Thoughts on Fixing the Schools

I don't pretend to actually know the answers, but we won't find solutions until we start throwing out possible approaches.    Some of them are, of course, obvious (funding), while others seem a little "odd" at first (eliminating "Charter" Schools), but ultimately may prove beneficial.

First a few of the Problems and the solutions

1.   Testing:    Due in large part to the "Most Children Held Back Act" (a/k/a No Child Left Behind), Schools are forced to follow a nearly unprecedented regime of standardized testing.   These tests don't test actual knowledge or education, they test the ability to take tests.   And some of these tests make no sense.  I have a very bright sixth grader that reads well.  Great.   But standardized testing is depriving her of a number of key points.  First, the standardized testing has given her a "lexile" score --- a score which says what Books she should read.  The problem is that the Alpha Unit tests very very well and has a Lexile Score which suggests that she should be reading.  Her Lexile Score is quite high.   The recommended books include  Soviet Society under Perestroika, Brunelleschi's Dome, and Bolshevik Feminism.    Could the Alpha Unit "comprehend" these books?   I guess so.   But that doesn't make them appropriate.   More importantly, the Lexile also means that many books that make up the common language of our American Society are left off the list.   These are the books that have formed the "common heritage" that we as American's share.   Twain, Hemingway, Faulkner, Angelou, Baldwin, and the like.  

Solution:   Dump all standardized testing.  All of it.   Trust the Professionals (the teachers and the principals) to evaluate the students.    After a while, bring back a small amount of it.   Also dump "computerized" measures of ability which ignore the common language.   Make lists of books that should be read during a school career subdivided into categories --   Must Read, Should Read, and Useful.    Demand that the students read 3 of the must read, 10 of the should read, and at least 2 more books in the Must, Should, or Useful category.  Perhaps require certain of the "must read" to be read by a certain age. 

2.  Funding.   Teacher funding is badly out-of-kilter.   Principals are left with the choice of keeping highly skilled experienced teachers and not having enough teachers, or having enough teachers and hoping that the young, inexperienced teachers turn out to be great.    This crises certainly is not caused by the lack of tax base.   Chicago's various taxes are more than sufficient to pay for proper and complete education.   But the money goes missing.   Why?  

Solution:  Get rid of TIF funding.   About a half-billion dollars a year is collected by TIF's and thus is taken out of the general revenue pool.  This money gets spent of things such as the Wilson Yards retail and housing development, a new arena for DePaul, a Hyatt Hotel for Hyde Park, and so on.  In other words, projects that benefit private interests rather than general public welfare.  As education is the primary benefactor of Property taxes, each TIF takes away from education.

Solution:  Get rid of Charter Schools.    A Charter School is a privatized "public" school run by an outside company.   I have a large number of problems with Charter schools.... chief of which is that they do not actually supply a "superior" education, rather they appear to have a superior education by reason of "selection bias".   But just as importantly, the Charter Schools, with a few notable exceptions are run by "for profit" corporations.   Thus each school dollar that goes into a charter school, on top of all of the expenses incurred by the operations of a school, must now make a profit.   In contrast, a "Real" public School doesn't have this profit cut from the budget..

Solution:  Change School Funding to Statewide.   A major problem with the CPS is that it is funded from the City and not Statewide.   Thus, for example, someone can live on the Northwest Side and have to go to underfunded and under performing Taft, or live 100 yards away (on the Park Ridge side of the line) and go to Maine South -- one of the "best" Public High Schools in the United States.  The difference, Maine South is funded by affluent Park Ridge et al, while Taft is in the CPS system with the budget issues.   Similar inequities exist all around the region.   By putting everyone into a single funding pool, the inequities would be leveled out and, frankly, funding would be fairer.

Solution:  Don't let Affluent Areas "buy" their Way Out of the Problems.   One of the things that is happening at the CPS is that the more affluent schools are now "voluntarily" raising larger and larger sums of money to enable their school to have programs that could not otherwise be supported.  And this is not for "secondary" activities such as the Chess Club, the Math Team, the Science Club and the like, this is funding for things such as "the math teacher" or the "English teacher" or the "Music Teacher".  While this is great for the school that has the funds, it is fundamentally unfair for the rest of the schools.

Solution:  Go back to Horace Mann and first principles.    A fair, equal and complete public education system is a necessary part of a functioning democracy.   A segmented education system which further benefits those of privilege is, ultimately, damaging to society. 

