Quote Originally Posted by Kevgoblu View Post
Why so often when the topic of school performance comes up, conversation is always centered around admistration and funding?

If you think back a couple generations, schools had nowhere near the funding nor the technological advancements of today. But that didn't mean that the children couldn't correctly conjugate a sentence. That didn't mean that they didn't know their times tables. That didn't prevent them from memorizing the 50 states and their state capitals. When are people going to stop trying to assign blame to someone or something other than their own children's [[and thus, their own) lack of effort and / or motivation?

Spending money on security guards does not help a child read. The concept of needing security guards just identifies a different problem. A lack of order and decorum in the school. Children should not be entitleted to 13 years of public education. They should be entitiled to the opportunity for an education. And those that detract from the eduactional process should be summarily removed. Allow the children who are trying to learn to learn. And the rest? Trade school? Reform school? Millitary service? Can't say that I know what the best answer would be, but we can't continue to sit back and allow a few bad apples to spoil the bunch.
People sometimes think that if you throw enough money at a problem it will fix it. Things change and like the auto companies need a new business model to address the changing times, the educational community needs a new educational model that addresses the changes going on. There are volumes of books written on the failure of urban public education and what can be done to fix it. There is enough blame among the various stakeholders [[ I mean anybody that has anything to do with a school district) that it can be termed an institutional failure. There are a number of new educational models being used across the country. The mayorial takeover is only one model but it seems to be working in some cities.

But two things must happen which speaks to your post and that is accountability and uncompromising standards. Those two things must be in any educational model that we use. That must be the test of an effective model. The current model does not pass the accountability test because of a micromanaging large school board, and it doesn't pass the uncompromising standards test because of the political pressure the citizens can exert have made them do 180 degree changes.

Thats why I stated it doesn't make a difference what board members they put in, that model doesn't work anymore in this day and age.