Matt Groening
A gaffe, it has been said, is when a politician tells the truth — or more precisely, when he or she accidentally reveals something truthful about what is going on in his or her head.
A gaffe is what happens when the spin breaks down.
Superintendent Brian Whiston recently appeared with host Tim Skubick on his weekly public television show called “Off The Record”.
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| Whiston, Skubick |
During the segment Whiston drew a hard line in the sand on charter schools — one of Michigan Republicans’ favorite education schemes.
Asked about the performance thus far of U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Whiston said it was too early to make a complete call, but he skewered the idea that “school choice” — i.e. charter schools — were the silver bullet to Michigan’s education woes.
“While I do support choice - and I want to be clear on that - it's probably taken us backwards overall.”
“School choice is important. I support school choice, but Michigan has proven that school choice isn’t the answer,” he said. “If school choice was the answer, Michigan would be the top performing state because we have more choice than just about any other state.”
Whiston’s sentiment isn’t unfounded.
A recent New York Times deep dive into Michigan’s charter frenzy pointed out that, “in unregulated educational sectors like Michigan’s, there’s evidence that charters have actually increased inequality [in school districts] … and districts with high levels of charter-school penetration, the authors found, have fared worst of all.”
Whiston wasn’t done with Betsy after his choice comments, he even went after her affinity for vouchers, which would put public funds in the hands of private, parochial, and for-profit schools and charters.
“We’ll never agree on that,” Whiston said, who has ardently opposed to voucherizing Michigan’s public education system in the past. “That issue is non-negotiable. I don’t think public tax dollars should be used for private education,” he said.
(Gaffe alert! Cue the shitstorm!)
Let the official flackery begin: Superintendent Whiston responded with a comment that he thinks needs to be explained, so he's made the following statement:
“In a recent appearance on the public television show Off The Record, I was accurately quoted as saying: "While I do support choice - and I want to be clear on that - it's probably taken us backwards overall."
That was a poor choice of words on my part and I apologize for those words. I do not think that choice - as defined by multiple pathways within a district; outside district choices; and charter schools - has set us back.
In fact, I say it is an important part of our education system and I support these choices - my record is clear on that. The point I was trying to make was:
1. If choice (as defined above) was the only answer, then Michigan would be a Top 10 education state now, because we have more choice than just about any other state. Even with that said, I was clear in saying that I still support choice. Addressing school performance is much more complicated than just one solution, however - there are no quick fixes. The changes we need to make are complicated and will take time.
2. We do have to take the politics out of the discussion and see how school choice has impacted districts that have lost students, and address that problem. But with that said, I still made it clear that I support school choice. So, let's be crystal clear - I support school choice for students and parents. I define choice as students having choices in multiple pathways within a district; outside district choices; and through charter schools.”
Ben DeGrow, director of education policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free-market think tank based in Midland that supports school choice, said he was “disappointed” with Whiston's original remark.
“I think it says a lot that he felt compelled to clarify that's not what he meant,” he said. “At least in part that has to be due to the fact that thousands and thousands of parents in Michigan have a positive experience with choice.”
Well, he would say that, wouldn't he?
The Mackinac Center is simply a mouthpiece for the DeVos agenda. During this charter school “free market” experiment the ranking of Michigan K-12 schools has dropped to the bottom ten.
The profit-over-people mantra of the GOP Regime in Lansing is obvious.
They sure made Whiston jump...and he didn't even have to ask “how high?”.
Are there any real men out there? It's a shame that nobody says what they mean and mean what they say go home and eat a steak fat boy better yet straighten up before you lose your job! Cuz you already done lost it
ReplyDeleteWhy would he care to correct the record? What compelled him to make a public statement? By doing so he clearly showed his true colors no one no wonder why he doesn't call on a investigation into Grand Traverse Academy it's clear the Devos's have him wrapped up or they would have cut the money out a long time ago and screamed for an investigation....
ReplyDeleteMr.Whiston !!! How can you look in the mirror? I think you took a lesson from Ingersoll 101 it was a loan it was prepaid oh accounts receivable the accountant died it was a simple bookkeeping error.
why is it smart people are so dumb click your heels and say it 3 times I believe in school choice I believe in school choice I believe in school choice if the price is right!