Why Things Can’t Be Fixed
Dear Fixers:
Colbert King has written another column about the criminal ineptitude
of the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/07/AR2010050704354.html,
detailing the story of how the three teens accused of murdering DC
Public Schools Principal Bryan Betts had all absconded from DYRS
custody. “I’ve written nearly forty columns about DYRS. . . . What's
new in today's column?” King asks rhetorically. “That's just it;
there's nothing new. Today's column will be dismissed by DYRS defenders
as just another King anecdote. I contend that it illustrates what's
wrong with a juvenile justice system that looks good only on paper. DYRS
cries out for investigation. But not by a blue-ribbon commission
assembled by the mayor, the DC council, and the court, as some have
suggested. Such a venture will be captured by paternalistic, progressive
forces who uncritically accept any claim DYRS makes.
“The juvenile justice department needs to be investigated by an
agency equipped with subpoena powers, an ability to take sworn
testimony, and a clear mandate to examine performance and determine the
truth and falsity of the representations that DYRS makes about itself.
Don't look for any help from Mayor Adrian Fenty, who thinks DYRS knows
all the answers. And Attorney General Peter Nickles? Which is he, the
city's lawyer or the mayor's consigliere?
“The council's Human Services Committee chairman, Tommy Wells
(D-Ward 6), who oversees the city's juvenile justice system, is a
logical choice to lead such a probe. But he can't bear being perceived
as a possible critic of a ‘progressive’ venture. That leaves us with
more of the same. That is, until a DYRS escapee cuts down another public
celebrity from the ‘good’ part of town.”
DYRS can’t be fixed because no one in DC politics wants to
incarcerate dangerous juvenile felons in secure facilities. That’s
another reason why this year’s election lineup is such a
disappointment. DC’s government needs a moderating force, someone to
act as an effective opposition to “progressive” ventures, to raise
the questions that a government unified on the left won’t ask. There
are no moderates, and certainly no conservatives, on the city council or
in the mayor’s office. In the past year, DC has not only refused to
bring the juvenile justice system under control; it has legalized
medical marijuana, legalized same-sex marriage, expressed its opposition
to enforcing immigration laws, made voter fraud easier by instituting
same-day voter registration, and chased after a host of faddish liberal
causes that put us along with San Francisco on the fringe of American
politics. But no politician is running for office on a principled
platform of opposition to “progressive” policies. And a government
without opposition is unchecked, and runs to extremes.
#####
Cilantro lime sorbet: I mentioned cilantro and lime as two
ingredients Dorothy and I were going to incorporate into a sorbet or
gelato. We searched for recipes, and settled on a very simple one on “Biscuits
and Such: A Southern Food Blog,” run by Elena Brent Rosemond-Hoerr,
who lives in Takoma Park, Maryland. From the story that accompanies the
recipe, http://biscuitsandsuch.com/2009/05/29/cilantro-lime-sorbetto/,
Elena recreates a sorbet from an unnamed gelato store that is obviously
Dolcezza Gelato, http://dolcezzagelato.com,
which had a grand opening celebration today for its new branch in Dupont
Circle. Here’s the recipe. Make a simple syrup from a cup of sugar, a
cup of water, and a tablespoon of lime zest. (Bring the sugar and water
to a boil, stir them until the sugar dissolves, and then cool.) Chop a
quarter cup of cilantro finely and muddle it into a paste with a
tablespoon of sugar. Squeeze a cup of lime juice. Mix all ingredients in
an ice cream machine, and after it’s done place it in a freezer to
harden. It’s tart. I like it that way, but if you find it too tart,
add some more sugar to the simple syrup, or add some cane syrup to the
ingredients. Next up: kiwis, probably kiwi and lime sorbet.
#####
I’ve written before that I get too many spam E-mails to scan, up to
ten thousand spam E-mails a day. Well, ten thousand is nothing. On
Wednesday, I got several hundred thousands spam E-mails, and that was
enough to crash my E-mail. If you sent a late submission for themail on
Wednesday evening or an early reply to themail on Thursday morning,
please resend it, because anything sent to DCWatch then was lost.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Improving Our Schools
William Fox, Professor Emeritus, Department of
Management, University of Florida, gryfox@gru.net
Placing almost exclusive emphasis upon test-score improvement as a
basis for rewarding teachers is patently unfair and, when coupled with
inadequate performance-appraisal systems, drives teachers toward
unethical behavior or departure to other pursuits. A primary reason the
public has not been more supportive of higher funding for education has
been the poor relationship between better funding and higher educational
quality, as revealed by a number of studies.
Use of an appraisal system based upon the following guidelines should
go a long way toward turning things around. Those associated with
schools need to fairly identify true “stars” and “inadequate
performers” as one of the bases for: justifying good pay for
outstanding teachers, providing for self-guidance on the part of
newcomers and present staff, and providing an important basis for
terminating those who cannot, or will not, measure up. Research findings
show that performance raters achieve much better agreement about who are
Stars and Inadequate Performers than they do about who are Average,
Above-Average, and Below-Average performers. Yet placing individuals in
the middle three categories is a time-consuming, often arbitrary, and
resentment-causing activity that most raters dislike having to do. Also,
clearly, an average performer in a superior organization deserves much
more recognition than an average performer in an inferior one. No wonder
that many teachers and their unions oppose conventional merit-rating
systems!
