Huge Fine for Private High School Recruiting

The controversial issue of private high school recruiting for athletics has reached a high point this year in Colorado after the big school 5A football championship game was played between two private schools - Mullen and Regis Jesuit. For the last decade, Mullen - a small Catholic school - has dominated the big school football scene. And, obviously, it has been a target of recruiting violations, as it really seems to pull a lot of kids from city schools and provide "scholarships" to what is arguably an expensive private education. Regis, likewise, has long ruled some sports such as swimming and basketball, and recently rose to the top of football as well. In response, Regis was recently cited by CHSAA regulators for illegally recruiting for its football program.

Public schools are understandably troubled by this skewed emphasis on sports and questionable tactics by private schools to recruit for sports with little regard to their educational role. The most recent case is a huge fine against a Florida private school for recruiting violations. Mandarin Christian high school was fined $142,000 for 25 violations of illegal contact with student athletes. While the excessive nature of the fine is of concern, I applaud the Florida system for taking such a serious interest in a serious issue. The problem with this issue is it is so hard to prove, and thus, when they can, I believe regulators really have to make it hurt. Colorado did not do so with Regis, thus basically condoning the behavior. Florida may have gone a bit over, but hopefully schools will rethink what has become a really ridiculous game.

Shanahan's Fault

Who knew the Denver Broncos, the once proud championship NFL franchise, could fall so low. Yet, with the meltdown of the team this year - the second in the tenure of now-fired coach Josh McDaniels - Denver is setting a new standard for miserable on the Denver sports scene. The Broncos haven't been this bad since 1971, and with a blowout by Arizona following the firing of McDaniels, there seems to be no end in sight.

So, what happened? Well, here's a theory. This is all the fault of former Denver coach Mike Shanahan. Shanahan the long-time Denver coach, and leader of two Super Bowl Championship teams - albeit with John Elway at the helm - led to this caused this meltdown with one naive, wimpy act in in the 2007 season. That mistake? Bowing to pressure and benching Jake Plummer for NFL neophyte and Jeff George impersonator, Jay Cutler.

The Broncos were 7-3 at the time, and their quarterback Jake Plummer - who led them to the AFC Championship game the year before losing to eventual champion Pittsburgh - was the third highest ranked QB in the league (behind Manning and Brady). If Shanny doesn't bench Plummer and instead makes a few changes on defense - which was and has been Denver's problem all along - then the Broncos arguably still make the playoffs. That gives Jay Cutler one more year of grooming, and without disrupting team unity, Jake Plummer is allowed an out as he seeks a new team for his services.

Thus, in the off season, the Denver Broncos make some necessary changes to their defense, which includes excusing Mike Shanahan of personnel duties - a task he was never suited for and continues to flounder with in Washington. After Shanny gives up some hubris and control, the Broncos can bring young Cutler in a more reasonable manner. They keep the high powered offense, Brandon Marshall is still catching passes, 1000-yard rusher Peyton Hillis is chewing up ground for Denver instead of Cleveland, and the Broncos make the playoffs for the past three years.

But Shana-who? screws it all up, a testament to a monstrous ego that never truly understood how much his success was linked to a guy named John Elway. And if you doubt the size of Shanny's ego, there is a 35,000 square foot house in Colorado and a new over-the-top steakhouse in the Denver Tech Center - which is more glitter than good food - which are evidence of an ego gone wild.

Thanks a lot, Shanny. Think how nice things would be in Denver if you had just grown up four years ago.

BandAid for Christmas

It's Christmas-time. There's no need to be afraid.

At Christmas-time, we let in light, and we banish shade.

And in our world of plenty, we can spread a smile of joy.

Throw your arms around the world at Christmas-time.





I remember first hearing this in my homeroom class freshman year in 1984 ... and it still gives me chills every time. It was a time when I began to be filled with an infinite sense of hope - hope that we could, a small group of people could, change the world. From BandAid to the 9/11 benefit concerts to the relief efforts for the tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, I still believe.

This Christmas, believe.

Throw your arms around the world this Christmas-time

Politics and the Economy

Received this from Darren at RightontheLeftCoast:

Last week the American Enterprise Institute convened a debate between Rep. Paul Ryan and New York Times columnist David Brooks on the subject of limited government. As advertised, Rep. Ryan was to deliver the case for limited government and Brooks was to counter with the case for "energetic" government. The debate was triggered by the Wall Street Journal column co-authored by Rep. Ryan with AEI president Arthur Brooks and David Brooks's column responding to it. (Rep. Ryan continued the exchange here. Charles Murray commented here.)