A few quotes from Horace Mann:

Forts, arsenals, garrisons, armies, navies, are means of security and defence, which were invented in half-civilized times and in feudal or despotic countries; but schoolhouses are the republican line of fortifications, and if they are dismantled and dilapidated, ignorance and vice will pour in their legions through every breach.

Education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men, — the balance-wheel of the social machinery

Education is our only political safety. Outside of this ark all is deluge.

If ever there was a cause, if ever there can be a cause, worthy to be upheld by all of toil or sacrifice that the human heart can endure, it is the cause of Education.

A Ray of Hope for Education?

Having a child in the CPS during the past few years has been a very frustrating experience.     The staff and the teachers have been amazing, but the experience has been badly handicapped by the School Administration.    But maybe, just maybe, we are turning a corner.    A number of bright and brave educators have finally decided to stand up and say enough is enough.   And I am proud to count my Children's principal among the leaders in the front rank.    

What can we do to support these educators?    At a minimum, speak out.  Often.  And don't forget to vote.

More Word

I know the blog has been inactive.   The POD has been under a degree of stress and forgot about this blog and has been "venting" in other areas.  But it is time to return to the slightly longer form.

This is a "short issue" blog, covering a number of things that have irritated the POD.

1.   It is not fun to have Eye issues.

 Short story long.    Many years ago, while in law school, I had that life changing moment at Damascus and did not realize it.  I was a second year law student.  It was  Friday afternoon.   The rest of my fellow law students went out to celebrate the start of the weekend... I went to the Library to cite check an article for the Journal of International Law and Economics.   I was on my bicycle and was not wearing eye protection.   A rock got kicked up on Constitution avenue into my right eye.   It turns out that this was "life changing".

1.   I got a corneal ulcer and the eye was dilated for 4 weeks during which I could not read.   And catching up from this, I got mono.  

This had an immediate impact.   But for 1st semester, 2nd year, I was in the top 5 to 10% of my law school class.   This semester brought me way down and while I went back to high levels of performance in future quarters, this ended "big law" as an option.

But this wasn't the only immediate impact...Due to rock in the eye, I was slow getting home.    That morning I had been "interviewed" by a major Hawaii law firm about a summer associate position.    They called my apartment and left a message asking me to come to dinner that night.   I got home to late too go.   Apparently this offended them and they hired another GW student with no Hawaii connections (and basically an identical set of credentials) instead of me.   I found out several years later that they had not believed my story of going to the library of Congress and getting hit in the eye with a rock...  

2.  Due to the corneal ulcer and the eye injury I did not complete my journal editing assignment on time.   And due to rock in the eye and the inability to see, I was unable to complete my journal article.   And thus I was not on the Journal my third year.

3.  In the longer term, I have now been told, many years after the fact, that my right eye has now developed a "traumatic cataract" and I am going to need to have it corrected.   And I have noticed this in the past six months as my ability to read has been somewhat limited.  Not yet a "major" issue, but enough of a problem to be troublesome.

A moment at Damascus that resulted in major changes far beyond what was first comprehended...

Its Tough Out There

The POD has been working very hard at bicycling to and from the office. While the shower now available at his office has been gratefully received by all. However, he is concerned by the attitudes of the drivers on the road. It seems that the higher gas prices, the bad traffic and the bad pavement have resulted in ill-tempered drivers that pay little, if any attention, to anyone else using the road -- whether it be bicyclists, pedestrians or other drivers. Just the other day the POD counted three cars in a row that simply blew through the stop sign at the intersection where the POD and two small POD's were waiting to cross. (We know enough to make eye contact and make sure that they stop before entering the intersection). The causes were myriad. At least one of the drivers was on their cell phone. The SUV driver just appeared to be crazy. And the third driver was just not paying attention. (They blew through the next stop sign as well).

Now POD understands that Stop Signs can be frustrating. When POD bicycles, he always stops at the lights and always slows at stop signs (but if its an all way stop and no one is coming, he doesn't stop) . He wishes, sometimes, that he didn't have as many stop signs. But Stop Signs are necessary because of the lost and easy view of speed limits. Cars seem to think that 45 is okay on city streets when the traffic is not bad.

So cut me a break. Pay attention out there. Put down your phone, your cup of coffee, your can of beer and your Ipod.

Return to the Blog

I have been to angry recently and haven't been writing on this blog. Its time to start again. Today's topic.... Full Day Kindergarten...

