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What we're invested in is the idea that someone has found a magic bullet that can ease our consciences of the deep injustice done to kids in poverty. The sembla

What we're invested in is the idea that someone has found a magic bullet that can ease our consciences of the deep injustice done to kids in poverty. The semblance of success makes it possible to say, "well, I guess all those failing schools are failing because they're not doing what Ballou is".

skookumchuck 9y ago
Public schools are very good at the facade of success - graduation rates, course descriptions, claims of excellence, glitzy buildings, education levels of teachers, money spent, committee reports, etc. But any measurement of educational results in students is relentlessly dismissed and attacked.
- cinquemb 9y ago
  I think private schools use a lot of the same signals for success as public schools, however their students are often shielded from the downsides due to circumstances out of their control (their parents/family background), and upsides amplified.
  - skookumchuck 9y ago
    Since parents are paying the tuition to private schools, the parents are in a strong position to demand results. Having paying customers makes for a very different dynamic.
    - s73v3r_ 9y ago
      Because they’re paying, private school student bodies are self selected to be students with higher chances of being successful. I’ll go out on a limb and say that few private school students are missing meals at home, for instance.
    - cinquemb 9y ago
      > results Have you ever met a private school student who came from a well off family and their parents didn't demand "results" from them, and they still have a nice life than most people? Because the opposite is less likely to be true for those who didn't come from a well off family, regardless of the "results". These "results" increasingly are meaningless when most people are just prodded through mindlessly to the next step and even more so when family member / family friend was already going to give you a nice job anyways… I guess it also doesn't help either when people increasingly conflate the "results" with knowledge or education in of itself… at best they are mere approximations, however from the article, i seriously doubt we're anywhere near the the best…

skookumchuck 9y ago

Public schools are very good at the facade of success - graduation rates, course descriptions, claims of excellence, glitzy buildings, education levels of teachers, money spent, committee reports, etc. But any measurement of educational results in students is relentlessly dismissed and attacked.

cinquemb 9y ago
I think private schools use a lot of the same signals for success as public schools, however their students are often shielded from the downsides due to circumstances out of their control (their parents/family background), and upsides amplified.
- skookumchuck 9y ago
  Since parents are paying the tuition to private schools, the parents are in a strong position to demand results. Having paying customers makes for a very different dynamic.
  - s73v3r_ 9y ago
    Because they’re paying, private school student bodies are self selected to be students with higher chances of being successful. I’ll go out on a limb and say that few private school students are missing meals at home, for instance.
  - cinquemb 9y ago
    > results Have you ever met a private school student who came from a well off family and their parents didn't demand "results" from them, and they still have a nice life than most people? Because the opposite is less likely to be true for those who didn't come from a well off family, regardless of the "results". These "results" increasingly are meaningless when most people are just prodded through mindlessly to the next step and even more so when family member / family friend was already going to give you a nice job anyways… I guess it also doesn't help either when people increasingly conflate the "results" with knowledge or education in of itself… at best they are mere approximations, however from the article, i seriously doubt we're anywhere near the the best…