DUBIOUS DOCTORATES

Parents and boards of education probably feel comforted when they see the title "Dr." preceding the name of the superintendent of schools. Knowing your district is in the hands of a highly trained professional adds peace of mind.

Unfortunately, though, "doctorates of education" are relatively lightweight degrees. The dissertation and research expectations are far lower than those required for a Ph.D. in other fields. And that master's degree on the wall of the principal's office? The lectures the principal sat through were probably taught by someone who knows little about running a school in today's world, where principals are responsible for far more than making buses run on schedule. Credentialing programs for school leaders range from "inadequate to appalling," and the coursework required is only marginally related to on-the-job skills, according to a report released Monday by the president of the Teachers College at Columbia University.

So why are education colleges filling classrooms with candidates seeking these marginal degrees? Because of a cozy system that rewards everyone except students, who don't get the school leaders they need. The degrees are cash cows for the colleges that offer them. While a university might take in $8,000 a year in tuition for one of these degrees, the program costs only about $6,000, according to the report. That spillover money gets sent to other departments, such as chemistry or physics, which have expensive labs to maintain.

As for the principals and superintendents, they win the credential they need to help land their next job or pay increase. Knowing that the degrees are useful only as a symbol, they seek out the least demanding programs offered in the most convenient locations. Too many weak principals and superintendents emerge from this pipeline. That creates problems in the classrooms. Studies of why some schools are more successful than others have arrived at the same conclusion: Successful schools require strong leaders.

Frustrated with the status quo, some school districts are hiring outsiders, especially former generals, who lack a background in education. The KIPP Academy Charter Schools, which are succeeding with inner-city children, train their own principals. One solution, the report concludes, is eliminating the doctorates and master's degrees and replacing them with a new master's degree that focuses on needed skills. That's worth considering. Unless changes are made, those impressive looking diplomas should be eyed with skepticism.

Source







SURPRISE! CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOLS CROWDED

I sent my son to a Catholic High School for similar reasons. And he did very well

Long Island's Catholic high schools are booming as fall enrollments continue to climb, a striking contrast to the diocese's elementary schools, which are struggling in many places to fill seats. In September, there will be about 13,400 students in the 11 high schools within the Diocese of Rockville Centre, an increase of more than 9 percent over last year. "The demand is there. Many more students would go to Catholic high school if they could afford to go," said Joanne O'Brien, the diocese's associate schools superintendent.

The increased high school enrollments come as the student population is on the decline at the diocese's 57 parish and regional elementary schools. For the past eight years, the lower-grade population has slipped almost 10 percent, while high school enrollment has risen more than 12 percent. A recent diocese survey of families with children in religious education programs found that cost was the primary reason for the empty seats. Priests, principals and parents say that, while Catholic families may want to do both, they often choose to bypass lower-grade parochial education to save money for high school.

At the same time, the competition for space in most Catholic high schools has frustrated some parents who have paid tuition bills since kindergarten only to find that 40 percent of high school students cross over from public schools. The average annual high school tuition is about $6,000, although it varies by school and does not include as much as $3,000 in private busing for some students. About 9 percent of Long Island high school students attend Catholic institutions, and slightly more than 3 percent attend other private schools.

While strong academics and an emphasis on religion have always been the draw of parochial schools, the increased demand seems to extend from the perception that Catholic high schools, with their dress codes, behavior codes and emphasis on traditional values, offer a more structured environment. "For many it is a faith-based decision; others are looking for a better environment or a different environment for their child. The atmosphere is what makes the education," said Brother Ken Hoagland, principal of Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale, which had a record 2,200 applications this fall and admitted 586 more students for its incoming freshman class than it planned.

Parents said they see Catholic schools as a place where their teenagers won't be exposed to drug sales and sexually suggestive clothing. "I thought Catholic school would be raising the bar for my child and what I expected of them ... There are rules and expected codes of behavior," said Rick Sacco of Farmingdale. Sacco, an administrator for New York State, said he gladly pays the $1,000-a-month tuition for both his son Richard, a sophomore at Holy Trinity Diocesan High School in Hicksville, and daughter Annemarie, a senior at Our Lady of Mercy Academy in Syosset.

The fall's islandwide ninth-grade class of 3,562 students is likely to grow because some schools still have empty seats, including St. Dominic's in Oyster Bay, where the parish is struggling to overcome deep divisions from the clerical sexual abuse crisis. There is also room at Academy of St. Joseph in Brentwood and McGann-Mercy Diocesan High School in Riverhead, which the diocese is rebuilding after it took over the school in 2002 from the Sisters of Mercy.

