Education

State Journal: Shifting blame; Double jeopardy; Pomp ‘n’ country

February 14, 1990 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

At a meeting of the Conference Board’s Business-Education Forum late last month, Jack MacAllister, chairman of U.S. West Inc., quoted a poem he said had been written by Gov. Garry Carruthers of New Mexico.

The following is Gov. Carruthers’s handiwork, as edited by Mr. MacAllister:

“The business executive says, ‘How can I win this global fight when the college sends me a graduate who can’t read or write?”’

“The college professor says, ‘Such wrong in a student is a shame. Lack of preparation in high school is to blame.”’

“Says the high-school teacher, ‘Good heavens, that boy’s a fool. The fault, of course, is with the middle school.”’

“The middle-school teacher says, ‘From such stupidity may I be spared. They sent him to me so unprepared.”’

“The primary teacher says, ‘The kindergarten--blockheads all! That kind of preparation is worse than none at all.”’

“The kindergarten teacher says, ‘Such lack of training, never did I see. What kind of mother must that woman be?”’

“The mother says, ‘Poor husband’s child. He’s not to blame. His father’s folks are all the same.”’

“Said the father at the end of the line, ‘Why I doubt the rascal’s even mine!”’

A study of a temporary income-tax surcharge approved by the Illinois legislature last year has found that school districts mostly are using the resulting funds for operating expenses, while cities are spending the money on capital improvements.

The study’s findings were subject to conflicting interpretations, neither of them very favorable to local decisionmakers.

The fact that the schools have devoted their money to meeting day-to-day expenses, said some observers, shows that they have become too dependent on it and risk disaster if the surcharge is not renewed.

But local governments’ use of their funds for one-time projects, said others, shows that they did not really need the money to begin with.

Martha Wilkinson, who has championed adult education since her husband was elected Governor of Kentucky in 1987, recently presented a General Educational Development certificate to the country-music singer Waylon Jennings, who had dropped out of school in the 10th grade.

Instead of the traditional graduation theme, “Pomp and Circumstance,” the ceremony featured recordings of Mr. Jennings’s greatest hits.--hd

A version of this article appeared in the February 14, 1990 edition of Education Week as State Journal: Shifting blame; Double jeopardy; Pomp ‘n’ country

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: March 13, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 21, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: February 7, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: January 31, 2024
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read