The Chicago Conservative Examiner's Keith Liscio covered Thursday night's Education Revolution in Skokie, featuring political pundit Dick Morris, talk show host Michael Medved, former House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Illinois Policy Institute's John Tillman. Medved suggested a strategy in working to unravel teacher union control, Liscio writes:
Michael Medved was perhaps the most erudite on the subject and the least doctrinaire. He shared the story of his mother, a public school teacher who was cared for after a stroke by the excellent health care benefits negotiated by her union. As long as the debate about unions is over teachers salaries and benefits, he contended, conservatives would lose. Instead, we must focus on the corrupt policies of unions that protect incompetent and underperforming teachers.
Medved also discussed other shortcomings in an educational system that only seems geared toward preparing children to go to college, a choice that simply is not right for everyone. He noted that at Microsoft, 25% of all employees are foreign born and the majority of them came from two trade schools in India that trained them to be software engineers. These are highly technical, well-paying positions for which a college degree is not necessary and yet American schools cannot fill the demand of industry. He argued that the educational establishment should treat the choice of attending a trade school with more respect and that, “The purpose of education at every level should be to prepare people for the world of work.”
Photo by Keith Liscio
Continue reading on Examiner.com: Education Revolution event highlights need for school choice - Chicago Conservative | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-chicago/education-revolution-event-highlights-need-for-school-choice#ixzz1CRlMQMCU