As is clear from many of my links, I'm a big fan of Brooks, and I think people like Ryan and the AEI tend to way overshoot on "free market paradise." They also overestimate American's knowledge of just what they are voting on when they say they want "limited government." Without doubt, the Democrats way over-extend the reach of government and the welfare state. At the same time, the GOP's faith in the market and limits on regulation is so pie-in-the-sky that it puts a level playing field, the opportunity to compete, and quality of life for average Americans at serious risk. I simply don't trust either of them, as their ideologies blind them to hard core reality of everyday life. But I'd rather have Social Security, public pensions, Medicare, public education, school lunches, the FDA, the CDC, the NIH, PBS, and a well-funded infrastructure spending than not. At the same time, there is much frivolous spending that could be reigned in, and both the states and the federal government have to be rational about entitlements - and that includes public employee pensions that are far too generous.

At this point, I am rather disappointed in a deal that continues to hold down revenue and increase spending after all the hysterical campaign talk about the debt and deficit and sticking our grandchildren with the bill. In terms of tax rates, I would argue that 39% is too high for the top bracket, but that's only true if people are paying them - and members of the top tier have the greatest ability to lower their tax burden through deductions. So this argument about "rates" continues to be disingenuous. Thomas Friedman weighs in with a pretty succinct explanation for how we are still in the hole and we "keep digging." Both the White House and the GOP ought to be ashamed of themselves for this senseless inaction.

International Test Rankings, Again.

The PISA test results are out, and once again the critics will note that American students are seriously lagging the rest of the industrialized countries in academic achievement. I would of course qualify that our students are lagging others in test scores - and what that actually means is what the real discussion should be. Certainly, some critics like Bill Gates or former Colorado Education Commissioner are going to argue this is a "wake up" call and a catastrophic moment in America's history. These cries have been the same since about 1983 with "A Nation at Risk." But, then, of course, the slacker American youth went out and invented the internet economy and participated in two glorious waves of economic expansion. At the same time, the rest of the world started to catch up to America economically, and passed America in test scores.

Certainly, these results of mediocrity, in which Americans are so completely average, are disturbing. And there is no doubt that American schools are lacking the rigor and effective instruction that many Finnish and South Korean schools exemplify. Much of this has to do with the entitlement of public education here, and a lot has to do with the conflict of skills versus effort that I mentioned in a previous post. Certainly, there is much we can and should do. Yet I am always suspicious of standardized test evaluations, knowing many American students asked to take the test simply don't take it seriously. My experience is the our best still compete with the best in the world, and even if they trail in test scores at fifteen, our top students are still turning into top doctors, engineers, scientists, inventors, businessmen/women, humanitarians, activists, parents, neighbors, and citizens.

So, Arne Duncan can call it a "wake up call," but he can't change the culture from Washington. That happens on a small scale with committed communities and individuals.

Voucher Debate Going Forward

The issue of allowing parents to receive a percentage of state funding to use at any school - public or private - of their choice continues tonight as the Douglas County School Board opens discussion and consideration of the issue. As I noted before, the location of this recent voucher issue is generating some controversy, as vouchers have always been touted as a way for poor kids in struggling schools to escape those conditions - by contrast D.C. schools are some of the wealthiest and most successful in the state.

Interestingly, an earlier law in Colorado was struck down by the state supreme court precisely because it violated constitutional rights of local control. Because this would be decided at the local level, advocates argue it would pass constitutional challenge. The initial school board meetings were largely attended and hotly debated, as some people argued for the right to use their tax dollars as they see fit, while others protested taking away money from public schools to support more exclusive private ones. People could reasonably argue that perhaps the individual can only request a voucher for the amount he paid in taxes, as opposed to being able to use state and federal funds as well as dollars paid by other community members.

Because Colorado has open enrollment, there has been less apparent need to push the issue of school choice. Thus, this does seem to be simply an ideological battle. And, of course, some have amusingly speculated that the debate would immediately be squashed if someone were to open a muslim school teaching sharia law in the district. That's an interesting qualifier.

Skills or Effort?

It's not unusual, it seems, for kids to move through American schools with adequate to above average grades only to discover in outside assessments that the kids really don't know what they're talking about. It may be B+ students in class who perform below proficiency on state tests, or it's often college students who seemed to breeze through high school with A's, B's, and C's but end up failing or in remedial classes in college.

The New York Times profiles this issue in an article about schools in Minnesota and administrators who began to seriously, and rightly, question the discrepancy in results. It seems that we are developing a population of kids who are quite adept at "doing school." They do their homework, take notes in class, get by on tests, and (in my opinion) earn "extra credit" for work not indicative of true knowledge or skill - the EC for a box of Kleenex is one of the biggest abominations of grades.

