "merit"?  (2) How can the Obama administration advance a concrete plan for merit pay when doing so will run directly afoul of the NEA and his other supporters in the educational establishment?  These are clearly treacherous waters.  The Administration will find it very hard to build consensus here.
• Reform of No Child Left Behind: The NCLB plan is oft-derided as being flawed in methodology, unfair in the inclusion of certain student categories in the test group (English language learners, certain special needs students, etc.), and prone to creation of a "teach to the test" culture in the schools.  We don't dispute those claims, but we also sympathize with the prior Administration's stance that "doing something is better than doing nothing".  We support redefining the program to use more precise criteria in defining the test group and interpretation of the test results.  And, although EleMental Learning currently does not participate in the NCLB remedial tutoring program, we also support ongoing federal funding for tutoring of children in schools which fail to make the grade as long as those schools are faced with real accountability.  We think teacher merit pay and an expanded availability of voucher programs for students assigned to "failing" schools would help instill more accountability in the teacher ranks. 
• Utilization of federal funds allocated to education:  Simply throwing a lot of money at "education" is too blunt of an instrument by which to judge the Administration.  Within that broad category are a lot of interesting and worthy causes.  In addition to the NCLB reform and expansion possibilities mentioned above, there also needs to be very careful consideration given to how funding will be divided amongst new school construction, existing school modernization, curriculum initiatives designed to prepare American students to better compete against the rest of the world, expanded funding for charter schools, and programs which may provide disproportionate federal funding for schools in poor/disadvantaged areas.  All of these topics, especially the last one, are controversial and the public should force the Administration to be open and transparent in its plans on these matters.
• Funding for educational programs in general:  In most areas, local funding for schools comes in the form of property taxes.  And property taxes are often calculated based on rolling historical values (such as 3-year rolling assessed value).  Clearly, due to the falling real estate market, this tax base is going to be shrinking.  And, along with it, is the average American's ability to endure higher tax rates.  While some of the slack can be made up (in the short run) by expanded budgets and deficit spending at the federal level, this is not a long term solution to America's educational funding needs.  The system is already cracking under the stress.  Just this week California (already the highest taxed state in the Union) announced that it will lay off 26,500 teachers and another 15,000 support staff as part of the state's burden to cut more than $8 billion from its school budgets due to fiscal crisis.  This speaks to a broad systemic crisis that does not appear to be on the path to recovery.For more on the California story, click here.

So what is the conclusion? 

What can be done and where is this going to end up?  One old adage has always proven to be true and we think it is applicable here too:  "If  you decide to rely solely on your government to deal with a key issue, you are destined to be disappointed."  So what does that mean?  It means that the course to a successful, quality educational experience for your children begins AT HOME.  There is only so much you can personally do to influence the experience available to your children at school.  But you have control over the home environment and you have the power to provide educational stimulation for your children (see our previous blog posts for creative ideas on this topic).  There is one statement from Obama we think everybody can agree upon: 

"If parents don't parent and turn off the TV set and instill in their child a thirst for knowledge, we will not succeed."  -Barack Obama, 8/30/2008

-Lori J. Skurka, 3/15/2009.  Lori is the President and CEO of EleMental Learning, LLC, a provider of customized in-home tutoring services to families in Illinois, New York, Connecticut, and California.  Prior to founding EleMental Learning, Lori spent more than a decade as a public school classroom teacher.  She can be reached at (630) 355-5112 or via email at  lori@elemental-learning.com  .