Rod Paige is a good man who truly cares about kids. My sister (two school age children) moved from the Houston suburbs into the city because he had done such a good job of turning Houston's failing public schools around. Unfortunately, she is now regretting her decision because with Paige gone to Washington and the RATS back in charge of city government, the schools there are regressing again.
From “Public Schools: Issues & Reality; Education & Politics” found at
http://pages.prodigy.net/krtq73aa/educate.htm “Because of the inherent limitations on central planning, it must be obvious that the most effective education--hence the least wasteful education--is that closest to home; that which may be most easily molded to the specific needs and interests of the individual child. This does not mean that we should scrap comparative testing of school achievement. On the contrary, establishing minimum standards for what constitutes a certain level of education is absolutely necessary, if that particular level is to have any significance. But on the question of how a child gets to that level--or how best to try to bring a child to that level--all human experience suggests that the less centralized planning and direction, the better. We need to free local education from the theorists' procedural check lists. Ultimately, we must return to the reality, that child rearing is primarily the responsibility of a child's parents. This is not only the most practical course. It is the basis of traditional social morality; a major part of the dynamic, ongoing ethic, which gives continuity to the heritage of any people.”
The “Return of the Gods” website is rapidly becoming the ruler of common sense I measure political agendas against. I can’t recommend it enough.
http://pages.prodigy.net/krtq73aa/home.htm