The other schools have waiting lists. "I get phone calls every day from principals and then parents get every priest they know to call," said the Rev. James Vlaun, the chaplain at St. John the Baptist High School in West Islip, describing the ongoing lobbying to secure seats in the freshman class that already is at a high of 520.

Forty percent of incoming ninth-graders in Catholic schools will come from public schools. Parents who made the switch said their teenagers are getting more individual attention than in public schools. Just as important in their decision making is how the other students dressed and acted. Joanne Lauro of Yaphank said her son John is "blossoming" since he left public school for McGann-Mercy. "The attention and praise they get makes them succeed at a higher level," Lauro said.

More here





HARVARD PROFESSORS DISCREDIT HARVARD

Post lifted from Taranto

"I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part."--Eric "Otter" Stratton (Tim Matheson), "Animal House," 1978

"In a sharp and unexpected rebuke of University President Lawrence H. Summers, members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) voted yesterday that they lack confidence in his leadership."--Harvard Crimson, March 16, 2005

The 218-185 vote "was tantamount to a vote of no confidence," explains the Crimson; by a wider margin, the faculty also approved "a second motion, expressing regret for Summers' Jan. 14 remarks on women in science and certain 'aspects of the President's managerial approach.' "

As the Crimson notes, "The two non-binding motions, unique in Harvard's history, are largely symbolic gestures--only the Harvard Corporation, the University's top governing body, can force Summers to step down." In short, it was a show trial, both in procedure and in effect (that is, in the lack thereof). Fittingly, the venue for this vain display was the Loeb Drama Center.

What's the point? Blogger David Bernstein, a law professor at Virginia's George Mason University, explains:

It's pretty simple, isn't it? The far left at Harvard is extremely frustrated with political trends in the U.S. Their votes and activism against Bush were not only completely ineffectual, but they don't even have a Democratic governor in one of the most liberal states in the country. So they pick on the closest thing Harvard has to a powerful right-winger: moderate Democrat and university president Larry Summers, who becomes a stand-in for all evil conservative white men, from Bush on down. The far-left faculty finally participates in a vote that it can win, and experiences cartharsis [sic]; that'll teach the world to ignore them!

The Harvard faculty majority are acting like a china service in a bullring. Their attitude, with its toxic mix of self-pity and thuggery, is common on campus and is often characteristic of an alienated political minority. You can imagine some hysterical Harvard prof shouting, "Larry Summers is not my neighbor! Now you sit down!" But just as Howard Dean's Iowa tantrum and scream were bad for the Democrats and worse for Dean's candidacy, National Review's Stanley Kurtz argues that the latest Angry Left eruption in Cambridge is likely to prove self-destructive:

I think the vote of no confidence in Lawrence Summers is a wonderful thing. Harvard continues to discredit itself with the American public. The faculty is trapped. If Summers resigns, this extraordinary example of political correctness will come back to haunt Harvard, and the entire academy, for years. But if Summers hangs on, the faculty itself will have been humiliated--checked by the very fact of public scrutiny. Either way, Harvard is tearing itself apart. So long as the public simply writes off the academy, the mice can play. But the intense public scrutiny in this case puts the captains of political correctness into a no-win situation. Like the closely watched Susan Estrich fiasco, this battle is doing lasting damage to the cultural left. As they say, sunlight is the best disinfectant.

The Crimson reports that after enduring the faculty fit, "Summers received a round of applause from undergraduates" after delivering "a wide-ranging talk outlining his overarching vision for the future of the University":

While the crowd quizzed Summers on an array of issues, the president conducted an informal poll at last night's forum to identify students' primary concerns.

A chorus of [students] complained about the poor quality of academic advising and a lack of interaction between students and tenured professors.

When Summers asked the crowd whether "two senior faculty know you well," barely a quarter of students raised their hands.

Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach, pass symbolic resolutions.





States' math standards don't measure up: "In a Thomas B. Fordham Foundation study published in January, states earned an average grade of a 'high D' for their mathematics content standards. 'We were able to confer A grades on just three states: California, Indiana, and Massachusetts,' writes David Klein, who along with a panel of five mathematicians conducted the study. 'Alabama, New Mexico, and Georgia -- all receiving Bs -- round out the slim list of 'honors' states. The national average grade is D, with 29 states receiving Ds or Fs and 15 getting Cs.' Chester Finn Jr, president of the Fordham Foundation, writes in the foreword to the report, 'the essential finding of this study is that the overwhelming majority of states today have sorely inadequate math standards.'"

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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL schools should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the poor and minimal regulation.

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