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There is definitely something wrong when a state has the resources to allocate at least $400,000 worth of funds to a single classroom yet the educational capability of its students is dismally low. Is it some sort of educational cartel? Seems like it.

The statistics themselves are enough to dishearten anyone… nearly 80% of graduates from high school who actually manage to take up further schooling in college need some form of remedial lessons. Students who enter college should already be capable enough already academically as long as their fundamentals are sound. If that was not bad enough, the current educational system is the main culprit for this shortcoming.

There is a saying that a nation’s hope lies in the youth. That will be all for naught if the people in charge care little for ensuring that the youth in this generation are schooled properly. There will simply be no hope left.

A case in point is The New Jersey Education Association. Its role is that of providing the students of New Jersey with a good standard of proper education. It is also a teachers’ union that wields massive influence and political clout. Contrary to what it should be doing, the union has a nasty reputation for padding the bank accounts of its members instead. What is even more appalling is that there have been allegations of using state funds for this purpose. Does it begin to sound like a profit-hungry cartel than a body of mentors?

There has been news of how one of its members has been grossly paid beyond acceptable means. A job as a school district secretary is by all means a reasonable position but there’s something wrong if the pay received amounts to approximately $180,000 yearly. The amount is enough to raise eyebrows but the reason is even more shocking because it was done due to the influence of the educational cartel.

When the children’s minds and opportunity for learning are sacrificed for the benefit of the ones wielding power, it truly bodes ill for the educational system indeed. This is coupled with the fact that even incompetent teachers cannot be removed or replaced simply because they are close to the said group. Parenthetically, untainted and/or qualified educators who have had the courage to go against the status quo found themselves being harassed or even dismissed from the job.

This does not bode well for the public school system at all. The union acts like a money-hungry cartel intent only with siphoning state funds to the detriment of quality education. It is a wonder that this type of corruption has not been exposed and the perpetrators sanctioned already.

There remains a sliver of hope, however. Charter schools are taking up the slack that the current system is loath to address and the results are promising. These schools are showing that they can outperform the existing district schools much to the cartel’s chagrin. However, it is still a long way to go for these charter schools. The current bureaucracy is not very amiable towards them and makes it quite difficult for the schools to progress further. Until the time comes for the public to finally put an end to the unbalanced trend in education, many more young minds will continue to suffer because of the lack of a good education.

Heartland: The Cartel documentary questions education status quo. A film by Bob Bowdon.

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