Thus, it's no surprise that half the students who go on to colleges and universities don't actually earn a degree. Clearly, the issue is "rigor" or more specifically a serious lack of it in the classroom. My students have long complained about how hard it is to get an A in my class, and it often seems they expect the A, or at least a high B, for effort. That's simply should not be the case - and it will have huge ramifications for them later on.

Love Happens

While I don't have any recollection of it being in theaters, I recently rented the movie Love Happens, starring Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston. The description on the RedBox from where I rented it described the movie as basic Romantic-Comedy, and I thought it was worth at least a buck and a half hour of my time. Yet, as the film developed, I realized this is more than the average Rom-Com - it's a truly meaningful movie that grows on you as it reels you in.

This apparent Romantic-Comedy that seemed to get little press turns out to be so much more, and it surprised me in a way movies don't often do anymore. If you're looking for an entertaining couple of hours, I highly recommend giving this flick a try.

Parents and Education

There has been much talk recently about the role parents play in the academic success of their kids. JoanneJacobs has recently posted about this, and Geoffery Canada continues to call on families to step up for the good of their kids. For, it's pretty clear that regardless of changes made to schools, if the families are not buying in, the changes will not ensure success.

Thus, it's refreshing to see the approach taken by the inspiring leader of a long-struggling school in Denver. Principal Antonio Esquibel is exactly the type of leader needed in a school like Abraham Lincoln High School of the struggle Denver Public Schools. Reform efforts in Denver have begun to key in on the importance of parent buy-in. And when Esquibel can report that Parents' Night which used to draw fewer that 100 adults is now pulling in 1,500, we know he's on to something.

Of course, the argument has always come - but what if the parents simply don't step up? What about those kids? Are they destined for failure? While there's a lot of evidence for that, it is simply unacceptable to abandon them. Schools need to do everything they can to help kids succeed in spite of their home lives. But if the emphasis on academics begins in the home, it will be all the more likely the schools will succeed.

Education Reform Jumps the Shark

If you pay attention to the education reform game long enough, you will begin to seriously question the knowledge of the reformers and the naive gullibility of the public and the politicians they elect. Some critics have noted the problems such as Diane Ravitch in her book Left Back: One Hundred Years of Failed School Reform. It takes a knowledgeable historian to remind people there was never any Golden Age for education - keep in mind that Rudolph Flesch wrote Why Johnny Can't Read in 1955.

So the issue of education reform continues to go round and round, and some areas improve while many others stay stagnant. One former teacher and current education consultant argues that education has reform has "jumped the shark." His recent commentary in the Washington Post has a lot of compelling information and a copious number of links that are certainly worth investigating.

Food Safety

Pass the F.D.A Food Safety and Modernization Act. Call your senators' offices and urge support of this comprehensive bill. It is really a no-brainer, as recent food-borne illness breakouts and revealing coverage of corrupt, or just dirty and ill-managed, food production facilities have made regulation of the food processors a common cause across party lines.

Alas, some - like the Glenn Beck's of the world - are resisting this common sense action out of naive ideological bias and irrational conspiracy's of government regulation. It is astounding that in nearly a century of existence, the FDA does not have the authority to test food for pathogens or require a recall. Seriously - the FDA cannot demand/force a recall of food products it knows to be dangerous, even lethal, to consumers. All food recalls are voluntary on the part of the industry. This is corrupt and dangerously foolish.

Two of our strongest and most eloquent critics of the food industry - Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser - have a well argued and succinct commentary on the issue in the New York Times today. It is well worth the time.

Pass the "Food Safety Bill."

The Teenage Brain

The baffling and random behavior that comes from the incomplete wiring of the teenage brain is not news to any high school teacher - though even people who deal with teens for a living can always use more information to help understand "why they act that way." This Sunday's edition of Parade Magazine offers a concise and up-to-date summary of what science continues to learn about the development going on "upstairs" in the teenage years.

The most significant ideas are the lack of development in the dorsal lateral pre-frontal lobe - or critical thinking section - of the brain. Teens are, to put it crudely, very much still "brain stem driven cavemen" in the way the see and approach the world. However, the important information for educators, and the education system as a whole, is the understanding the complex process of synapses "pruning" that goes on in these years as the brain prepares itself for what it's actually going to need in life. Unnecessary, or under-utilized, skills and knowledge is shut down.

This "pruning" that will inevitably take place is the most significant argument for a well rounded classical, or liberal, education. However, more than simply exposure to the content, the teachers and the system need to do a much more effective job of explaining and teaching kids what is happening to their own brains and why we do what we do and why we expect what we expect.