To avoid a popularity contest, assure greater fairness, and provide
for constructive self-guidance, there should be behavioral documentation
for both Star and Inadequate Performer nominations via the Critical
Incident Technique. To lay the groundwork for this, students, parents,
veteran administrators, and experienced teachers should be polled at to
what specific, observable behaviors they associate with outstanding and
inadequate performance for each important aspect of a teacher’s job.
Then, required behavioral documentation for Star and
Inadequate-Performer nominations from fellow teachers, adminstrators,
students, and parents should be based upon the most agreed-upon
behaviors, and the agreed-to relative weights that should be assigned to
these.
The results of this analysis can also constructively guide the
initial training and subsequent selection of teachers, as well as
provide a much-needed, qualifying context for the currently
over-stressed evaluation factor of test-score-improvement. This approach
also sets the stage for more productive review sessions between the
rater and ratee. Since the ratee has a sound basis for self-rating, the
session should start with the rater asking, “How do you rate yourself
for this past period through the presentation of relevant, supporting
behaviors?” No rater can be all-knowing so, if behaviors are mentioned
that she or he is not aware of, the rater can postpone giving his or her
evaluation to provide time to check out the validity of the assertions,
if this seems necessary. A sound behavioral basis for rating also
facilitates the use of motivational goal setting during the review
session. For example, if the ratee wants to be a Star, what specific
behavioral goals does she or he plan to adopt by such and such a time?
If stardom is not the goal, which specific, Inadequate Performer
behaviors will he or she need to avoid?
This approach permits a rater to be more of a counselor and coach
than one who appears to sit in arbitrary judgment. For discussion of
relevant research and related citations, see: “Improving Performance
Appraisal Systems” by William M. Fox, National Productivity Review,
Winter 1987-88, pages 20-27.
###############
Re: “Sorbets,” themail, May 9: A truly refreshing change from the
usual lead article. A simple and timely recipe for the season. Would
that we could sometimes consider a “simple recipe” to address some
of the issues of the day, many of which are not as complicated as we
make them. A simple recipe is sometimes exactly what we need. But, alas
— way too many unlearned, unwise cooks in the kitchen.
###############
InTowner Street
Crimes Report Updated
P.L. Wolff, intowner@intowner.com
The Selected Street Crimes feature, while not included in the print
edition but instead available exclusively on our web site by clicking
the Street Crimes button directly below that for Community News, is now
updated through April 5th and has been added to the archived reports
back to July 3, 2009.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
May 11 District of Columbia Citywide Pediatric
Health Forum
Eric Rosenthal, erosenth@cnmc.org
Are you ready to engage in a citywide effort to improve the health
and well-being of youth in the District? Are you eager to take a
collective stand and make significant change? If you are an
action-oriented leader committed to making the District a healthier
place for children, then we invite you to participate in the District of
Columbia Citywide Pediatric Health Forum. This working forum will
develop a collaborative response to the report “Health and Healthcare
Among District of Columbia Youth,” released October 2009 (http://www.childrensnational.org/advocacy/CommunityBenefit/).
The forum will be held on Tuesday, May 11, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00
p.m. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mt. Vernon
Place, NW. To register, please go to http://www.childrensnational.org/advocacy/CommunityBenefit/.
For more information, please contact Inga Champ at ichamp@cnmc.org
or 471-4859.
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Dracula Is Dead:
Romania’s Post-Communist Success, May 13
George Williams, George.Williams2@dc.gov
In December 1989, Romanians overthrew dictator Nicolae Ceausescu,
ending more than forty years of Communist totalitarianism. Twenty years
later, Romania is a thriving democracy, an economic success, and a
member of NATO and the European Union. What’s the story behind the
Romanian miracle? Former United States Ambassador to Romania Jim
Rosapepe and his wife, award-winning journalist Sheilah Kast, discuss
Romania’s growth based on their book Dracula is Dead: How Romanians
Survived Communism, Ended it, and Emerged Since 1989 as the New Italy. A
book sale and signing will follow the program. Thursday, May 13, 7:00
p.m., at the Cleveland Park Neighborhood Library, 3310 Connecticut
Avenue, NW. For more information, call 202-282-3080.
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National Building Museum Events, May 15
Johanna Weber, jweber@nbm.org
May 15, 2:00 p.m., Investigating Where We Live Traveling Exhibition
Opening Reception. The 2009 Investigating Where We Live: Focusing on
Change exhibition of student photographs travels to the United Planning
Organization’s Shaw Community Service Center. Last summer, students
photographed the neighborhoods of Columbia Heights, U Street, and Shaw,
and then curated and designed an exhibition featuring their work. Free;
registration not required. Refreshments will be served. Held at the UPO
Shaw Community Service Center. 1726 Seventh Street, NW.
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Goethe-Institut Open House, May 17
Ellie Brown, ellie@goethedc.org
I’d like to invite you to a blogger open house at the Goethe-Institut
Washington on the evening of May 17 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. We’re about
a month away from our summer schedule and I’m reaching out to let the
readers of DC Watch know about our events, exhibits, films, and that our
summer language sessions start on June 7. The first hour of the open
house will be networking, the second a tour, film, and short
presentation. There will be refreshments, too. The Goethe-Institut is a
global German cultural institute, with a branch here in Washington, DC.
I’ve put together this micro-site with schedules of our class dates
and levels, and of our cultural events (films, exhibits, discussions,
etc.): http://goethedc.org.
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