What were they thinking at WRAL-TV this morning? Put some cute kids on TV? That must be it, because the rest of their baseball/school piece was nonsense.
To introduce the problem of finding and retaining good teachers, WRAL displayed footage of baseball tryouts (for 8 year-olds, or so) in Johnston County. Coaches were filmed as they took notes and thoughtfully watched kids batting, fielding, pitching, and running on the field. The message–they were really weighing the potential contribution of each kid trying out.
Next?cut to footage of Johnston County school officials in a committee setting. “The same process” is going on across the County, we hear in voiceover, as school officials seek out teachers for Johnston’s public schools.
Really? The same process?
I think it would be great if teachers actually did ‘tryout,’ so that only the truly effective performers were chosen and retained on the team. There are ways to do this, but schools don’t do it, in large part because teachers and teacher unions strenuously object. What do you suppose would happen to Little League, if players had to have officially sancitoned credentials, or courses, before being allowed to apply for a pitching position?and then never got evaluated on their actual pitching? Strike One for the tryout process analogy.
Next, let’s note that Little Leaguers play for the love of the game, for free, while teacher’s unions hold students and school systems effectively for ransom. Considering compensation, psychic and otherwise, the differences are huge. So, Strike Two.
Despite the dangers of bad analogies, I’ll offer my own comparison?of how baseball players and students advance. Two misses out of a possible three won’t get you thrown out in baseball?not a problem for the sport or the players.They can still advance, score, and finish based on one home run hit. In North Carolina’s public schools, it’s also possible (and has been a common standard) to advance with a 33 percent testing success rate. Not nearly so happy a result for students as for ball players. Does public education mimic Little League baseball? Not in any way that is currently beneficial to students, parents, or taxpayers. No Strike Three, perhaps, but an F nonetheless.
