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by Tim Skubick
April 17, 2009

The worst thing that ever happened to education is that the issue started popping up number one or two in public opinion polls. Every savvy politician concluded, since this is so important to the public, “I better do something about this in order to get reelected.”

That’s when the problem began.

Gov. Bill Milliken created an Education Reform Commission in the 1970s, and in one form or another, governors and legislators have been trying to reform the system ever since.

And the upshot of all this is that too many kids are still failing as official Lansing continues to flail away at reform.

There’s a bunch of “new” reforms floating around town in the latest permutation of revamping schools: longer school years, mandatory Algebra II, smaller class sizes, boosting the dropout age, revamping what kids eat in school…and the list goes on and on.

All of these suggestions are well intended, as politicians truly want to improve education. But there are no silver bullets.

For example, lawmakers and this governor created new high school graduation standards. A laudable goal now being soundly rebuffed by some on the front lines who claim the standards look good on paper, but try applying them to human beings.

The pushback has, of course, produced counter legislation designed to reform the original reform. And if that passes, bet your boots in two years, someone will suggest that system should be changed, too.

Another example: several years ago lawmakers eliminated the 180-day school year and, in an attempt at reform, they allowed schools to count minutes, not days, of education.

What did the reform produce?

“It’s been abused,” State School Superintendent Mike Flanagan now reports as he urges lawmaker to return to the 180 days, while China and India use a 220-day school year.

Charter schools are a textbook example of a reform that has produced a mixed bag, yet the push for more charters has gained renewed momentum from the White House on down.

Given a chance years ago to legalize a new charter school in Detroit with millions of dollars from an outside benefactor, Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the Detroit Federation of Teachers locked arms at the schoolhouse door and killed the reform.

Now, with President Barack Obama singing the praises of more charters, the governor reverses her stance and warmly embraces more Detroit charters.

You would like to think that all this is about improving Johnny and Janey’s education. But there are more sinister motives hidden beneath that altruistic façade.

Money, turf battles, cities vs. suburbs, and the desire for raw power are also factors.

The recent power struggle over teacher health care costs pitted the Michigan Education Association against the rest of the education establishment and other unions, including its own parent organization, the AFL-CIO. The stated intent was to save health care dollars and redirect the savings into the classroom. But don’t kid yourself, it was also about who could make more money off the insurance system.

Which brings us to a critical question: is the political arena the best forum for improving education?

Nobody wants to debate that.

So politicians will continue with their reforms, the school community will try to influence the outcome, and somewhere along the line, maybe the kids will get a better education.

Maybe.

Tim Skubick is Michigan’s senior Capitol correspondent and has anchored the weekly public TV series “Off the Record” since 1972.

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Andy for Governor?

Will he or won’t he? As the 2010 field for governor slowly takes form, one unanswered question centers on House Speaker Andy Dillon. The Redford Democrat is on the bubble about making a bid next year.

Several things are clear. He is thinking deeply about it, and lots of folks are whispering in his ear that he should do it. But if Dillon is smart, and he is, he will not let the whispering cloud his thinking.

While it’s a nice ego stroke to have all that backroom support, just because folks tell you to run doesn’t mean it’s the right reason to run. You have to have the fire in the gut to run, and it’s unclear if he does.

His family has given him the green light. In fact, a former Democratic member of the House says he talked to Dillon’s wife years ago and she predicted he would be governor.

If one was betting today, put some loose change on him not getting in. But when you run that by the “whisperers” who want him in, they recall that Dillon is notorious for waiting until the last minute before making a critical decision.

With the clock ticking, he filed for his House seat hours before the deadline. And when faced with running for speaker, he held out until the last minute before doing that, too.

Is there a pattern?

Dillon getting in means a Democratic primary, because Lt. Gov. John Cherry is not getting out. Usually the party likes to avoid a confrontation, and Dillon is probably weighing that, too.

So will he or won’t he?

He says he’ll call when he answers that, but don’t expect the phone to ring real soon.

Land Boots First Speech

Good thing nobody saw this one. Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land was not on her game when she delivered her first speech declaring her desire to be the next governor.

On a scale of one to ten, it was a minus-one.

She delivered the thing at a state GOP convention during a blizzard last February. Both the weather and the speech left everyone cold.

Now, first speeches do not a campaign make, and if the Land folks were savvy, and they should be, they went to work immediately to clean up her act.

Granted, giving a public speech is a tough assignment, especially if your audience is not listening — and that, perhaps, was the most embarrassing thing about it.

As she read the address, at one point the crowd noise was so loud that a party official literally took the microphone away from Land in mid-sentence and pleaded with the crowd to pay attention — which only drew attention to the fact that they were not paying attention.

If looks could kill, Land plugged Hank Fuchs right between the eyes as she said, “Thanks Hank.”

Her message, based on a review of the tape, was basically this: I’ve done a great job as secretary of state and now “I’m ready for my next step.”

Well, to be charitable, being SOS is not necessarily a training ground to be governor, just as being attorney general was not one for Jennifer Granholm.

Just because you can speed up the line at the driver’s license office does not mean you’re qualified to deal with 148 lawmakers in the House and Senate.

Land did hit all the right chords about uniting the party, bringing about sweeping change and bringing Michigan back. All very nice, very predictable, very ordinary and mucho ho-hum.

She’ll need to do better than that, and she’s got time to find her voice and a message that is not leftover Obama stuff.