Re: School Board

[Jack Uretsky <jlu@HEP.ANL.GOV>]

        We have locally elected school boards in order to implement the
populist (I suppose) ideal that our schools be locally "controlled".  In
keeping with this ideal, a school must be evaluated by the extent to which
it satisfies the populace that supports it.
        In my community the measure of school success is the annual
increase in property values in the community.  The realtors claim that we
have wonderful schools, nobody disputes them, and property values go up.
School board members are airhead parents who hope that by serving on the
school board they will accrue favors for their children.  By this
standard, all teachers are super wonderful.
        But, hey!  In California it's all run by a state board, and the
situtation is even worse, I'm told.
                                        Regards,
                                                Jack


On Wed, 6 Nov 2002, Jim Green wrote:

> A close friend was just elected to the local school board.   His major
> election promise is to enhance academics in the schools.  His opposition
> promised to make the schooling experience more enjoyable -- more field
> trips etc etc etc.
>
> My friend needs more ammunition!
>
> For those involved with HSs, how should a HS be evaluated?
>
> Admission to college?
>
> National SAT scores?
>
> BTW the local state SAT scores indicate that the local HS and MS and ES are
> about the same as those at Lake Woobegon.  Do other states have lower level
> testing -- I guess that by now they all have to.  How helpful are they in
> evaluating the school system?  What happens here is that 75% of the HS is
> on the "Honor Roll."  Maybe they do need more entertainment.
>
> National Merit Scholars?  I wonder if our local HS teachers have even heard
> of the NMSs
>
> What is the national  science competition sponsored by Intel or the like?
>
> Perhaps we should poll the students to see how happy they are with the HS
> experience?
>
> Other measurements?
>
> Comments???
>
> TX
>
>
>
> Jim Green
> mailto:JMGreen@sisna.com
> http://users.sisna.com/jmgreen
>
> This posting is the position of the writer, not that of SUNY-BSC, NAU or the AAPT.

--
        "What did Barrow's lectures contain?  Bourbaki writes with some
scorn that in his book in a hundred pages of the text there are about 180
drawings.  (Concerning Bourbaki's books it can be said that in a thousand
pages there is not one drawing, and it is not at all clear which is
worse.)"
                                        V. I. Arnol'd in
                                Huygens & Barrow, Newton & Hooke

This posting is the position of the writer, not that of SUNY-BSC, NAU or the AAPT.