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The
Boston Herald
King Day speech no cause for boos
By Boston Herald
editorial staff
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
So,
which part of Gov. Mitt Romney’s speech so offended the Martin Luther
King Day crowd?
The part where he bemoaned the persistent achievement gap between white
and minority students in our public schools — a gap that surely would
have horrified Dr. King himself?
No, it was his challenge to the teachers’ unions to stop blocking
new charter schools, vouchers and other reforms that drew some loud boos
from the union-friendly crowd.
Frankly, the parents in the audience should have leapt to their feet and
cheered. Families who live in Boston and populate the public schools —
nearly all minorities — need more options, not fewer, to educate
their children, and the unions are standing in the way.
A study released today by the Center for Collaborative Education finds
that students who attend Boston pilot schools perform better at every
level, attend college more often, and have higher attendance rates than
their peers in traditional public schools. Just imagine if there were
more of them. Or even better — more independent charter schools,
which the unions also fight tooth and nail.
Like Romney, the Rev. Floyd Flake, pastor of Greater Allen Cathedral of
New York, told an Atlanta crowd on Monday that ensuring a quality education
for African-American children is the surest way to honor Dr. King.
“We need to come back to a reality that our children can learn,”
Flake said. “We need a resolution that says we will not tolerate
second-class education.”
We assume he was greeted with “Amens,” not boos.
But Romney’s message was a no-brainer. To build on the legacy of
Dr. King, minority students must have the same opportunities as their
white peers. And union leaders who care more about salaries, benefits,
and “teachers’ rights” than they do about innovation must
step out of the way.
Copyright 2006 Boston
Herald Inc.
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