A nice interview with Jay Mathews

I have a lot of respect for Jay Mathews. Jay is a education reporter and columnist for the Washington Post. I've set up a Google Alert so I get notified when Jay writes columns. I've posted several times in response to some of Jay's columns.

Michael Shaughnessy recently interviewed Jay. If you'd like to know more about Jay, check out the interview.


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Technorati tags: public school, public education, children, education, Jay Mathews

Public schools - a Gordian Knot or a Sisyphean activity?

As I mentioned before I am afraid public schools have become a Gordian Knot. As they are currently structured it is almost impossible for students to receive an excellent education, let alone a good education. I don't think public schools can be fixed without major changes.

Reading Jay Mathews' recent column on How to Fix Struggling High Schools I had a different image. I was reminded of Sisyphus. From Wikipedia is this summary:

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In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king punished in the Tartarus by being cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll down again, and repeat this throughout eternity.

Today, Sisyphean can be used as an adjective meaning that an activity is unending and/or repetitive. It could also be used to refer to tasks that are pointless and unrewarding.

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Jay Mathews writes about Jonathan Lewis, a senior at a Washington D.C. high school. Jay says everyone wants Jonathan to graduate, even Jonathan wants to graduate. "But every step on his journey exposed another failure of the educators, parents and students on whom the public school system depends."

Jay goes on to list several problems with this high school and then says we need to fix this problem. Many of these problems are hard problems, for example one teacher didn't even know Jonathan was in his class, because "the school's scheduling and information system fail to inform the teacher that he is supposed to be there."

It is my analysis that we can not "FIX" public schools they way they are currently structured. For decades tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, of dedicated and smart people have worked to improve public schools. Every year they try to roll the rock up the hill, but like Sisyphus, the rock slips past them and rolls back down. In many ways the hill is getting bigger and the rock is slipping down sooner.

Albert Einstein is reported to have said that "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." It seems like the frequent attempts to "fix" public schools have become insane.

To improve public schools we need to fundamentally change them. One big improvement would be to get the federal government out of public education. This would allow parents more influence and teachers more autonomy. Each state could try finding what is best for their students. Our current system forces all 50 states to follow the same basic, sometimes broken, pattern.

Another good change would be to have a true voucher system. Every voucher system I've read about has too many rules and laws. For example vouchers are often only available to a few students, and the vouchers are often good for half, or less, of the money the public schools get. Vouchers would allow parents to find schools best for their children.


Jay Mathews is looking for suggestions on how to improve public schools. If you have some ideas you can send him email at mathewsj@washpost.com. I will send him an email encouraging him to consider fundamental changes.

Until we do some major changes, the insane efforts to improve public school system will be as productive as pushing a boulder up a hill and watching it roll back down. I have enjoyed reading Greek Tragedies. It is not much fun to see it repeated in our society.


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Technorati tags: public school, public education, children, education

Jay Mathews on Ivy Envy

Jay Mathews argues that the "elite" colleges don't provide a better education. His column New film shows folly of Ivy envy starts with:

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This time of year, with high school seniors slogging through one college application after another, and parents jittery about their children’s futures, I often write columns explaining why it doesn’t matter where they go to school.

The invariable reaction from many readers, and some of my friends, is that I went to Harvard, so what do I know about their problem?

It is true that I am a Harvard grad . I wrote a book titled “Harvard Schmarvard” that argues that the Ivy League, and other top-ranked colleges, add no discernible value to the lives of their graduates. They are good at attracting students with character strengths, such as persistence and humor, that lead to success. But applicants with such qualities who decide instead to attend places like Boise State do as well in life as those who attend colleges older than the country.
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He claims that the recent movie "The Social Network" proves his point. Read the rest of the column for how his justifies his claim.


We've never seriously consider sending our children to the "elite" colleges. Janine and I don't care about the social standing that comes from having a child at Harvard. And the cost is way too much.

It is nice to read columns like Jay's which reassure us our children won't be missing out.

(Hat tip: Instpundit)

Jay Mathews on bad things can happen to your child at school, and the school doesn't have to tell you

This is disturbing. Jay Mathews' recent column Teachers in Trouble, Parents Ignored-- Part II is the second in a series "about parents who are denied important information and find themselves frozen out of important decisions about their children's teachers."

Several children suffered from a teacher. One student told her mom that the teacher "ordered the class to count to 10 in French while he hit the boy 10 times with a ruler." Then suddenly the teacher no longer worked at the school. Years later the girl was still scared of asking for help in school. Parents started asked the school for more information. The school stone walled the parents, and said they didn't have to tell the parents anything.

As the parents started talking with each other they heard more horror stories. For example one mother said "Her son was in counseling because of emotional distress. She thought it was because of her divorce, but now she wondered if it was related to what happened in his second grade class."

I understand that when you have a couple million teachers that you will have bad apples. The problem Jay is focusing on, and I agree with, is parents need to know. They are the ones who can help the children recover from a traumatizing experience with a bad teacher. The parents and children might otherwise suffer for years.

