An Unruly Perspective on the Schwarzenneger Education Initiatives: The Despotic Carpetbagger Paradigm

Over the next month Californians will be asked to vote on three “education reform” initiatives backed by a governor whose approval rating () hovers almost halfway below the number of people who believe in UFOs ().

Those numbers might be good news for those UFO believers who fear at least one of Schwarzenegger’s initiatives will pass. For certain, Californians will be inundated with information both erroneous and factual in the coming weeks. Much of the erroneous info will be paid for by the party faithful who felt honored to pay $1,000 for a brandied chicken breast, a side of steamed baby carrots atop seasonal vegetables and a dollop of garlic potatoes with a sliver of unsalted butter, just to hear the star of “Junior” boast of reforming the political system he has managed for two years with all the skill and finesse of the guy who squirts butter flavoring on the popcorn at your local theater.

No offense to butter squirters.

The Unruly Advocate’s guiding philosophy driving our webzine holds that real education reform begins at the top, not the bottom. Schwarzenegger’s initiatives fail ultimately because they cast blame on the employee for the sins of the employer. Give the educator in the trenches manageable class sizes, adequate classroom supplies, and a wage worthy of their education and the governor could make a persuasive case for why educators fail the students they purport to serve. Instead, the governor chooses to wage a war against those whose yearly salary tops out about 40 times below his net worth.

Rather than add to the banality dominating the final weeks of this unnecessary special election, Team Unruly has developed a unique position we hope will persuade even the most Hannitized among us, Call it politics by example, a theory based on the established track records of rogues so heinous their notoriety would make Karl Rove blush a blushier pink. We call it “The Despotic Carpetbagger Paradigm.”

Got an uniformed anti-public education buddy whose only recollection of his days in school are a water bong inconspicuously stored in the back of a locker or a gym teacher whose vociferous barks led to an undeserved D minus that still manages to cause a vein to throb when you bring the story up? Point your pal/brother-in-law/real estate broker’s web browser our way. We’ll show what overwhelmed voters in San Diego, San Jose, and San Francisco are starting to realize from bitter experience: empowering a despotic carpetbagger destroys a school district.

The paradigm is that simple. And the pattern is always the same: a school board searching to shake things up hires an outsider (carpetbagger) from another state or even profession to be the district’s superintendent. The carpetbagger has a reputation for being autocratic and controversial (despotic). Within weeks employees start questioning management decisions. Those who raise an alarm get passed over for promotions, demoted to some meaningless position, or are escorted from the premises by the local constabulary (read here: http://www.johndebeck.com/MessageFromJohn.htm ). By the time the growing controversy over the managerial incompetence causes the school board or the voters to act, the damage is done. The despot receives a hefty settlement, packs up his or her carpetbag and heads to a new state, while district employees spend years cleaning up the mess ().

Schwarzenegger’s initiatives fail because they give more power to autocrats who abuse authority to punish enemies instead of improving schools. History proves it. We know it. We’ve done the research. If you find our argument persuasive, do your part and vote no on propositions 74, 75, and 76.