Just show me the finish line...

Recently I read The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. He explains the way food comes to our table, or fast food restaurant, by detailing the history of four meals he eats. The section in the book on small organic farming introduces us to a farmer, Joel Salatin, who owns and operates Polyface Farm in Swoope, Virginia. Mr. Salatin is quite a character.



Among other things, he raises chickens and cows on his farm. He talks about the massive government beauracracy surrounding the slaughtering of animals, which makes it almost impossible for small farmers to legally produce meat in large quanties. Mr. Salatin certainly has his baises against government regulations, but in one particular excerpt, he stated a challenge to these government regulators.



In order to assure food safety (I read this book before the peanut butter scare), the USDA creates a series of regulations all aimed at food safety. However, they leave one out. They do not actually require the measurement of bacteria (harmful or other) once the chicken is packaged. The government's theory is if everything along the line is safe, clean and hygenic then the final product will be. There are approximately 40,000 cases of salmonella in the United State each year. Mr. Salatin feels that the only real test of the safety of chicken meat is to take a sample as it is being packaged. Now here comes the line, "Just show me the finish line, I will figure out how to get there!"



Recently the governor of Ohio, Ted Strickland, in his State of the State address talked about education reforms. It included quite an impressive list: all day kindergartens, change in teacher licensing, change in tenure rules and laws, replace Ohio Graduation Test with ACT scores, revamp the funding system, dictate the number students in a kindergarten class (no more than 15), and lengthening the school day and year. I am sure there were others.



Buried in there was something that Farmer Salatin might agree with: make a certain ACT score the new "finish line." The rest are, in effect, telling us how to get there.



While all this was making news in Cleveland, Bill Gates produced his first annual letter for his foundation. It is available at http://www.gatesfoundation.org/annual-letter/Pages/2009-bill-gates-annual-letter.aspx.



When he begins talking about education he almost always puts it in this context: one million high school students a year drop out; and nationally, 71% of students graduate (58% of Latino students, 55% African American students). The Gates Foundation has given over $2 billion to education.



It began by helping cities create small schools and funding the replication of effective schools. The Cristo Rey Network, of which Saint Martin de Porres High School is a member, is the only private school network funded with this money. He states in his annual letter: "We will continue to invest in replicating the school models that worked the best. Almost all of these schools are charter schools. Many states have limits on charter schools, including giving them less funding than other schools. Educa­tional innovation and overall improvement will go a lot faster if the charter school limits and funding rules are changed."



(Here is an excerpt from the Cincinnati Enquirer, February 5, 2009, "Strickland's office confirmed Wednesday that the two-year budget proposal would reduce state funding for charter schools from $617 million in the current school year to $497.4 million in the next school year. Then it would increase to $533.7 million the following school year.


Over the same period, overall state spending on education, in general, is supposed to increase by $925 million.")



Gates went on to talk about a major shift in funding for education by his foundation. He has admitted that most of the earlier experimentation with small schools was, overall, not making enough of an impact. He calls for a new finish line: 80% of high school students will graduate in four years and will be fully ready to attend college by 2025. What the Foundation has also found is: "One of the key things these schools (the successful ones being replicated by earlier funding) have done is help their teachers be more effective in the classroom. It is amazing how big a difference a great teacher makes versus an ineffective one. Research shows that there is only half as much variation in student achievement between schools as there is among classrooms in the same school. If you want your child to get the best education possible, it is actually more important to get him assigned to a great teacher than to a great school." Hence the Foundation is going to be spending much more money and focus on teacher development.



Superintendant Eugene Sanders, shortly after the Governor's address, laid out his plan as reported in the Plain Dealer:



"Cleveland schools chief Eugene Sanders outlined his plan for moving the district forward:
• Turn around low-performing schools or close them.
• Reward teachers for performance, not seniority.
• Get rid of ineffective teachers.
• Build on innovative programs such as single-gender academies and schools specializing in science, technology, engineering and math.
• Encourage parents and community to get involved in the schools."



Where is the "finish line?" Using terms like "low-performing," "ineffective," and "performance," allude to one, but certainly not as transparent as Mr. Gates': 80% of high school students will graduate in four years and will be fully ready to attend college by 2025.



We need to build upon risk taking and innovation. Personally, it bothers me that the goal is only 80%. I know that it is a realistic goal based on the national average today of 71%, yet somehow that is sad. In any event our leaders need to be clear on the finish line and then support those educational endeavors that are moving towards it or even crossing it.



We need clarity and simplicity in our "finish line." I am reminded of this famous story:



The Talmud in tractate Shabbos 31a relates the following well-known story of Hillel:


"On another occasion it happened that a certain heathen came before Shammai and said to him, "Make me a proselyte, on the condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot." Thereupon he chased him away with the builder's cubit that was in his hand. When he came before Hillel, (he also asked Hillel to teach him the entire Torah while standing on one foot) Hillel replied, "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah while the rest is commentary; go and learn it."



Here is a simple goal (recitable on one foot): "80% of Cleveland high school aged students will graduate from an accredited school fully ready to attend college...by 20XX."



Next...Hill 537