(Hat tip: Google alert)


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Technorati tags: public school, parenting, children, education

Stuff found via Google Alert

It has been awhile since I posted on some of the treasures I have found via Google Alerts.

Lisa Hendey posted an interview with Sandra Gillmore, author of Mommy Come Home. Sandra has a very strong message, from a religious point of view, that mothers should stay home with their children. She has advice for how to live on one income. And she is very positive about homeschooling. It looks like the interview was originally done back in 2004.

Matthew Dallman writes that Socialization is one of the reasons he is considering homeschooling.

Jay Mathews is a education columnist for the Washington Post. I have a Google Alert set up to notify me whenever his name appears, which normally means he has written a new column. I liked his column Bad Guess on U.S. Future. He opens with:

The two words most likely to make education reporters sigh wearily are "national" and "commission." Those of us who have been doing this for awhile know that many government, business and non-profit groups cannot resist the urge to gather great men and women together frequently to plan our schools' future. The result is almost always a great waste of time and paper.

He goes on to explain that the current well intended efforts by the government are not going to fix the problems with public education. He makes a number of good points.

In his column Innocents in Blogland Jay reports on some suggestions his readers have for education blogs to follow. Most of them were blogs I had not heard of before.


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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, education, Sandra Gillmore, Mommy Come Home, Socialization, Jay Mathews

The importance of hard work

The blogosphere is often an interesting place to wander around. I was checking one of my Google alerts this morning for "Steve Jobs" teacher union. I came across Whitney Tilson's post Steve Jobs Has Guts. I liked his thoughts and so I checked out his blog on school reform.

Whitney is an invester at Tilson Funds. He is also the Vice President of KIPP Academy. KIPP Academy is part of an organization called Knowledge Is Power Program or KIPP for short. His frequent posts show a good understanding of many of the problems with public education.

Whitney also had a post commenting on Jay Mathews' article of Self-Discipline May Beat Smarts as Key to Success. This resonanted some with a post from last year on The importance of work. I'm reposting here a key point from the post:

"A couple years after my wife and I got married we spent did some research into investing, trying to improve our financial education. One point has stuck with me over the years. When trying to build a nest egg there are two very important factors. The first is related to the size of how much is invested. Someone who puts aside 10% of their income will, all other things being equal, have a better end result than someone who only saves 5%. But the second important factor is the growth rate of the investments. If the person saving the 10% puts all of his money in the bank and gets a low rate of return, after 40 years he won't have that much more money. In contrast if the person who saves 5% is wise and looks for investments with growth potential, like stocks, then over time he will get several times the return on his money, and by 40 years later will have a much bigger nest eggs, several times bigger."

"Education and parenting are similar to this. We all start with a certain basic investment, our gifts and talents. Unfortunately we can't change this. But what happens with them over time is a direct result of the effort and work we put in to develop our initial abilities. If we can help our children learn the principal of work, and help them to get on a higher growth rate, then as adults they'll be able to achieve much more than if they merely coasted through school. Many Asian families understand this principal and have their children work hard."

Jay Mathews article Self-Discipline May Beat Smarts as Key to Success is focusing on the importance of work and self-discipline. We do a great service to our children when we teach them to work hard.


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Technorati tags: education, school, work, parenting, family, children

One of the reasons we homeschool

Jay Mathews has a column titled Training teachers like ice skaters. A main point is that society currently does a poor job of training teachers. Jay writes:

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People trained in very complex skills, such ice skaters, chess players, violinists, quarterbacks or surgeons, often do something called deliberate practice.
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And then he quotes Mike Goldstein:

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"A kid who practices 10 hours playing sloppy pick up basketball with his friends might develop less than a kid who has a focused two hours of practice with measurable, highly specific, small chunk feedback," Goldstein told me in a long email. "Similarly, a rookie teacher who simply student teaches or acts as an assistant teacher might simply be repeating the WRONG moves.
"Deliberate practice means (1) specific & technique-oriented, (2) high-repetition, and (3) paired with immediate feedback which includes telling the novice what to do."That's what we do: 'Do X. Now you say it, right in front of me. Tone needs to be firm: do it again.' High dosage feedback, after every day of student teaching. And feedback that is directive. Don't say 'Here's 5 different ways you could try.' Cut through that.
"This is labor-intensive but, we think, has big payoff."
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The same principle translates into how we train children. I argue that the current public school approach of the factory model is similar to how teachers are taught. Topics and knowledge is thrown at the students in a variety of ways, constantly changing with the latest fad.

As homeschooling parents we can be more directive and make sure our children really learn the material.

(Hat tip: Joanne Jacobs)


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Technorati tags: homeschooling, homeschool, home school, home education, parenting, children, public school, public education, education

A homeschooler getting the run around

Jay Mathews reports on a sad story about a Gifted Student Is Being Held Back By Graduation Rules:

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Anyone who wants to appreciate how strong a grip high school has on the American imagination -- and how clueless some school districts are about this -- should consider the story of Drew Gamblin, a 16-year-old student at Howard High School in Ellicott City.

