School performance: are we asking the right questions?

Much ink has been spilled on school performance, but are we asking the right questions?

Most of it is directed to de facto segregation.  That is, schools with mostly minority students perform worse than schools with mostly white students.  But is that right question?

I think a better question is what is the balance of performers vs. disruptors.

I have been in public schools with majority white and I’ve been in schools with a big mix of students.  In both kinds of schools I have found performers of all kinds of backgrounds and disruptors of all kinds of backgrounds.  The success of the schools depends more on how the students and staff encourage the performers and minimize the impact of the disrupters.

If you move the performers to “better schools” will you deprive some of the remaining students of the “protection” and role models of the performers?

No Joke: Obamacare successful

See “Obamacare numbers coming in huge: Here’s a guide to GOP excuse-making”, Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, accessed 2014-03-31.

Can we trust politicians who spend more time blocking legislation and appointments than making an effort to make the legislation and appointments better?

Quote of the day - Education

"To succeed, students must become thinkers, not just test-takers."
– "The secret to fixing bad schools", David L. Kirp, New York Times, 2013-02-09

I posted a comment to the article with the above quote and

"That sentence should be engraved in the head of anyone who wants successful students."

As of 8:30 this morning it had received 45 recommendations!  Gosh, if I could only have that readership here!

A former teacher replied to my post that I had beat him or her to a similar post and added

"As a teacher for 27 years, I know for a fact, that exam scores are the least important indicator of how well a student is learning."

147 comments have been posted to the article.  Three included that pre–school education may be expensive, but not as expensive as prisons.

I didn't post it, but many have written elsewhere that you pay something now or pay a lot more later.  It is often considered investing, but too many people don't think of government spending as investment, as they cruise down the interstate built with government money, as they enjoy a game in a tax-supported stadium, or as they have no concern about food-safety because of government inspections.

Pessimistic quote of the day: responsibility for business success or failure

A small BBQ chain in Richmond went out of business.  Mitt Romney used it as an example of how the Obama administration is bad for business.  He ignores that another BBQ in Richmond is quite successful, but Romney won't give the Obama credit for its success.

"Mr. Romney’s take on Bill’s seems perfectly representative of his general outlook. If a business succeeds, the government can’t share the credit. If it fails, it’s the government’s fault."

See "Bad Barbecue? Blame Obama", Juliet Lapados, New York Times, 2012-11-02.

An unfortunate pirate

A pirate was not a success because his cutlass cut less.