While it has been over ten years since I have watched the WWE, I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Macho Man (real name, Randy Poffo), who was by far my favorite pro wrestler from the 1980s and 90s.  He was one of the few guys who excelled both inside and outside the ring.  Whether you were a fan or wrestling or not, he was incredibly entertaining, and outside of Hulk Hogan, he transcended the squared circle like no other, appearing in commercials, television sitcoms, and of course, and cameoing in Spider-Man as Bonesaw.

Of course, he had his personal “demons,” as evidenced in his first marriage with Miss Elizabeth (real name, Elizabeth Hulette).  Whether or not he overcame these issues prior to marrying his second wife, we will likely never know.  Since his retirement from wrestling over ten years ago, Randy Poffo sought, and enjoyed, his privacy.

I have no idea whether Randy is resting in peace right now, though I certainly hope that he is.

My oldest son is four years old and a few months away from beginning kindergarten.  Right now, at least for his first year, we are intending to send him to public school.  Quite honestly, we did not make this decision because we are all that impressed with the public school system in Louisville (a political mess is an accurate description of JCPS), but private school isn’t an option right now and, despite the many proponents of homeschooling in Louisville, we still have significant concerns about homeschooling.

Anyways, that is the context for my reading of Robert Kunzman’s excellent book, Write These Laws on Your Children: Inside the World of Conservative Christian Homeschooling.  And I must repeat, Write These Laws is an excellent book, well worth your money if this is a subject that interests or impacts you.

Kunzman is not a Christian, but he is not anti-Christian.  A former high school teacher and present college professor, he is well-aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the public school system, sharing many of the concerns which homeschooling parents so often cite.  He is also fascinated with the increasingly popular homeschooling movement, which is led (though not dominated) by conservative evangelicals.  So in this work, he enters the home of six Christian homeschooling families and studies them, devoting a chapter to each.

In describing these families, Kunzman mostly succeeds in remaining objective: most of his volume is description, not prescription.  This does not mean that he does not speak his mind throughout, but he does a good job at making it clear to the reader when he is about to offer his opinion.  For the most part, even when he disagrees with the parents’ methodology, he is able to find something commendable in their goals.  Write These Laws is certainly not an anti-homeschooling volume.

As a Christian who knows many evangelical homeschooling families, many of the families in the book struck a chord with me.  I often found myself saying, “I know that family, they remind me of ______!”  Sometimes I meant that as a compliment.  Other times, not so much . . . .  Ultimately, examining six unique families is not enough of a sample to really understand homeschooling families.  Every family is unique, as they should be.  At the end of the day, however, this volume succeeds in exposing the greatest strengths (such as individualized learning) and the greatest weaknesses (such as the ridiculous notion of unschooling) of the homeschool movement.

Smart Kids, Bad Schools 

Perhaps you would like some examples of the ridiculousness of teacher unions?  Consider these examples, all of which can be found in Crosby’s book:

• Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sought merit pay for teachers (in his words, “teacher employment [should] be tied to performance, not to just showing up”).  The response from the United Teachers of Los Angeles was that such a concept was “la-la land” (chapter 29).
• Because of union contracts, school districts are generally unable to place teachers in particular schools based upon the needs of the school district.  Instead, teachers choose the schools they want based on seniority.  Therefore, the best teachers are consistently in the easiest schools, while the newest (and greenest) teachers are consistently in the most difficult classrooms (chapter 12).
• Because of pressure from unions not to publicly recognize teachers for doing excellent jobs, “[w]henever a teacher is chosen for some kind of award, the award itself is meaningless; commendations are rotated to ensure that all instructors receive recognition so as not to offend those who don’t deserve it. . . . Coming out and admitting that certain teachers are better than others is not part of the education culture” (chapter 19).  In other words, just as many little league teams are now giving every player a trophy (regardless of how bad the kid plays), teaching awards often mean nothing as well.
• The salary of most teachers is not based on performance.  Instead, salary is based solely on year’s teaching and his or her amount of college credits.  Why?  Teacher union consistently fight against any performance-based salary (chapter 24).

Related: Check out this Newsweek article detailing how Washington D.C. brought about a “revolutionary” teacher’s contract which actually rewards teachers based on how well they perform in the classroom.

If you are like me, you view the educational system in America as one which is both incredibly complicated and flawed.  On one hand, the options for educating your child are seemingly endless: public schools, secular private schools, religious private schools, homeschooling, unschooling, charter schools, etc.  Of course, each of these options have their strengths and weaknesses, and further complicating matters is that the quality of each option is largely dependent on where you live.

Despite these complicating factors, most Americans agree that the educational system is broken, especially the public school system.  To illustrate this, Crosby gives a variety of relevant statistics, such as the facts that twenty-five percent of American children read below grade level and one-third of children cannot find Louisiana on a map.  Perhaps what is most depressing is that statistics such as these no longer shock us.

In Smart Kids, Bad Schools, Crosby, a high school English teacher of over twenty years, offers his solutions for the public school crisis in America.   In doing so, Crosby divides his book into five parts: 1) the ways schools need to be restructured, 2) the way children need to be taught, 3) the way teachers should be treated, trained, and rewarded, 4) the ways schools should be funded, and 5) the way families should treat schools.

In attacking the current public school system, Crosby shows no favoritism, criticizing everything from school architecture, schedules, teacher unions, tenure, wasted funding, and immature parents.  As a former union member in another industry, I must admit that I especially enjoyed his critique of teacher unions!

In evaluating his book, the greatest strength of Crosby’s volume is also the greatest weakness.  Smart Kids, Bad Schools does not propose a tweaking of the public school system.  Instead, Crosby proposes tearing down the whole system and starting over.  As he writes, “Throw away the kitchen sink and reinvent the wheel.  Start with a blank slate and come up with a visionary blueprint.  Nothing should be sacred” (xviii).  While, for the most part, I agree with Crosby’s critiques and proposed solutions for the public school system, I believe the unfortunate reality is that teachers and parents will likely never assert themselves politically in order to take control of the public schools from the politicians and teacher unions.

Overall, Smart Kids, Bad Schools is a great book and well worth your time.  The writing is succinct, witty, and sharp.  Furthermore, Crosby’s critiques (and proposed solutions) toward the public school system are excellent.  If you are a parent who cares about the education of your child but is disenchanted with public schools, Smart Kids, Bad Schools will certainly resonate with you.