The Dark Side of Steve Jobs and Modern Technology

Several months ago, amidst all the praise and fond remembrance of Steve Jobs following his death, monologuist Mike Daisy revealed the dark side of all our new technological toys after he flew to China and uncovered the apparent atrocious working conditions at the FoxConn factory where much of our Apple products are assembled. Recently, Jon Stewart has spotlighted the story after a CNN crew followed up on Daisy's accusations.

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Stewart's commentary, of course, was in response to GOP calls to restore jobs to America, and Rick Perry's strange comment connecting "jobs" and Jobs. And, his expose obviously generates a bit of controversy and uneasiness, as Americans seek to reconcile the products they use with the labor used to create it - the type of labor which they would never seek themselves or for their children or perhaps even force upon people they don't like.

Certainly, I understand the awkward situation that labor plays in the price of products we love. And I understand different countries and cultures and standards of living. But the human being in me just has a problem with stories like this coming out of these factories. And, I just don't see how we can endorse it or condone it.

So, About All Those Bad Teachers

The general - though misguided - consensus is that public education is a failure. And the general cause of this failure is assigned as "bad teachers." That seems to be the mantra of every education reformer from Michelle Rhee to Bill Gates. And, of course unions and tenure get a pretty good shot.

In response, teachers will often acknowledge the presence of bad teachers and the weaknesses of due process for "bad teachers" but assert that there are far more complex issues at stake - particularly the lack of accountability for students, parents, and administrators. Few people outside the field have ever experienced the challenge of trying to promote learning to resistant adolescents. And even fewer have knowledge of just how many bad teachers are out there or why they might be "bad teachers." It's worth noting, for example, that education does have a self-selecting system of attrition. In that, I mean 60% of new teachers leave the profession in the first three years. Thus, they quit - as opposed to sticking it out and keeping that "easy job for life."

And, then, every once in a while the curtain is pulled back for just a moment, and one honest soul provides some insight into the schools where all the bad teachers are blocking achievement from these children thirsty for education. Such is the case with the recent expose "Confessions of a Bad Teacher" from John Owens, an editor with a long career in the publishing industry who decided to step into the classroom to "make a difference."

He got quite the education.

Public Workers' Compensation

The tax guru David Cay Johnston makes a compelling argument on the Wisconsin situation, calling out not only Wisconsin's governor Walker and Florida's governor Scott, but also the media and journalists who are not doing their homework and accurately reporting the misinformation of people like Walker and Scott.

His entire column is worth checking out and discussing.

Wisconsin Explanation

The problems in Wisconsin are based on ignorance and ideology. It's worth looking at the data behind the alleged budget mess Wisconsin got itself into:

The Fiscal Implications of Recent Wisconsin Policy Measures

From the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, roughly analogous to the Congressional Budget Office, an assessment (p.11) that notes the tax revenue implications of three bills implemented under the current Administration:

Our estimates include the impacts of all law changes enacted in prior years and three of the January 2011 Special Session bills: (a) SS SB 2, which federalizes the treatment of health savings accounts; (b) SS AB 3, which would create an income and franchise tax deduction or credit for businesses that relocate to Wisconsin; and (c) SS AB 7, which would create an income and franchise tax deduction for businesses that increase employment in the state. SS SB 2 has been enacted into law as 2011 Act 1. The other two bills have passed both Houses of the Legislature, and the Governor has indicated that he will sign them. It is estimated that, together, these three bills will reduce general fund tax collections by $55.2 million in 2011-12 and $62.0 million in 2012-13.

This means approximately $117.2 million of any shortfall over the next two fiscal years is a direct consequence of measures that have just been implemented by the current Administration.

More on this from Forbes.

I am bothered by the blind ideology that is driving much of the change happening at the election box and legislatures nationwide. The dangers of oligarchy are far more significant in this country than tyranny ever has been. Thus, when the rights of workers are weakened as they lose economic clout, there is potential for a serious decline in national standards of living and the clout of the republic.

Workers of the World, Unite

The unrest in Wisconsin - legislative conflicts that have led Democrats to literally flee the state - is troubling for the apparent impasse it presents in an ideological battle about the rights of workers, especially public employees. There is such contempt for government right now that the average voter is not very sympathetic to the collective bargaining rights of workers - if they work for the government. The biggest problem in this Wisconsin budget battle is that the state workers have done nothing to lead to the deficit problems. Like much of our government budget issues, Wisconsin is in the hole almost entirely because of lost revenue, not expanded pay and benefits. This is a troubling and divisive issue well articulated this week by Ezra Klein in the Washington Post.

The Democrats and the state workers are willing to negotiate the benefits issues - as they should. Even if state workers are making less than the public sector - and they are - no one should be exempt from contributing to pension and benefits programs. And if it were that simple the Democrats would be back and voting. Yet, this attack on the rights of workers to collectively bargain is simply unacceptable. There has been an erosion of wages and consumer power among the middle class - including state workers - for more than two decades now. And it is accelerating.

No economic recovery is going happen in the American economy unless workers needs are reasonably addressed by employers and situations. The whole thing reminds me of the cold, heartless action of Josiah Bounderby in Dickens Hard Times when dealing with Stephen Blackpool and the organizing of "The Hands"in the factories. Despite Bounderby's portrayal of the workers as lazy bumpkins who seek to avoid work while dining on turtle soup and venison stew with their gold spoons, the average American - the average person - is always and forever looking for an honest day's wages for an honest day's work.

And that cannot be compromised.