Drew, a child so gifted he taught himself to write at age 3, craves a high school education and all that comes with it -- debate team, music, drama and senior prom.

After a series of inexplicable decisions by Howard County school officials, such as requiring him to stay in a Howard High algebra class he had already mastered, his parents decided to home-school him and put him in college classes. But Drew insisted on his high school dream.

So he is back at Howard, although it's not clear what grade he is in, and the school district is making it hard to enjoy what the school has to offer. He is being forced to take a world history course he already took at Howard Community College and a junior-year English course he took at home, as well as classes in other subjects he has studied.

Drew said he hopes that school district superintendent Sydney L. Cousin will use a state regulation that would allow him to create an alternative way for Drew to graduate without so much course repetition, but it doesn't look good.

Drew could go to college right now. He passed the Maryland state High School Assessment test in sophomore English at the advanced level (Howard refuses to give him credit for the course) and did the same in American government. Two years ago, he scored in the 92nd percentile on the PSAT and placed in the top 4 percent of all African American students who took the exam.
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I wonder what the school officials are thinking?

Here we have a young man who clearly has an education. He just wants to have the public school experience. (Which personally I think he is getting. If it were me, I would just move.)

I wonder why are the bureaucrates dragging their feet? They should welcome him back in. They could even play it up a little, hey look a homeschooler wants to come to government schools.

But no, they are shooting themselves in the foot. They come across as petty people, imposing rules which make no sense, and losing some of the little good will they have left.

I wonder who will flinch first? Will the Drew Gamblin just dump it all and move on? Or will the public outcry be loud enough that the administration will do the right thing and let him take reasonable courses, and graduate.


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Technorati tags: children, education, government schools, children, public school, public education

Selections from EducationNews.org - 16 Feb 2006

From EducationNews.Org I found the following articles:

Marty Solomon writes about a movement to get full-strength soft drinks out of the schools. He is happy that students in Kentucky will now only be able to have milk, fruit drinks, vegetable drinks, water, or drinks that carry less than 40 or less calories per serving. This took the state of Kentucky over four years to make this change. One of the great benefits of homeschooling is not having to deal with bureaucracies. If parents want their children to have a change in their diet, they can make the change that day.

The L.A. Daily News has another example of the problems with government bureaucracies. A new high school is being built. Already the costs for construction have climbed to $170 million, more than double the original plan. This 1,700 student high school will cost $100,000 per student. There is a lot of finger pointing and no seems to be at fault.

Sandra Stotsky wrote a column saying that the movement to make high schools smaller doesn't make sense, it is based on faulty data. She points out that there are some good high schools with four thousand students. We blogged about this move back in December after Jay Mathews wrote about huge schools in the Washington Post. Economists know that for many products there is economy in scaling up production and allowing people to specialize. Adam Smith wrote about this in his The Wealth of Nations. But there is also a point in which continuing to scale has diminishing returns. That is why we don't have factories of ten thousand workers; the complexity gets too hard to handle. My personal opinion is a high school with 5,000 students, in general, will have too much bureaucracy and perform poorly.

In education, is bigger better?

Jay Mathews, a Washington Post Education Reporter, recently had an article about issues of very large high schools. These are high schools with more than four thousand students. The article covers some of the pluses and minuses of having such large groups of children.

I don't have a strong opinion about what is the ideal size for a high school. I do think when there are enough students, it should be bigger than 50, and 5,000 is too many. I went to a high school of about 2,200 students. I knew a number of students who felt overwhelmed or a bit lost. It is clearly useful to have some scale, but at some point really large groups become very hard to manage and deal with. I don't remember ever talking with the principal, and only talking with a guidance councilor once or twice.

Malcolm Gladwell in "The Tipping Point" (page 179) talks about how biologically there seems to be a nature size of people for an individual to know:

"The figure of 150 seems to represent the maximum number of individuals with
whom we can have a genuinely social relationship, the kind of relationship that
goes with knowing who they are and how they relate to us."

If it is important for the principal to know all the students at his school, then maybe schools should only have about 200. It seem like a high school with 4000 or more students is too big.

All of this is for setting the groundwork for an article about the size of school districts, the next level up. CampusReportOnline has a column by Lindalyn Kakadelis about the problems with mammoth school districts. A school district in Miami-Dade County has more than 360,000 students!!!

Here are some of the points made in the column:

1) "larger systems disenfranchise parents and students by weakening local control over schools"
2) "An accumulating pile of data indicates that these enormous districts actually cost more than they save, both financially and academically"
3) "Mike Antonucci, in an Alexis de Tocqueville Institution study, found that as district size increases, the percentage spent on teachers, books, and teaching materials actually goes down."

The column goes on to say that many parents are starting to push to for smaller school districts. This does seem like a very good idea. A school district with hundreds of thousands of students is way too big to manage.


Update I (5 Dec 05)

EdWonk has a post and a link to an article about some school district consolidation in Maine. Currently the average school district is 734 students versus a national average of 3,177. Interesting contrast to school districts of hundreds of thousands of students.