BRUNSWICK SCHOOL
OCTOBER 2011
MONTHLY MAILING A MESSAGE FROM THE HEADMASTER Schools Should Serve Students With a challenging economy and both municipal as well as personal budgets under pressure, there has been more very necessary focus upon the cost and product of education in this country. At the public school level, this issue has played out as a discussion about the power of teachers unions and the merits of tenure. At the university level, this issue has evolved into a careful consideration of the costs of an undergraduate education weighed against its apparent value (i.e., can a graduate find a job that is equal to the $200,000+ cost of four years at a private college?). Some interesting facts to note in this conversation: ‐ According to a recent PIMCO Investment Outlook report by Bill Gross, college tuition has increased at a rate of 6% higher than the general rate of inflation for the past 25 years, making it four times as expensive relative to other goods and services as it was in 1985. ‐ It is harder now to find a job after graduating from college than it has been in a long time, perhaps ever. ‐ Teachers in many public schools are, thanks to tenure and unions, effectively “un-fireable, ”even in the face of evidence that they are underperforming in a significant way. It is hard, thinking about the current state of things, not to conclude that the current situation is unsustainable. In fact, at its core, I worry that in significant ways, many academic institutions, both at the elementary and secondary level as well as at the college level, have evolved from institutions meant to serve students, into institutions that are dedicated to serving teachers (even if it means doing so at the students’ expense). I know that making a statement such as that is an impolitic thing to say, but all evidence seems to point to the fact that there are several “elephants” in the classroom: ‐ College is too expensive and not enough effort is being made to manage costs so as to make higher education affordable and to avoid students graduating with unhealthy burdens of debt. ‐ If college graduates can’t find jobs, it begs the question that either a) they aren’t being taught the right things, or b) they don’t need a college education anyway. ‐ Unions came into being during the industrial age when workers were being severely mistreated by owners and management; no one, however, can justify keeping an ineffective teacher in his/her job at the expense of the students he/she teaches and at the cost of the taxpayer. At Brunswick, I feel we are (and should be) measured and evaluated each and every day: ‐ Do our graduates attend colleges and universities that reflect the perceived worth of a Brunswick education? ‐ Do our faculty and staff serve as engaged and talented role models and educators for our boys and if not, what is being done about it? There are no unions at Brunswick and no teacher is awarded tenure. ‐ Does the School work hard to limit tuition increases and to cut costs to greatest degree reasonably possible? The bottom line, it seems to me, is that we all need to maintain our focus, or, if needed, re-focus on the fact that schools and universities are for the students, to teach them facts and skills that will serve them and the society of which they are a part to the betterment of all. Adults who are not dedicated to that goal shouldn’t be in the teaching business.