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A Celebration of Education Burlington Borough, PA, January 11, 2002 - Pennsylvania Alliance for Democracy (PAD), Harrisburg, PA, has released A Celebration of Public Education, written by Jeffrey Gonzalez, a research engineer and materials scientist, who has used his professional expertise in statistics and drawing conclusions from data to examine attacks on public schools. Jeffrey is a member of Bradford County Alliance for Democracy (BCAD), an Advisor to PAD, and is involved as a parent and soccer coach with the Towanda schools, where his three children go to school. Jeffrey and his wife, Diane Gonzalez, live in Towanda Township. "I urge you to read ... about Mr. Gonzalez's findings," writes John Tarka, Editor for PaFT Advocate, the newsletter for the Federation of Teachers. "Mr. Gonzalez provides solid proof in dispelling ... [many of the] negative myths about public education. ... His factual information will help you correct those who so casually criticize our schools and our students." (PaFT Advocate, Jan. 2002). Copies of the 24 page A Celebration of Public Education can be downloaded from BCAD's website at www.bcad.info/Celebration.html. Gonzalez became concerned about the criticism of public education while serving as a volunteer in his school district and reading the attacks on public education by David Motko, a regular columnist for The Daily Review. While not "turning a blind eye on those public schools that are in trouble," Gonzalez concludes that, "The myths that are commonly repeated about the public education system rely on anecdotal stories that do not represent the overall picture of public education, on the misinterpretation of SAT scores, and on a misunderstanding of how costs are measured." He debunks the ideas that our schools are failing or deteriorating, that public education is too expensive, or that vouchers or charter schools will improve education. Gonzalez makes the assessment that, "The challenges we face are not greater than those that have been overcome in the past. However, if we are going to improve any schools, we need to be working from the basis of fact, not myth." The successes of our educational system can be demonstrated through increasing graduation rates, declining drop out rates, examination scores placed in the proper context, and the experience of public school graduates in industry and business. These successes have benefitted more and more Americans. "In about 85 years," Gonzalez observes, "public education built a nationwide system of public schools and a corps of teachers who achieved nearly universal education during a period when we suffered through the great depression, three wars, and a rapidly expanding population." Gonzalez also discusses what must be done to improve our schools. Successful schools, he notes, are everyone's civil responsibility, and increased parental and community involvement in schools has been shown to have a positive impact on student performance. Part of this responsibility is the need for fair and adequate funding. Pennsylvania has one of the most inequitable systems of school funding in the nation, and this inequity is currently the subject of legislative action which may provide a remedy. For more information about the Pennsylvania Alliance for Democracy (PAD) see www.padnet.org and for more information about the Bradford County Alliance for Democracy (BCAD), see www.bcad.info. Return to Home Page |