Why Does Marguerite Roza Hate Cheerleaders?
See Marguerite HERE.
Go to the 11:30 mark.
Look at her slides.
Watch her assert that because cheerleading is expensive in this district that she "researched" that something must be wrong with the district.
Consider that she doesn't talk about the relative size of cheerleading squads, the fact that the insurance for cheerleading has spiked in recent years, or that as cheerleading has become an interscholastic sport the cost basis has also risen.
Wonder to yourself why your tax dollars are going to support this.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Go to the 11:30 mark.
Look at her slides.
Watch her assert that because cheerleading is expensive in this district that she "researched" that something must be wrong with the district.
Consider that she doesn't talk about the relative size of cheerleading squads, the fact that the insurance for cheerleading has spiked in recent years, or that as cheerleading has become an interscholastic sport the cost basis has also risen.
Wonder to yourself why your tax dollars are going to support this.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
posted by Ryan at 4:48 PM
4 Comments:
I noticed that cheerleading was put next to one season sports while cheer is at least a two-season sport, and the girls perform for three sports in those two seasons: football, wrestling, and basketball. Dividing her figure by two (if not three) would be a more accurate look at the actual cost.
Marguerite Roza and her all her colleagues at the University of Washington's right-wing educational think tank, the Center for Reinventing Public Education, consistently promote a conservative educational agenda that includes merit pay, vouchers, charter schools, elimination of seniority rights, and everything else that is espoused by those who would privatize public education. I begrudge each tax dollar I pay to the University of Washington when that dollar is used to support a fascistic agenda. And--yes--her math is always manipulated to support her political points!
her point is to question educational priorities in a system that pays two to three times the cost of core course to provide electives that serve a small section of the school community, with resources distributed based on demand. she also notes that schools could effectively reduce the cost of these programs by outsourcing them to community providers, but that overly prescriptive categoricals restrict how funding is used at the school level.
I recently finished her book and in my google search to find any of her speaking engagements I came across this blog. Her point was not aimed at cheerleaders but in the alignment of district priorities with per pupil spending. Cheerleading has a high per pupil/participant cost as does hockey, ceramics, divers ed, instrumental music, ect... Billions are poured into k12 education each year and most school districts have a very flawed accounting of the true costs of services, costs are not aligned with priorities, and without a true understanding of the actual costs of services efficiencies can never be found or reached. This is not about right wing agenda or hating cheerleaders, it's about the thoughtful and efficient delivery of services and greater accountability.
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