To my eye, it is irrelevant that this fellow is liberal, naive or rich. He was willing to put himself on the line, and I give him some credit for that, even though he may not have been very good at what he did.
Let's face it. Those of us who live or work in the District (or in any other large city) are going to have to live with these kids and the consequences of their failed education. To simply say that this is the inevitable result of failed liberal policies isn't going to solve the problem. We have got to make sure that alternative schools are supported, and we have got to keep the pressure on to reform the public school bureaucracies. Stories like this are useful in that regard and should be applauded, not scoffed at.