A Must Read...

George Will is usually a must read, but his recent article about public school propaganda is at best, comical, and at worst, frightening.

It's hard enough to get high school students to take any assignment seriously, much less some of the ones he mentions in the article.

We'll see more of this...

How does the saying go? "Absolute power corrupts absolutely?" Throw in money, rewards, prestige, and a huge dash of moral relativism and you get...cheating scandals. 

The Atlanta public schools cheating scandal is about as bad as it gets. Let's hope it's not just the tip of a larger iceberg.

The two things that disturb me most are:

1. No one really seems to be making the simple observation that cheating is, well, WRONG. It seems in Philadelphia, administrators changing test answers won't get you arrested...or fired.

2. How is it possible that not even one employee (with any sense of right) reported the scam? Maybe the moral relativism runs deeper than most would care to admit...

Bring on school choice.

A Warning to College Professors...

A recent blog post from a former public school teacher is making some national headlines.

I really perked up when I read the criticism of AP classes.  I've blogged several times on the trends surrounding AP, and that I thought the non-AP crowd was growing.  The author mirrors some of the main concerns that I have had.

Love the article - here's to hoping that more and more families start looking for schools that are not burdened by the world of Federal regulation.

Spelling is rough...

Here's my favorite line in this article:

The school official interviewed by CBS Tampa Bay said he did not think the teacher meant to intentionally hurt any of the children.

Recommended reads from 2012 . . . part 2

Some more books that shaped my thinking in 2012 with irrelevant comments from someone who has never written a book . . .

9.  Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath
I have kind of an addiction to personality tests.  It's a goal of mine to have every personality test ever made confirm what I already know: I will score in the dead center of every grid, graph, or axis ever made.  Sigh.

10.  I've Got Your Back, A Leadership Parable - Biblical Principles for Leading and Following Well by James C. Galvin.
Big fan of this read - probably the best book on leadership that I've read that Scripturally defines the link between serving and leading.

11.  Accounting for Dummies by John A. Tracy
Don't laugh.  I can finally understand the accountants on our board of directors.

12.  Drive by Daniel H. Pink
Big fan of the Pink and Gladwell genre of "throw out what you think explains human behavior and consider our explanation that will make your head spin." Cool stuff.

13.  The Sacred Acre, the Ed Thomas Story by Mark Tabb
I knew this story because of the connections to the Packers (greatest team in NFL history) and read the Sports Illustrated article.  This is the more in depth version of the heart-wrenching tale.

14.  What Great Principals Do Differently by Todd Whitaker
I re-read this book every two years or so.  Really good for school administrators.

15.  The Legacy Builder - Five Timeless Principles for 21st Century Leaders by Rod Olson
Being a former coach, I related to some of the fictional content links to the larger principles.  I've lent my copy of this book to several people.

16.  God Space, Where Spiritual Conversations Happen Naturally by Doug Pollock
Shifts the focus for Christians from "conversion" to "conversation."  I have often pushed the faculty and staff of Lutheran High School to make our environment a "God Space" where conversations happen frequently and naturally and lead to a greater knowledge and love of God.