Historic Snaps

Public schools, in the eyes of different beholders

This from David Hawpe in the Courier Journal:

The easiest thing in the world to concoct is alarmist rhetoric about American education.

Any bad news about U.S. schools is seen as more evidence of America's decline, particularly now, with the prematurely designated Unipower in such reduced circumstances and gleeful detractors already debating whether India or China will succeed to world leadership.

The disparagement and denunciation of the country's public schools, in particular, has been relentless during the Reagan era, as Republicans used their political platforms to claim moral superiority (they insisted friends of public education were guilty of "the soft bigotry of low expectations") as well as superior policy insight (they deemed it absurd to abandon inner city children to the misfeasance of unionized faculties at non-market-driven schools).

Of course, that awful era -- in which free market competition was deemed the answer to any and all problems, no matter how many victims it made - is mercifully coming to an end.

The irony is that conservative intellectuals, who desperately wanted to promote Ronald Reagan as their answer to Franklin D. Roosevelt, now are faced with explaining how the era named for their hero has ended in the same kind of economic disaster that FDR was elected to clean up...

...We all should hope that the NCLB changes being worked out in Washington, and any changes made by the 2009 General Assembly in the Kentucky accountability system, follow the rule they teach in medical school: First, do no harm.

As for me, when weighed down by alarmist rhetoric I turn to the list of destinations for last year's Jefferson County Public Schools seniors. They're all there, from the Ivy League redoubts and "highly selective" out-of-state private and public campuses to the best in-state schools. And no one JCPS high school has a corner on competitive admissions, although some do produce more than others.

That's not the way to judge school systems, but it does confound the rhetoric of public schools' belittlers.

Ramsey Tosses the Faculty a Bone

Willihnganz: "The heat on this one is on us."

Since U of L President James Ramsey knew there were legitimate concerns about former Dean Robert Felner, his dismisive comments to Mark Hebert calling faculty concerns "anonymous crap" was disengenuous...at least.

His justification - that Felner's behavior was somehow OK, if it produced results - is equally troubling.

In the quest for numbers, somebody seems to have forgotten that the best educators are in the people business.

From Page One:

...In a mid-May email discussion earlier this year, Ramsey alluded to “issues” surrounding Felner in a message about a Board of Overseers meeting. Here’s what he said, “Given the issues with Robert right now it actually might be better to hold this until things are settled.” ...

...[There's an email] from Jim Ramsey to Alicia Sells, Associate Vice President for Government Relations, about sending a follow-up letter to the General Assembly (DAMAGE CONTROL!) outlining “positive things happening” while staying “away from any reference to Felner.” ...

Ramsey goes on to say that Mark Hebert and [C-J's] David Hawpe “won’t let it die.” No mention of the bloggers making his life a living hell.

Records indicate that despite being aware of issuses involving Felner, Ramsey did not see this public relations disaster coming.

Unknown to Ramsey, a blogger (Jacob Payne at Page One Kentucky) had received tips and damaging information through an open records request, published it, and fed it to the mainstream media.

The mainstream media took a while to follow up, but when they did the story came to the attention of the state. Suddenly, Ramsey was "caught off guard" and started learning details through the media that he didn't know himself. In one email he told Provost Shirley Willihnganz,

"those in the Univesity and those in the press - have much more insight and
information than we do."

Ramsey's remarks to Hebert precipitated a strong negative reaction from faculty, illustrated by an email from Staff Senate Chair and Staff Trustee, Brent Fryrear, who informed Ramsey that his comments "may not have played as intended," and that his comments seemed to confirm the fears of those faculty who were reluctant to report bad behavior "for fear of retribution."

Willihnganz's response was to acknowledge that "the heat on this one is on us," and direct that she and Ramsey see any open records releases "before they go out." "...it's pretty disconcerting to see things that WE haven't even been told on the front page of the paper,"she wrote.

This from C-J:

U of L president's letter acknowledges Felner problems

In a letter to University of Louisville alumni, donors and boards, President James Ramsey acknowledged the administration knew there were problems with former education dean Robert Felner’s leadership and management style.

“While we can’t talk about personnel actions, we did take steps to improve the situation,” Ramsey said in the letter dated last Friday. “Rightfully so, we have faculty who are hurt and disappointed by events of the recent years.” ...

...In his letter, Ramsey explained his decision to hire Felner to head the college, which was criticized in a 2001 report over its effectiveness, interaction with local teachers, and “indifference to its alumni’s employment issues.”

Felner’s “references were very good,” Ramsey said. When Felner was hired, “our mandate to him was to turn things around and do it quickly. He became a change agent — a role all of our new Deans have played.” He said the administration believed early concerns about Felner’s leadership “stemmed from the rapid change and heavy demands he had placed on his faculty.”

Ramsey twice noted that four formal grievances were made against Felner, but he said “none of those grievances moved forward as negative toward the Dean.” ...

Universities need money and energy to maintain momentum

Somewhere at the top of the next Kentucky governor's to-do list must be a push to rev up state government support for our publicly assisted universities.

I say "publicly assisted" because state colleges and universities increasingly have had to develop their own sources of funding -- not just by jacking up tuition, although that certainly has been a frequent resort in recent years, but also by competing for more research money and expanding their lists of private givers.

Only 18 percent of the University of Kentucky's budget comes from Frankfort.

In that sense, taxpayers are getting a real bargain, especially at the Kentucky institutions that are getting better and better, and earning more distinction and recognition in the American higher education community. ...

...While you were spending time at the water cooler speculating on who would complete the most passes, Brian Brohm or Andre' Woodson, UK president Lee Todd was embarking on a "See Blue" tour across the state, and the reference isn't to the color of football jerseys.

Along with the UK provost, deans and others, Todd will be selling the importance of a college degree and explaining his school's push to grant more of them, while earning a place among the nation's top 20 public research campuses.

He's right. Kentucky deserves to have a university on that list.

In a message to the state last week, Todd pointed out that both UK and U of L "have dramatically increased their efforts, hiring faculty and earning more external resources to push the boundaries of discovery…." Last year, UK's research expenditures reached a record $324 million, and that's no abstraction, unrelated to the daily life of Kentuckians. ...

...A college degree shows up not only in bigger paychecks but in "greater tax revenue and a stronger democracy."

The statistics show that "no matter how you classify it -- intellectual curiosity, empathy, etc. -- those with the highest degrees were more likely than others to say it's important to understand the opinions of others."

This from David Hawpe at the Courier-Journal.