My son is ready for Kindergarten next year... heck he's long passed being ready. He's big for his age and he's already gotten into the family habit of going to sleep with a book in his hand. (At least he goes to sleep... the Senior Junior is replicating my sleep pattern and staying up to all hours to read.... I have long met Midnights, and started doing so before I got out of Elementary School...) And now I have been told that due to budget cuts, he is going to get only a half day (2.5 hours) of Kindergarten next year unless... drumroll.... the parents can come up with 2500 for each kid. I have seen the studies. Half-Day KG has long term effects. Kids are still catching up by 8th grade. But since they believe that we can pay for it (and this is the 6th year of such demands) we will.

Its a multi-level threat. If we get half day KG, Gwyn can't hold down a job... or at least her current one. Someone (and due to travel it can't be me) will have to be at school at 8, 11:30 and 2 pm. Its less time than his current YMCA Pre-school program. And the pressure's on for more than 2500 (since "not all parents are committed enough to their kids to come up with the money" is how it was explained to me) and any excess goes toward other programs. This is simply unacceptable.

What am I going to do? I don't know. I guess I will have to find the money somewhere... which in this current economy is a pretty hard thing to do.

But I shouldn't have to.... at least not this way. The whole purpose of a public school system is to provide education on an equal basis to the community. Not to provide "better" education to those that can pay more. And yet, in some sick and perverted way, this is exactly what is now happening. Our school is in a highly affluent neighborhood. I suspect that we will somehow make the number. A school in a poor neighborhood gets more money for "discretion". They can fund full day. But in a good strong working class neighborhood, the families make too much for discretion but not enough to privately fund. And Bamm. Those kids are placed at a permanent disadvantage. And this isn't an "enrichment program" (although that's how they justify it... half day is "standard", full day is "enriched" and thus "optional") this is a basic program.

I blame this on "Most Children Held Back" and the ridiculous cost for layer after layer of tests to the exclusion of education.

Time to Fire Some People

Last weekend was the last full weekend in March..... and we had Snow. Its time to take a hard stand on this kind of issue. Join with me and demand the immediate firing of all of the Weathermen that predicted the snow. And maybe its time for some ground hog stew...

Yes, everyone agrees that this is "silly", and yet this is what is passing for political discourse in large parts of the United States today. Instead of looking for real solutions to problems, or at least partially workable solutions, we continue to identify, in over simple terms, the problems. The problem is that the Banks engaged in Bad Lending practices combined with overpaying their executives. Big problem. Easy to identify. But there are no easy solutions. Cutting bonuses?? Great theory. Don't know whether this will work in practice. Banks? A big problem. They should have been regulated earlier. But that Horse has already left the barn? What's the solution? Its complex and will not work overnight (although the Banks should not be allowed to "balance" the loses by ratcheting up the pressure on consumer credit products even further...)

Death of a Newspaper? Suicide or Murder

Here in Chicago, as in much of the rest of the country, we are witnessing the death of newspapers. However, at least in Chicago, this is as much of a suicide as a murder. In the past few years the Tribunue has taken every possible step to "cheapen" the quality of the paper in order to maximize the revenue. And then they wonder why the reader runs away.

Among these "design" moves:

A reduction in page size with a related reduction in type face. I realize that my eyes are getting older and do no see as well as they used to, but the font reductions in the tribune are both significant and noticeable. Even in things such as the Sunday Tribune Magazine, the size reduction has made the Sunday Crossword puzzle an exercise in eye-strain. Yes, perhaps they Tribune "saves money" by making the paper smaller. But they also lose subscribers.

The "elimination" of the TV grid, the essential elimination of the Weekly guide and the shifting of this guide to Saturday. The Tribune has eliminated the viewing grid from the Weekday paper. Okay. That's a useful feature of a paper which supports the idea of a basic subscription. Its a silly idea, it doesn't save that much paper, and frankly, decreases the utility of the paper. Its one of the few items which most readers can clearly use. (Its more useful than the Weather, for example, which is perhaps the most useless item in the paper....) Then they "merge" the Sunday Weekly TV guide with the paper, reduce the size to nearly un-readable, and eliminate any program descriptions. And NOW they claim that, to better serve the readership, they are going to move it to Saturday. Uh-huh. We all now the real reason. Its to try to promote the sale of the Saturday paper.

Among the moves of Substance

The Tribune has redesigned the paper to make it more "user friendly". What that means in Tribune speak is that they have shortened and further dumbed down the articles. This is the wrong way to go. Paper's will fail when going up against the internet for providing quick snippets of information. This is what the internet can do best. What Paper's can do is provide detailed coverage of the stories with in depth anaylsis. The Paper should recognize that many of its readers will not understand all of the stories that run. That' s fine. Paper's should challenge the inteligence of their readers.

