Boy, I Had a Great Post Almost Written

Too many late night shots of milk at Rick's Cafe Americain have robbed me of my recall.

I read something really interesting about American education the other day.  Basically, someone took all those test scores that show that American high school graduates are lucky not to drown by staring up at the rain, and then correlated them for the wealth of the school districts.

What this study found was that American students who come from wealthy school districts - where classes are smaller and education is valued within that community - are at the Top O'The World!  America's best schools produce students who achieve as well as any students anywhere.

But, as we are learning, about 30-40% of school age children live in poverty.  They live in communities where education has no value in and of itself.  Their schools are overcrowded and often underfunded.  Their parents often have minimal education themselves.

They drag down the average.

I've been saying that for years, that it's not fair to compare the average American to the Chinese students who come to America for college, because the Chinese student who shows up is gleaned from the top of the top of a country of 1.2 billion people.  But while I've taught some ridiculously talented Chinese students, I've also taught some ridiculously talented American students, too.

Anyway, it would be a really awesome post... If I could find the study, but I'm becoming aware of the long term effects on my brain from twelve years of rugby.