“There is something about people who wake up at the dawn of their career and say I’m going to work with children all day, every day, that somehow, sometimes, makes them incapable of communicating with adults.” – Will Pinkston on Nashville Sounding Board Podcast. 

“There was a sad fellow over on a bar stool talking to the bartender, who was polishing a glass and listening with that plastic smile people wear when they are trying not to scream.”
― Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye

Quiet Riot was a hard rock band founded in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelli Garni. Vocalist Kevin Dubrow joined soon after along with drummer Drew Forsyth, Everybody but Dubrow split before the band had its first hit with a line up that consisted of DuBrow, alongside guitarist Carlos Cavazo, bassist Rudy Sarzoand drummer Franki Banali with the Mental Health album in 1983.

The record was an infectious piece of hard rock noise that created substantial fanfare and excitement with the general public. It was anticipated that Quiet Riot would be big stars with a long career. Unfortunately, the more people listened to the band, the more they realized that they didn’t have a whole lot of substance. There were better rock bands available and so the Quiet Riot star started to wane.

The band wasn’t ready to throw in the towel though. They still thought they were something special and the few fans they had, did everything they could to convince to keep trying. As a result, Quiet Riot kept right on touring, albeit in smaller and smaller venues; releasing records that sold less and less. Members began to quit as a sense of futility started to sink in.

In 1985 Rudy Sarzo left the band. Cavazos left shortly thereafter, At one point in the 90’s Dubrow was fired only to be invited back a few later. The original line up got back together again in the 2000s but once again failed to capture the magic and broke up again in 2010 when Dubrow died of a cocaine overdose. In 2014, Banali put the band back together and they continue to tour today with no original members and much, much, smaller crowds. Only the die-hards cling to the hope of world domination.

Right about now, you are probably asking yourself. “What does Quiet Riot have to do with education.” Really nothing, it’s just that this newest voucher legislation Tennessee is trying to pass and the history of vouchers in general, reminds me of the history of Quiet Riot. An idea that was exciting and fresh, exposed to its weaknesses yet continuing to try to convince people it’s more than it actually is. An idea endorsed by none but its hardest core fans.

Voucher history goes back a little further than Quiet Riot’s. It was in the ’50s that economic rock star Milton Friedman began touting their value. In his eyes permitting parents and students to use vouchers to choose their schools would expand freedom of choice and produce more well-educated students. The voucher idea became particularly attractive in the south as it was seen as a way around segregation laws.

The scheme was to close schools and then offer families vouchers. The vouchers at that time were called “tuition grants” and were mostly only good at private segregated schools that became known as segregation academies. Fortunately, the courts didn’t care for the idea so much and shut it down quickly. Worth noting, Brentwood Academy, Franklin Road Academy, and Harding Academy all were founded as segregation academies.

The voucher front was relatively quiet until about 2013 when reform folks in Tennessee started thinking it had potential again, only to see it stall. In 2014, everybody was excited and thinking, here come the hits, but the bill failed again. The following years found legislators still chasing the neon rainbow until 2017 when Rep Bill Dunn and cronies thought they’d finally strung the chords together for a hit, only to see defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.

So here it is 2019 and Dunn once again feels the time is ripe for a hit. He’s got a new name for the same old song now – education savings accounts. Most of the verses are the same – failing schools, low-income families, parents no best – but this time he’s willing to tinker a bit with the chords. And tinker they have until the song is almost unrecognizable.

The financial eligibility threshold has been lowered. The scope has been expanded and retracted and expanded. There have been payoffs to freshman Republican legislators. Financial costs have grown. Homeschoolers are in, homeschoolers are out, homeschoolers are back in. Undocumented students are in and now they are out. Rural districts need a little extra financial incentive? Not a problem, we got you covered. Need some background vocals? Here’s Betsy. There is no plank in this proposed legislation that is considered unalterable, nor has been left untouched.

At this point, you have a tune that is barely recognizable and appeals to virtually no one. Seriously, I think there are more people excited over a pending Quiet Riot show then there is over the creation of ESA’s in Tennessee. School boards don’t want it. Parent groups don’t want it. Minister’s don’t want it. Charitable foundations don’t want it. The very people who it is supposed to help don’t want it. So seriously, who is the audience?

It seems that the only people who are really excited about this pending legislation are those with financial connections. No one should be surprised that mega-donor Lee Beaman is extolling the virtues of vouchers, along with Florida Governor Jeb Bush – though how Bush could know what’s best for Tennessee kids is beyond me. Then there is Shaka Mitchell, Tennessee Director of the American Federation for Children. That’s about it. Even Memphis Black Ministers who were previously advocates for vouchers didn’t testify in support this year.

The bottom line is that the time for vouchers, just like Quiet Riot’s time, has passed. Rep. Dunn can try all he likes to recruit new members to the band and tinker with the signature sound, but in the end, it still remains, that there is no real audience. It was a fun idea for a while, filled with potential, but that potential has fizzled and it’s time to move on to bigger more substantial pursuits.

We should heed the words of Mendell Grinter, the executive director of Campaign for School Equity,

“What we’ve heard in community conversations was that Memphians felt there were enough reforms in place and that we should focus on what was already going on, not vouchers.”

Words echoed by Charlie Caswell, a pastor recruited by Grinter’s former organization, that also give a direction we should pursue,

“After looking into the deep revelations about the underfunding of public schools through the [state’s education funding formula] and other things I thought were inequities that weren’t being addressed, it made me kinda rethink those efforts.”

The bill is supposed to come to a vote tomorrow on the House floor with action in the Senate to closely follow. If you can contact your Rep and let them know, this is a bill for no one but special interests want and to please vote against it. I never thought Republicans to be a particularly paternalistic lot, but the passing of this bill would prove me wrong. We really need to ask ourselves, just who is asking for this legislation?

QUICK HITS

Tuesday means MNPS school board meeting time. Taking a look at this week’s agenda and things look fairly innocuous. Most of the consent menu is filled with items that pertain to Metro Food Services, save for one gem. The New Teacher Program is back for more money. Keep in mind that we’ve already awarded them close to a million dollars this school year. Per the agenda, this new contract is not to exceed 480K and is for,

The last question was meant to call attention to the Red4Ed movement and the fantastic events held over the last week. I realize they weren’t meant to be, and shouldn’t be, a competition but I was hoping to have a little fun while spotlighting them. Hopefully, they will continue throughout the budgeting process and on through the future. It’d be nice if the city were to hold and sponsor a citywide Red4Ed celebration or the mayor issued a proclamation for a day to recognize teachers and the work they do. Just thought of mine. here are the write-in votes,

That’s a wrap. Make sure you check out the Dad Gone Wild Facebook page where we try to accentuate the positive. If you’ve got something you’d like me to highlight, send it on and I’ll do the best I can. Send things to Norinrad10@yahoo.com. Thanks for your support if you feel so inclined, please head over to Patreon and help a brother out. Enjoy TNReady week as much as you can.

Categories: Education