Comments on: Holiday! http://www.eduwonk.com/2008/12/holiday.html Education News, Analysis, and Commentary Sat, 11 Feb 2012 21:00:28 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 hourly 1 By: john thompson http://www.eduwonk.com/2008/12/holiday.html/comment-page-1#comment-31798 john thompson Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:02:18 +0000 http://www.eduwonk.com/?p=3702#comment-31798 I'm glad he's taking on school boards, and like Ed Researcher says, local funding. Get these businessmen bogged down in that unwinnable war and they won't be able to stick their noses into issues where they might have an effect. I’m glad he’s taking on school boards, and like Ed Researcher says, local funding. Get these businessmen bogged down in that unwinnable war and they won’t be able to stick their noses into issues where they might have an effect.

]]> By: Dave http://www.eduwonk.com/2008/12/holiday.html/comment-page-1#comment-31590 Dave Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:21:02 +0000 http://www.eduwonk.com/?p=3702#comment-31590 "It has always perplexed me that the giants of free enterprise are nearly always advocates for centralization." Proponents of free enterprise (like myself) are used to the idea that the best ideas and best leaders and consistent highest performers float to the top. So, when we (I) first visualize centralization, it sounds great: instead of having 250 school boards of various levels of competency picking out textbooks and approving expenditures, you have one state-wide board, or one federal board, and they pick the best books for the whole nation. In reality, without competition, there's not much drive to keep the state/federal boards full of the best leaders, and you end up with the best politicians rather than the best leaders. tl;dr: Proponents of centralization hold out hope that we can build a truly great system (sometimes because they're used to building truly great orgs under free enterprise). Detractors believe that's virtually impossible, and settle for the lesser evil of duplicating school board decisions thousands of times across the country. “It has always perplexed me that the giants of free enterprise are nearly always advocates for centralization.”

Proponents of free enterprise (like myself) are used to the idea that the best ideas and best leaders and consistent highest performers float to the top. So, when we (I) first visualize centralization, it sounds great: instead of having 250 school boards of various levels of competency picking out textbooks and approving expenditures, you have one state-wide board, or one federal board, and they pick the best books for the whole nation.

In reality, without competition, there’s not much drive to keep the state/federal boards full of the best leaders, and you end up with the best politicians rather than the best leaders.

tl;dr: Proponents of centralization hold out hope that we can build a truly great system (sometimes because they’re used to building truly great orgs under free enterprise). Detractors believe that’s virtually impossible, and settle for the lesser evil of duplicating school board decisions thousands of times across the country.

]]> By: Paul B http://www.eduwonk.com/2008/12/holiday.html/comment-page-1#comment-30651 Paul B Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:03:34 +0000 http://www.eduwonk.com/?p=3702#comment-30651 It has always perplexed me that the giants of free enterprise are nearly always advocates for centralization. Makes me go hmmmmm! When you read the scribblings from our past leaders birthed in one room schools or worse, it defies logic to suggest that bigger will be better. We've got big right now in LA, D.C., N.Y., etc. Are they working? Are they cost effective? It has always perplexed me that the giants of free enterprise are nearly always advocates for centralization. Makes me go hmmmmm!

When you read the scribblings from our past leaders birthed in one room schools or worse, it defies logic to suggest that bigger will be better. We’ve got big right now in LA, D.C., N.Y., etc. Are they working? Are they cost effective?

]]> By: Attorney DC http://www.eduwonk.com/2008/12/holiday.html/comment-page-1#comment-30643 Attorney DC Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:44:27 +0000 http://www.eduwonk.com/?p=3702#comment-30643 I agree that really large districts can create problems. As a former teacher in a large district in California, there were many staffing and communication problems that I think might be avoided in a smaller district. I had experience working in one small district on the East Coast that was run more efficiently. Of course, you can't make blanket comparisons based on a sample of two districts, but it seems to make sense to me that at a certain point large sized districts can run into problems with administration. I agree that really large districts can create problems. As a former teacher in a large district in California, there were many staffing and communication problems that I think might be avoided in a smaller district. I had experience working in one small district on the East Coast that was run more efficiently. Of course, you can’t make blanket comparisons based on a sample of two districts, but it seems to make sense to me that at a certain point large sized districts can run into problems with administration.

]]> By: Ed F http://www.eduwonk.com/2008/12/holiday.html/comment-page-1#comment-30558 Ed F Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:17:52 +0000 http://www.eduwonk.com/?p=3702#comment-30558 A more promising strategy to improve achievement and efficiency would be to reduce the number of very small districts and reduce the number of very large districts. Large districts are a mess and should be divided into smaller districts in which information can flow up and down much faster. How is a superintendent really going to know what is going on in a districts with over 100 schools? A more promising strategy to improve achievement and efficiency would be to reduce the number of very small districts and reduce the number of very large districts. Large districts are a mess and should be divided into smaller districts in which information can flow up and down much faster. How is a superintendent really going to know what is going on in a districts with over 100 schools?

]]> By: Ed Researcher http://www.eduwonk.com/2008/12/holiday.html/comment-page-1#comment-30487 Ed Researcher Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:28:50 +0000 http://www.eduwonk.com/?p=3702#comment-30487 Someone should also explain to Mr. G that local control is a function of local financing. If he wants to nationalize education, then he had better be prepared to nationalize education finance. Good luck with that one. Someone should also explain to Mr. G that local control is a function of local financing. If he wants to nationalize education, then he had better be prepared to nationalize education finance. Good luck with that one.

]]> By: Ed Researcher http://www.eduwonk.com/2008/12/holiday.html/comment-page-1#comment-30485 Ed Researcher Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:20:48 +0000 http://www.eduwonk.com/?p=3702#comment-30485 Somebody tell Lou Gerstner about Intermediate Units. Somebody tell Lou Gerstner about Intermediate Units.

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