School Choice - All the Way Around

School choice advocates are seriously committed to the idea that parents and children know what is best for them in terms of their education - at least when it comes to choosing a school and where they want tax dollars allocated. The logical extension of this is the right and authority to choose how much or how little - or if any - school they want. And, there is something, maybe "ethical," in nearly all of us - save the most liberty-oriented of libertarians - that is reluctant to make schooling completely optional. And I wonder about that.

When I first entered public education, and began encountering issues of student motivation and truancy despite the best efforts of committed teachers and counselors, I briefly entertained the idea that schools need to back off on forcing education upon anyone. Of course, the benefits of a well-educated population and the responsibility of adults to guide children to the best long-term decisions are nearly indisputable. Society certainly needs to encourage - and perhaps at times require - that parents and children submit to mandatory education not only for "their own good" but for the good and stability of society.

But how much to "mandate" is the issue. It's no secret that I believe high school "graduation" should come at the age of sixteen, with the final two years of education reserved for academically motivated students. The expansion of career and technical education should become much more prominent, and the number of students who qualify for taxpayer-funded higher education should be limited based on much higher standards for admission into bachelor and master degree programs. Beyond that, I wonder about core requirements in middle and high school curricula.

Think about school choice. How serious are we? Should education be much more a la carte?

Expensive Urgent Care

Several years ago, I took my family off my employer-sponsored health care because the premiums had become astronomical. Even with the district sponsored contribution, my out of pocket expenses for my wife and two was exceeding $12,000 out of pocket. And my family doesn't consume much health care - often not much more than our yearly check-up and immunizations. Thus, we pursued a catastrophic plan for them - with $7000 deductible. So, over the years we have saved a lot in premiums, though we haven't actually had "extra" money to put into the HSA that we qualified for.

It all came around this month when my wife sliced her finger while cutting vegetables. It was bare a half inch long, and not that deep, but it would not stop bleeding for nearly forty-five minutes. So, after a call to the doctor - it was a Sunday evening - we headed off to the urgent care clinic for five stitches. Initially, the clinic was deceptive, as always, about the cost, but we made our insurance situation clear. The clerk took our insurance and said it looked like we simply had a $100 co-pay for this procedure. That would have been nice.

The clinic's bill came this week - the bill is $1,500. For twenty minutes in a room and five stitches. And that doesn't even cover the doctor's bill - we're still waiting on that one. We haven't begun to negotiate, but conventional wisdom says they'll shave off 10-15%.

And that is the problem with American health care.

Charlie Brown Christmas

Tonight ABC will air the holiday classic A Charlie Brown Christmas at 7 pm, and it is definitely worth an hour of time, regardless of your age or denomination. The cartoon has enjoyed popularity for nearly fifty years, and it has lived on despite the simplicity of the presentation and story. In an era of Disney/Pixar cartoon extravaganzas, the pure and profound creations of Charles M. Schultz stand out as simply classic. To put it all in perspective - and offer a bit of interesting history - Michael Cavna of the Washington Post recently published an insightful feature on the enduring quality of this holiday treat. It's worth reading before you watch the show.

For Profit College on Probation

It was only a matter of time before a plunging economy and employment scene mixed with an irrational emphasis on college and bachelor degrees for everyone would lead to a corruption of higher education. In Colorado it has become an issue as the state looks at for-profit universities who are misleading applicants in terms of the "value" of high priced degrees. Recently, the state of Colorado put Westwood College on probation after it became clear that recruiters and advisers at the school were misleading students about their credentials and job prospects after graduation. Westwood seems to be developing a reputation for this problem, and their online programs have actually been banned in Wisconsin and Texas. This corrupt business practice is a problem that is only going to get worse if we continue the "college-for-all" and the "college-as-the-key-to-all-our-problems" mentality.

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.