“Public educators, like Soviet farmers, lack any incentive to produce results, innovate, to be efficient, to make the kinds of difficult changes that private firms operating in a competitive market must make to survive.”

NH's system should be studied with that very idea in mind.

That could be a quote for discussion if Mike were to call in to my Saturday morning radio program wezs.com The Advocates between 9 and 11. We stream live from 8:05-Noon. Local education activist Ken Gorrell, conservativeblogger.com Willima Smith as well as a state representative will be in studio. bnyoung@metrocast.net

Who the f*** is Carolyn Lochhead and who the hell cares? This quote could have been made my by next door neighbor Mr. Snerd and have as much validity. Carolyn has apparently never heard of the Golden Apple Awards given to outstanding teachers. How many thousands of teachers compete for these awards and strive for that measure of excellence? She is shallow very very shallow. In my High School education I shall never forget Ms. Gibbons- Algebra, Mrs. DeBernidenis-Biology, Mr. Buchanan-Spanish 3 yrs, (he sent us cards every summer from some Spanish speaking country) need I go on. Mrs. Lochhead is full of it, at least she has not been to any schools I know about.

Yeah they did a great job on you, Waffler. All these great teachers and you still only got a C average? You must have been a real hard case. And yet you are always trying to teach us something on this blog. ;-) Do not confuse criticism of government education with criticism of good teachers. I don't think it would be hard to prove that public school teachers are not necessarily the creme of the crop. Obviously we learn from others who already have learned -- the point is being able to make the choice oneself instead of having crap shoved down one's throat. Waffler, striving for excellence necessarily means abstaining from mediocrity.

Public educators and Soviet farmers get paid about the same and get the same degree of respect and support from their respective societies. Okay, maybe some of the farmers got more recognition.

Golden Apple Awards? Is that where the incompetent give awards to the marginally competent? I went to a university known for producing teachers. Even there the college of education was known as where those who could not make it the colleges of arts and sciences went to get their degrees. Tenure is a wonderful thing (for the mediocre).

Oh I forgot you five star guys are Mr. Snerd in drag and have as much validity.

Waffler, I didn't put down five stars, but its because I care, you've peeked my interest. How much validity does Mr. Snerd in drag have and, what innovative, and efficient scale is measuring such validity? hmmm;-)

Mr. Snerd in drag? I guess that makes me a liberal. I thought we liberals celebrated perversity.

Stupid statement!

Mike once "YOU" start defining what creativity is you have effectively ended all possibilities at creativity. A creative society will not know what is next but will be looking forward to it.

Remove the elements of innovation and competition, and the quality of the product -- whatever it is -- will eventually devolve into the minimum quality the purveyors can get away with. A free market in education is as necessary as a free market in food, energy, medicine, communications, transportation, finance, and representative government. When we are forced to pay for crap, then you know that you are supporting a 'racket.' For the most part, government schooling is a racket designed to employ government workers while producing citizens that will comply without question to government dictates.

It appears not to be the same education us older folks rec'd in the US today. The experiments seem to be going on and on...as describes some time ago:Education should aim at destroying free will so that after pupils are thus schooled they will be incapable throughout the rest of their lives of thinking or acting otherwise than as their school masters would have wished ... The social psychologist of the future will have a number of classes of school children on whom they will try different methods of producing an unshakable conviction that snow is black. When the technique has been perfected, every government that has been in charge of education for more than one generation will be able to control its subjects securely without the need of armies or policemen.
-- Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762-1814) German philosopher, psychologist, considered the father of German nationalism Source: Prussian University in Berlin, 1810, quoted by The Impact of Science on Society by Bertrand Russell, 1952

Well said Archer, " Striving for excellence means abstaining from mediocrity." " And I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge." concerning our Freedom and Liberty. " But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." As for the Wafflers, " Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do l lying lips a prince." Excellence, Huperecho, " huper " above", echo "to hold". excellency more strictly " the surpassing thing, ( namely the knowledge of Christ)" returning one to their tree of liberty. Kata Huperbole, from the Greek, " exceeding more excellent."