Oregon's Rumsfelds of Education

Who remembers this exchange between a soldier and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in 2004?: 

      "Army Spc. Thomas Wilson: 'Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap        

     metal and compromised ballistic glass to up-armor our vehicles? And why don't we have those resources  

     readily available to us?'

     Rumsfeld: 'It isn't a matter of money. It isn't a matter on the part of the army of desire. It's a matter of 

     production and capability of doing it. As you know, ah, you go to war with the army you have---not the  

     army you might want or wish to have at a later time.---You can have all the armor in the world on a tank 

     and it can (still) be blown up...'" (http://crooksandliars.com/2006/12/15/remebering-rumsfeld-you-go-to- 

     war-with-the-army-you-have-not-the-army-you-might-want-or-wish-to-have-at-a-later-time)

I think of this exchange whenever I hear or read comments about education by Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber, Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction  Rob Saxton, and Chief Education Officer Rudy Crew. These three expect educators to fight a war without providing the educators with the proper equipment. There will be no effective and meaningful educational reform until there is a significant increase in funding for public education.