Zais touts message of reform
Controversial S.C. Superintendent of Education Mick Zais seemed to be preaching to the choir Saturday during the Berkeley Republican Party Breakfast in Goose Creek, as he urged conservatives to help him change education in the Palmetto State.
Zais has riled many educators in his first year of office, in his commentaries and in his actions, such as passing up tens of millions of federal education dollars.
The retired Army brigadier general refused to apply for two one-time grants, Race to the Top and Ed Jobs. Race to the Top would have allowed the state to compete for a portion of $200 million. The Ed Jobs grant would have given South Carolina access to $144 million.
On Saturday, Zais emphasized that pumping more money into education, which he describes as "a one-size-fits-all, factory-like assembly line model" geared toward mass production, has not yielded better returns for students, parents or taxpayers.
"Traditional proposals for improving education -- more money, better facilities, improved curriculum and smaller classes -- will not work. We've tried that. We've tried that for 40 years," said Zais.
"After controlling for inflation, per pupil spending in America over the last 40 years has increased 375 percent, almost four times as much ... yet despite that enormous increase in spending per pupil, for the first time in American history we are facing the prospect of a generation of students who are less literate than their parents."
His message and themes for changing education in South Carolina struck a chord with Berkeley Republicans, who also conducted a straw poll at the breakfast that underscored how conservative the crowd was.
Of 101 who voted, 52 selected former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and 26 chose Newt Gingrich as the GOP presidential nominee.
Zais said the state should refocus education on reading and practical skills, tailored to the individual talents and needs of each child.
"Sadly our high school curriculum is focused on college preparation and life enrichment," said Zais.
"I've said our high school curriculum should focused on career preparation and life skills. For example, business writing is a legitimate substitute to British literature. Public speaking is an important skill that children do not learn.
"Consumer math, which is useful, might be more important than Algebra I or II. I have never (seen) the quadratic equation in real life, but I'm hard pressed to compute my own mortgage payments."
Zais went beyond cheerleading for the conservative cause and urged Republicans to be more involved in coming legislation and in local school boards and school issues.
He outlined his primary goals for the coming legislative session of the General Assembly -- passage of the Teacher Protection Act, which he said will protect teachers from "frivolous" lawsuits from parents over discipline matters; passage of a "pay for performance," which rewards teachers and principals on outcomes; and a charter-school bill that will improve school choice options.
"I can tell you that these initiatives are being resisted by a very powerful lobby group, the education lobby group," said Zais, also calling the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers part of the "education industrial complex."
"I can assure you when these measures come before the General Assembly, their offices will be bombarded by school board members, superintendents and principals, and by their representatives," said Zais, describing many as being part of the "liberal education establishment."