Would I buy the Tribune at the current (or even a higher price)? Not the current Tribune. It insults me by underestimating my intelliegence and ignores providing any "service". What it does provide, it does so in a grudging fashion, and mostly seems to exist as a vehicle to deliver ads to my house.

To quote the Chicago Chicago White Sox Fans

Na na na na. Na na na na. Hey Hey Goodbye.


Na na na na. Na na na na. Hey Hey Goodbye.

Retail Blues

The retail stores are all singing the blues this year. I would like to feel sorry for them, but I really can't. They have created the atmosphere. A few "lessons learned" this year at the Holidays.

Lesson One. A Sale Isn't A Sale Unless the Prices are Lower, its a Scam.

I decided to get the larger sprout of the POD a digital camera for Christmas. Not a fancy one, a real simple one. I stopped at my local branch of "large office supply chain" and was surprised to see an "inventory reduction sale" sign on the door. I knew that they were closing some locations, but this one seemed to make sense to remain open. I smelled trouble when I walked in. I saw a number of cameras but the prices seemed "high". I walked around and saw other prices that also seemed "high" to me. I walked out. Later that day I went by another branch of the same chain and went in. This one was not having an inventory reduction sale. They had the same camera for less than the "inventory reduction sale" price. Other prices were similarly lower. I confronted the store manager. She said to me "Those aren't our stores anymore. We sold the inventory out to a liquidator". I said really? They still have your signs on the doors? She said "everyone knows that a liquidation sale isn't buying from the store". I said that I viewed this as a bit deceptive and that, frankly, it was going to make me think long and hard about purchasing all of my office supplies from one of their competitors in the new year (POD buys several hundred dollars in paper alone each month...) She reiterated that they had no control. Well I have made my decision. Not everyone knows. The practice is deceptive and I will not support it. All of my office supplies have shifted as of January 1 to Staples.

Lesson Two: Monopolies Don't Give a Damn

Here in Chicago we were "Department Stored" when our long time local Department Store disappeared and was re branded. And more than the brand changed -- so to did the attitude. I went in to buy a traditional Christmas Ornament for the Sprouts. I have purchased this ornament every year the week before Christmas and have never had a problem. I walked in to the main downtown branch. I was met by a rather sad state of affairs. The stock was depleted and that liquidation sales were already on going. The "special" Christmas locations (trim a tree shop and so forth) were not marked on any store map. And they didn't have the ornament. And four of us asked for it while I was waiting at the counter. We all asked whether they knew if it was at any other store and could they check. The response was "no, they didn't know and had no way to check. They suggested that I find a phone and call all of the stores.

Well I didn't. I went to another of their stores he next day (out in a mall) and had a long talk with a long time sales associate leaving at the end of 2008. She said that, in fact, they can easily check on the stock and she checked for me. She found that they were out at all stores (bad inventory decisions...) She also mentioned that they were not supposed to check any more on the theory that customers would get frustrated trying to call and would go to other stores. Once at these other stores they would buy something.

In other words, we don't give a damn and will get a sale anyway we can. And I have written another store off my list.

Lesson Three. A Good Sales Team Will Sell More

Feeling not full of good cheer, and badly behind of presents, I ended up going to the local neighborhood toys store (Building Blocks Toys on Lincoln just past Belmont.... I will use their name because I am not going to say anything bad about them). Not a large store but a very well thought out and, frankly, pretty comprehensive stock of high quality toys. The prices were not "cheap" but they were fair. And the staff cared and knows their business. One item I was buying had a nick that I had not detected. They insisted that they get me a new one from the back and left the other out as a display model. And I ended up buying more from them. First rate service and well worth the premium over Toy Barn's or town killing retail chains.

Lots of other lessons this Christmas...

But in the retail sector it looks like a case of mass self-inflicted wounds.

Sarah Palin and the Supreme Court

Wow. She can't name another Supreme Court opinion other than Roe v. Wade. Not even the "big ones" that members of the public should know -- Gideon v. Wainwright, Griswold v. Connecticut, In Re Loving, Brown v. Board, Gore v. Florida Board of Elections (well its something like that). But the real shock is that she doesn't even know a very recent case that applied directly to her State. The Supreme Court, only this Summer, issued an opinion in Exxon v. United States in which they essentially established a Cap on punitive damage awards in any Federal Common Law based suit. This case involved the Exxon Valdez. Its hard to believe that the energy minded Governor of Alaska didn't know about this case.

(Also the DC Gun ban case... handed down just about the same day as the Exxon case...)