Belling On Education. Time to go Back to School.

Mark Belling is dangerous because like a freight train out of control running down  the mountain he can hurt a lot of innocent people and do incredible damage. Writing as though he knows what he talks about, Belling offers:

...Of all the components that go into quality education, buildings and facilities are the least important. There’s even evidence they’re totally irrelevant...Good kids from good homes and taught by good teachers can be put anywhere. (emphasis added)

The first thing Belling fails to notice is that there is a point where maintaining old schools is wasting taxpayers' money. Eighty five year old schools are leaky and energy pigs. They lack the modern electrical wiring for both lighting and computers that is required in Mark's studio.

Finally as Belling knows, parents want to send their children to facilities where their kids are safe, not a firetrap.

I love the way Belling says that "Good kids from good homes.."  do not need modern facilities. Belling believes that anyone who wants to spend money on a new school for their kid obviously does not come from a good home.

As for the presumption that there is no connection between the link between the need for new schools and the quality of education, I suggest, Mark, that you start with classroom size. The most significant variable, despite all of your anecdotes to the the contrary is that the number of kids in a classroom is the most significant factor in determining educational outcomes. And that is a function of money. Exceptions aside.

You might want to look at the following from Condition of America's Public School Facilities: 1999 :

Augenblick, J.G., Myers, J.L., and Anderson, A.B. (1997). Equity and adequacy in school funding. The Future of Children 7(3): 63-78.

Burnett, G. (1995). Overcrowding in urban schools. ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, (ERIC/CUE Digest Number 107).

Duke, D.L., Griesdorn, J., Gillespie, M., and Tuttle, J.B. (1998). Where our children learn matters: A report on the Virginia school facilities impact study. Charlottesville, VA: The Thomas Jefferson Center for Educational Design

Earthman, G.I., and Lemasters, L. (1996). Review of research on the relationship between school buildings, student achievement, and student behavior. Council of Educational Facility Planners, International (CEFPI) Annual Meeting, Tarpon Springs, FL

Anyone need more? Go to the link above. I did not bother to cite the federal government research reports since Mark probably thinks they were all produced by Marxists, or al-Qaeda. Or both.

Comments

[jim rowen]

It's amusing around here (Milwaukee) where we have two high-profile talk radio right-wingers - - Belling and R. Jeff Wagner - - who don't have kids but who also pontificate about schools and parenting issues.