Who has the right answers for our schools?
With only days left before a threatened strike by Portland, Ore., teachers, the Portland Association of Teachers' (PAT) negotiating team reached a tentative agreement with Portland Public Schools (PPS). With the signed agreement, the union has suspended its strike, set for Thursday, pending a vote by the union's rank and file on the agreement.
The news of the strike being averted comes after months of stalemate at the negotiating table, caused by the intransigence of school officials. But action by teachers, students, parents and the community has put a lot of pressure on PPS to drop its demand for numerous concessions and come to an agreement.
In this article written before news of the conceptual agreement, writes from Portland with some questions for the city's mainstream newspaper.
THERE'S A "New Normal" that says everybody is pinching pennies, and everybody is dealing with cutbacks, so we should all keep doing it, because everybody else is doing it. And somehow, after we've pinched and pinched and dealt and dealt and pinched some more, things will get better. Somehow.
The main problem with the New Normal is that it's not true.
Not all of us are pinching pennies. Just most of us. Millionaires and billionaires are collectively sitting on trillions. That's the bonus of abundance: You only pinch if you want to, not because you have to.
Not even our public schools are safe. The New Normal says that every school is dealing with large class sizes, so just deal with it until things get better. And the New Normal says that standardized tests are the most effective way to hold teachers accountable and insure a quality education for all students.
Yet again: Not true. The children of millionaires and billionaires aren't facing large class sizes. Actually, these millionaire and billionaire parents would put up the same fight that the Portland Association of Teachers (PAT) is fighting if their kids were on the receiving end of an overuse of standardized tests and defunding of arts, music, sports and libraries.
APPARENTLY, THOUGH, nobody mentioned any of this to the Oregonian newspaper. With the city of Portland coming closer and closer to a possible strike by its public school teachers, the Oregonian reported on a different kind of epidemic facing Oregon's public schools. This epidemic, according to our only statewide newspaper, has nothing to do with the New Normal, nor millionaires or billionaires.
Let's see if you can guess what this so-called epidemic is. Here are a couple of hints: It's not head lice or food poisoning.
Still not sure? With a tip of the hat to corporate deformers everywhere, I'll give you a test to offer a few more clues--since we all know that nothing inspires lifelong critical thinking like multiple-choice tests. (While these questions and answers are specifically related to Oregon, they'd be pretty much the same in all states. This patch of land along the Pacific is just fortunate to have an organization like the Oregon Center for Public Policy to provide valid and reliable evidence). Here goes:
1. Which income group in Oregon pays the highest share of its income in state and local taxes?
A: Lowest-income households
B: Highest-income households
2. Which income group in Oregon pays the lowest share of its income in state and local taxes?
A. Highest-income households
B. Lowest-income households
3. What was the share of Oregon income taxes paid by corporations from 1973 to 1975?
A. 18.5 percent
B. 7.1 percent
4. What was the share of Oregon income taxes corporations are projected to pay from 2013 to 2015?
A. 7.1 percent
B. 18.5 percent
5. What amount of additional state revenue would be available in 2013-15 for schools, health and human services, and public safety if corporations contributed the same share of the state's income taxes as they did in 1973-75?
A. $2 billion
B. $2 million
6. What is the number of corporations with $100 million or more in Oregon sales that pay minimum taxes less than or equal to 0.1 percent of those sales?
A. 119
B. 1
7. What is the length of time for which the Oregon state legislature locked in tax breaks for Nike, allowing the multibillion-dollar corporation to reduce its tax bill by over 90 percent?
A. 30 years
B. 3 years
8. The federal poverty threshold for a family of four in 2011 was $23,018. Of the 42 states with income taxes, 15 taxed the income of those families living under the poverty line. What was Oregon's rank in taxing families at or below the poverty line?
A. Fourth-highest
B. Oregon didn't tax families at the poverty line
THE ANSWER to these questions isn't what makes common sense. That would be too rational to expect under a system like capitalism. No, to keep it easy, I made the answer to all these questions the same: A.
With that basic information, you might think you have a good guess about what the Oregonian thinks is an epidemic facing Portland schools. Again, though, don't think in rational terms because the Oregonian certainly doesn't.
According to the Oregonian, the epidemic facing Oregon public schools is classroom absenteeism. That's right. Of all the challenges facing our public schools, the newspaper devoted five articles and a few online videos to empty desks. In the words of the Oregonian, "Going to class doesn't guarantee that a student will read brilliantly or waltz to a diploma. But sometimes, it's almost that simple."
Except when it isn't.
Because not so coincidentally, the Oregonian published the first of their five articles on absenteeism exactly two weeks before the date set by the Portland Association of Teachers to go on its first-ever strike. And--not so coincidentally, yet again--the Oregonian made no connections between absenteeism and systemic issues like large class sizes, corporate-funded curriculum that replaces individualized instruction, and the prioritization of corporate profit margins over fully funding our public schools.
Addressing these systemic issues would dramatically increase the chances of making schools exciting and engaging places that inspire a lifelong love of learning. Just like the schools that the children of millionaires and billionaires attend.
Thankfully, those connections are being made by the Portland Association of Teachers. The courage and dedication of Portland teachers--and our collective efforts in solidarity with them--are the most effective resistance against the New Normal. No matter what the Oregonian says.
