I've fantasized for a long time about running the Washington DC public schools---probably since they hired a three star general in the 90's who quit in frustration a year and a half later. His departure was met with no small helping of smarmy "we told you so's" from the merchants of mediocrity who took great pleasure in explaining why a "military" mindset was inappropriate for public education.
So now it seems that DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee has hired a retired one-star general as the Chief Operating Officer of the DC Public Schools--the guy who makes the trains run on time. Anthony Tata answers only to Rhee, and she takes the political heat for the two of them. In exchange, he gets to wade into the morass that is the cronyism, incompetence, overcapacity and under-performance of our nation's capital's education system. That job would make me wake up every day excited about slaying dragons.
Good luck General--and if you need a Chief of Staff---call me.
Monday, February 15, 2010
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What's DC spending per student now, upwards of ten grand a year? What is St. Albans getting these days? About the same?
The DC public schools need nothing less than a Cultural Revolution and that ain't gonna happen. The only thing that can save those poor kids in DC is vouchers.
And that's the thing about having liberals in office. Instead of debating school vouchers and the fair tax, things that will make a real positive difference, we are wasting time on socialized medicine and cap and trade.
And if you need a foot soldier with the mission of rooting out mediocrity and firing it on the spot, call ME! Talk about a target rich environment!!!
I had a buddy once who proposed a new SES position: "Federal Firer". He or she would go from one federal office to the next seeking services as a citizen. Whenever he or she encountered obstructionists, laziness, or any other of the hallmarks of government beauracracy, he or she would issue the code words: "Pack Up Your S(tuff), You're Fired."
God, talk about your dream job.
How Do Asian Students Get to the Top of the Class?
While Asian Americans make up only 4% of the U.S. population, Asian-American students make up a much higher percentage of student bodies in top universities around the country. The percentages are astounding: 24% at Stanford, 18% at Harvard, and 25% at both Columbia and Cornell. More Asian Americans over the age of 25 have bachelor's degrees and advanced degrees than any other race or ethnic group.
The secret is parenting
The role of Asian children in the family is clear-cut and two-fold:
•Respect your elders and obey your parents.
•Study hard and do well in school to secure a bright future.
When we have non English speaking people with little or no money who immigrate from drastically different cultures whose children succeed no matter which school system they attend, perhaps we should concentrate on educating the inner city parents on what they need to expect and demand from their children if they hope for them to succeed in life.
No matter how much we spend on our school systems, it will be to little avail if we forget the axiom that education begins at home.
The essence of education is this process whereby one person's character inspires another. If there is no inspiration or character in the home there will be little in the school by the student.
http://www.greatschools.org/parenting/teaching-values/parenting-students-to-the-top.gs?content=481
St. Albans is also not paying, in and out of district special ed. That's a huge chunk of any district's funds. Yes, I agree there's a lot of waste but it's unfair to compare the spending per student between the two.
There's another distinction between St. Albans and the DC Public schools. The St. Albans kids are being educated, the DC kids aren't.
Give vouchers, they're proven to work. The kids get educated and it costs the public less. And there's more money available to the public schools for the special needs children. The only one who loses is the bureaucracy and THAT is the real problem.
I've really never taken the time to fully study the voucher thing but I certainly will follow up on it. If vouchers were to be used, would St. Alban have to take in all kids? If only certain kids would be taken in how do you get around discrimination?
This voucher thing has been a big issue in DC for a few years now. Yeah take a minute to look into it and get back to me. Also, St. Albans is a private entity. They can refuse the Albert Einsteins and admit the Albert Gores of the world at their choosing.
Yes, I understand that it's a private school but if they accepted vouchers, would they be required to accept everyone?
That's were the fight will begin. If the private schools accept public money, they will be forced to take all.
We're getting off track here. The issue is the efficacy of vouchers in educating what the public schools evidently can't educate. Not whether some rich school accepts vouchers. St. Albans ain't gonna accept inner city kids under any circumstances. They don't need the kid and they don't need the money.
The question is are we going to continue to throw money at an education bureaucracy that couldn't house break a puppy or are vouchers a good alternative.
I worked with Tony Tata at US JFCOM. He was pretty much a "take no prisoners" guy there. He also made 1 star fast. Good to see him doing good things for DCPS. Even if he seems to suffer from PDS.
Vouchers are ok. They incentivize public school bureaucracies to perform better. But public schools are a great common good which we should try and fix before we abandon them altogether.
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