ACLU Puppets Want to "Fix" School System

Ricardo Meza just doesn't get it. He is a spokesman for the Midwest Regional Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), and he wants to shift the blame for lousy parenting to the Chicago Public Schools. A provocative press release today has the heading, "Chicago Civil Rights Groups Demand CPS Stop Stalling, Take Action on Helping English Language Learners." CHICAGO, March 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- ELL students suffer when CPS fails to meet its obligations," [said] Meza of MALDEF. "The obstacles our students face in the classroom have an impact far beyond their school-aged years; if they do not receive an adequate education they cannot fully participate in our society." Yes, okay, but many of those "obstacles" are handicaps imposed onto the students by parents who just don't care, who don't spend time with kids, who tell them for years to "shut up" when they ask questions, and prefer to watch television to converse. We are seeing the result of 50 years of deteriorating educational quality, and this is in spite of ever-increasing amounts of money being spent on schools nationwide. More from the press release: Chicago Public Schools' refusal to act expeditiously and openly to correct systemic problems faced by as many as 3,000 English Language Learners (students who are not English proficient) "demands immediate attention." Folks, keep in mind that they are not only referring to kids whose second language is English. They are also talking about American-born school kids who cannot put together a proper sentence. (Bill Cosby, are you reading this?) Many of these students simply do not know how to behave civilly. The lousy example that many parents provide is to blame in many cases. Sure, some kids go bad regardless of the parents' best efforts. But will Mr. Meza and his group even address this? Don't count on it. The public schools provide an all-too-convenient target for the likes of Mr. Meza and MALDEF. While I would agree that 50 years of mismanagement, introduction of post-modernist thought and extreme political correctness have rotted many school systems from their core, the schools cannot be blamed for primitive and violent behavior. It would be politically incorrect to blame the political correctness that has made school administrators afraid to properly discipline students. It would be politcally incorrect to blame irresponsible students. It would be politically inconvenient to blame the teachers unions, which so enthusiastically endorse job security and promotion without consideration of a teacher's merit - or lack thereof. More: The assertion, which appears in a court filing today by a coalition of civil rights groups, was made in support of the Federal Government's latest effort to force the CPS to fulfill its commitment to make appropriate educational opportunities available for African American and Latino students, including ELL students in the Chicago public school system. "Chicago Public Schools cannot ignore its obligation to provide adequate educational opportunities to students learning English," said Ricardo Meza, Midwest Regional Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. "CPS committed to providing equal educational opportunities to ELL students as part of a consent decree in 1983, a commitment that was included in 2004 and 2006 amendments to the decree." "The time for promises has passed; we need action," added Meza. Yes, we need action, Mr. Meza. We need to end the crutches of Spanish language newspapers, radio stations and television channels. We need to stop punishing teachers and school administrators who take necessary punitive measures against unruly kids - only to be sued or harassed by parents or groups like MALDEF. It is time to clip the wings of the corrupt teachers unions. It is time to stop fooling ourselves - in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary - that more money will improve the quality of education. What we need is a complete overhaul of the educational process (not just the system) in this country. That starts with parents. It ends not with mayors or school boards - it ends with voters who repeatedly vote for the kind of politicians who have, for decades, encouraged this bad behavior from beginning to end. Related: The Folly of an Education Spending Race Education: Is America Spending Too Much?