Newt: Fire the Janitors, Hire Kids to Clean Schools

foxnews.com ^ | November 19, 2011 | staff

[BarnacleCenturion]

Newt Gingrich tonight said at an address at Harvard that child work laws "entrap" poor children into poverty - and suggested that a better way to handle failing schools is to fire the janitors, hire the local students and let them get paid for upkeep.

"This is something that no liberal wants to deal with," Gingrich said. "Core policies of protecting unionization and bureaucratization against children in the poorest neighborhoods, crippling them by putting them in schools that fail has done more to create income inequality in the United States than any other single policy. It is tragic what we do in the poorest neighborhoods, entrapping children in, first of all, child laws, which are truly stupid.

[Wiggins]

How ‘bout putting prisoners to work -or the homeless?

Add to that the people collecting unemployment.

[Navy Patriot]

The premise that child labor law harms adolescents and teens is well founded.

I worked consistently from the seventh grade until I graduated from high school at age 17, when I was young. Under current law, I would not have been allowed to hold a single one of those jobs, and would have been broke, and taught to hate the rich instead of do what they did to get rich.

Work.

[PGR88]

I grew up in cotton country and every fall schools let out for two weeks for cotton harvest. They made up this time by starting a week earlier and letting out a week later. Every kid between about 8 years old and high school seniors picked cotton. The cotton got harvested and kids made some money, many bought their own school clothes with this money.

I think about this and laugh - how impossible this would be now, especially here in NY. The insurance lawyers and public unions would be all over such an idea. Many parents would scream, but if given the choice, many parents would also like the idea. Earning honest money is one of the best things you can teach a youngster.

[caww]

rather than having an army of illegals picking the stuff, I always thought - wouldn’t it be much better if High School kids spent 2 weeks doing this instead?

Great idea! They could get their summer tan working the fields and get paid to do so rather than on the beach sprawled out in lines like chorus girls with an audiance of guy looking like they're drooling spit.

[scrabblehack]

It used to....back when the minimum wage was only $1.40 farm labor was an attractive alternative for high school kids.

I really don’t see this as a federal issue though. Newt should be running for school board, not president.

[sagar]

“Of course, it will never happen.”

It won’t happen because of progressive-era child labor laws. Like union laws, child labor laws are outdated.

[Venturer]

I must have missed that part where we hire 6 year olds.

At 14 I was hiring out as a farm worker during the summer. I bought my first car when I got old enough with the money earned.

What would be wrong with hiring Seniors to do some work around the school?

[snowstorm12]

a good way to tackle failing schools is to try to phase in as many virtual classes as possible. Every child will have an opportunity to have access and be taught by “the best” educator instead of being stuck with the worst. less cost and better results.

[napscoordinator]

And how is this going to help the unemployment picture? Supposedly that is important in this election

[tiki]

They do put prisoners to work around here but I wouldn’t want them in our schools. Homeless people are most often homeless because of alcohol or drug addiction so, no to them too.

When I was in Jr. High a family moved to the dump, they were called rag pickers back then. They lived in an old school bus and had 8 children. The bigger kids slept in a tent. One of them was my age and his last name started with P so he was usually sitting next to me and boy did he stink. The school gave he and his brother a job and allowed them to use the showers, TBTG, and life was much better for them, their family and even me.

[RC2]

Parents also need to look at how many people are on the staff of every school in relation to the number of students. One school in Oregon had one employee for every seven students. Once the people found out, they cut way back. There’s a lot of waste out there and the only way to cut it back is for the people to get involved. Ask questions and demand answers.

[MNJohnnie]

It’s not the Left Newt needs to worry about, it’s his own mouth.

[tiki]

In our schools you can volunteer for that duty and since all lunches are free they don’t get anything but an attaboy. My granddaughter used to volunteer just because she is like that, I don’t think my grandson ever has.

[maine-iac7]

Newt's forte is Education with a capital “E”

Newt is also for more colleges like the College of the Osarks. (been around over 100 years. Student graduate with little to NO student loans.)

He wants every states to start such a college. (Of course that will be fought fiercely as it leaves grads free of government servitude.)

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000056445

http://www.cofo.edu/

[Kirkwood]

When I went to elementary school we had school chores. We wiped down our desktops once a week and swept the floors every day. We also dumped out the wastebaskets, washed the blackboards and pounded erasers every day. In the winter we helped shovel the walkways and put out salt. Whenever needed, we cleaned up the school yard of trash that might have blown against the fences.

At the end of the school year we had to clean our books by erasing anything written in them and get them cleaned up for the students coming in the next fall. In the fall we made paper dust jackets for the books before we were allowed to use them. I guess kids these days don’t do any of these little chores that in the past made the school an extension of the home.

[momtothree]

I agree. I don’t want prisoners or homeless people near children. That just seems like a recipe for pure disaster. I went to Catholic School and each teacher had their own classroom. The TEACHER was responsible for keeping it tidy. The janitor of the school would focus on the bathrooms and sweeping. Granted, the teachers had us wipe down the desks and pick up scraps from the floor. Actually, the rooms always stayed pretty clean.

[norwaypinesavage]

HIRE kids??? When I was in school, cleaning the school was part of the school day.

[proudpapa]

Our local janitors have way to much power.

School teachers used to open up the gym on weekends and over holiday breaks so that kids could practice basketball and exercise.

But their union now demands that a janitor be on the clock while the gym is being used...even if the teacher is present!

Sadly the gyms sit empty now...unless someone is willing to pay “the rent” which really pays for the janitor.

[maine-iac7]

Get a grip. He isn't saying anything of the kind and you know it. (Say hi to Mitt to us)

That said, when I was little - even at 8 years - we got out of school 2-3 weeks in the fall to pick potatoes. We LOVED it. 'Equal" to adults. In the sunshine and OUT of school. Money in our pockets tied directly to how hard we, ourselves worked. GREAT lessons.

(And, NO, our academic learning didn't suffer. When my brother I were moved to Boston, from a little One-Room school to the big city schools, we were a full year ahead.)

[Venturer]

Ya got me there LOL