Teacher Contract Work Time

The issue of "work time" has reared its head in Aurora Public Schools after the school district voted to ignore a ruling from a non-binding arbitrator that the district violated its contract for requiring that teachers accept an additional period of classroom instruction. Clearly, the scores in the district indicate the students need more instruction - or to put it realistically more effective instruction. At the same time, the district can in no way afford to pay teachers for additional time. And, of course, some always argue that if the teachers really cared about the students and student achievement, they would accept the task.

That's a tough one. And teachers have argued that taking away a planning period when they could tutor and counsel individual students will be even more detrimental to students. I certainly agree with that point, as I teach five classes in an eight period day with one period for lunch and two for planning and conferencing. Even then, it's tough to get everything done, and I put in at least two hours after contract time every day. And that is for the kids. And that's at a high performing school.

No way the teachers can look good in complaining about this. And I have to disagree with the extreme behavior some took in response. No easy answer and an unfortunate conflict.

Thoughts on Teachers and Knuckleballs

I ran across a few interesting thoughts today, mostly on teachers and public employees. First, was this sarcastic sentiment from Thomas Friedman, whose latest column criticizes the current campaign of recycled bad ideas:

I confess I find it dispiriting to read the polls and see candidates, leading in various midterm races promoting many of the very same ideas that got us into this mess .... [Why don't we] kowtow even more to public service unions so they'll make even more money that the private sector workers, so they'll give even more money to Democrats who will give them even more generous pensions, so not only California and New York [and Illinois] will go bankrupt, but every other state, too.

Not what we normally hear from Friedman, and granted, much of the column dismissed the GOP's desire to recycle the same old policies of unpaid for tax cuts and economic policies. But a valid point nonetheless for anyone seriously worried about debt and deficits.

Additionally, a letter from to the Denver Post echoed a sentiment I've long had about this idea of "great teachers" and the mantra that we need a "great teacher" in every classroom. A wonderful utopian idea, but not very practical. Hell, we've all seen Stand & Deliver - how many truly great teachers like Jaime Escalante [and me :-)] are there? The letter finished with a joke: A factory owner was giving a tour of his plant and was asked, "How many people work here?" He replied, "about half."

Finally, a great baseball quote from Willie Stargel:

Throwing a knuckleball is like trying to throw a butterfly that has the hiccups across the street into your neighbor's mailbox.

Public Funding

While criticizing the inadequacy of public education, John Stossel, host of ABC News’ show 20/20, told a Denver newspaper he’d “give readers $100 if they can tell [him] one thing the government does better than the private sector.” In all fairness, I enjoy Stossel, but where should I start?

The most obvious answer is national defense. There is no way to argue that a private sector militia could more effectively defend the United States. In fact, I can’t think of any time in history when a privatized military force has defended a nation’s citizens. Would the private sector have been able to assemble the forces currently fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq? To quote Bill O’Reilly, “that’s ridiculous.” Not even Grover Norquist, who wants to “shrink government until it’s small enough to drown in the bathtub,” would eliminate the nation’s military. Stossel has reached the point where anti-government rhetoric becomes absurd. Having enjoyed numerous episodes of Stossel’s “Myths, Lies, and Stupidity,” I understand and agree with his core philosophy. The government is too big, too corrupt, and too expensive. Being fiscally conservative, I regularly lament Alaskan “bridges to nowhere” and other examples of bureaucratic disasters. However, I will concede that the government is best at providing not-for-profit services. Fire protection is another obvious example. I support volunteer fire departments, but no private organization could or should replace tax-supported firefighters.

Additionally, as scandalized as many police departments have become in recent years, I can’t imagine a single community in America choosing to disband its police force. Stossel cannot rationally argue that private security forces – the likes of which patrol malls and gated communities – could adequately replace police departments. When government programs such as these become corrupt, the only logical solution is to reform them, not eliminate them. There are simply some tasks that must be done by the government. Interstate highway construction, nuclear energy regulation, NASA, The Clean Water Act, the Center for Disease Control, and the National Institute of Health are other examples of effective government. As America’s original libertarian Henry David Thoreau said, “I ask not at once for no government, but for a better government.”

Stossel’s comment was made in criticism of American public education. It’s easy to blame ineffective government for that. Anyone who has seen Stossel’s special “Stupid in America” knows he provides ample evidence of absurd inadequacies in schools nationwide. His examination of the New York City public school’s union contract is enough to make me lose faith in the system, and I’m a teacher. The problem is Stossel’s generalizations. No one can reasonably argue that “public education does not work.” Consider Cherry Creek High School, a suburban public school in Greenwood Village, Colorado. By all accounts – including comments from real estate agents who say parents regularly limit their housing searches to the surrounding neighborhoods – Cherry Creek is an extremely successful public school. Additionally, I have friends and family who attended New Trier High School and Stevenson High School in the Chicago suburbs. Anyone from Chicago knows there’s nothing wrong with “public education” in those neighborhoods. I’ve had students transfer to schools like Stanton College Prep in Jacksonville, Florida. Readers of Newsweek’s Best High Schools list will recognize that one. Scarsdale High School in New York and Bellevue High School in Washington are certainly not having any problems, despite being publicly funded. All of these schools, as well as thousands of others, are phenomenal public schools.

These schools are not failures of a government program. Nor do they support the belief that teacher’s unions and tenure are the reasons that public schools fail. Obviously, the success or failure of a school isn’t simply linked to public funding. Sadly, the issue is far more complex than that. Thus, Stossel does his profession a disservice by oversimplifying such an important issue in American society. He is guilty of such obvious flawed logic that my AP Language students would enjoy deconstructing his argument.

I am all for social criticism. Teaching novels of social criticism is a fundamental component of my job. However, I am also a teacher of critical thinking. In that respect, Stossel fails as badly as many of the programs he criticizes. Mr. Stossel, you can make the check out to Michael P. Mazenko, and you can send it care of Cherry Creek High School.