Let the People Choose Our Next State Superintendent
I once thought that it made sense to have BESE appoint the State Superintendent. The idea was that BESE could take applications from all over the country and from Louisiana in search of the most qualified candidate. You know, someone who has been properly trained in the field of education and who has devoted many years to his/her craft as a teacher and an administrator. Someone who has dealt first hand with the problems of properly educating the students who come to our schools with all manner of abilities, gifts, and handicaps. It just so happens we have many such professional educators here in Louisiana who could compete very favorably with out of state candidates.
Unfortunately, in recent years it has not worked out that way. BESE has simply waived all the important qualifications for Superintendent in favor of candidates with no training, no experience, and only bogus reformist ideology. First we had the appointment of a lawyer who had no training in education except for his service on BESE, who was appointed Superintendent based on his politics. He was a disaster in my opinion because he put Louisiana on this insane path of excessive standardized testing and systematic misuse of testing to the
Unfortunately, in recent years it has not worked out that way. BESE has simply waived all the important qualifications for Superintendent in favor of candidates with no training, no experience, and only bogus reformist ideology. First we had the appointment of a lawyer who had no training in education except for his service on BESE, who was appointed Superintendent based on his politics. He was a disaster in my opinion because he put Louisiana on this insane path of excessive standardized testing and systematic misuse of testing to the
