We needed a Jewish Business Model for our schools

Friends told me after church today about their neighbors who will be pulling their 10th grade daughter out of East High School because after conferences they were shocked that not a single teacher knew who their daughter was. Her East classes are typically 45 students strong. I have no idea how they got the OK to get into Hermantown because my impression is that the Hermantown Schools are already choking on Duluth Students and Hermantown parents are getting sick of it.

For years our District’s administration, even the Almanza Administration, reassured everyone that neighboring schools couldn’t accommodate or didn’t appeal to Duluth families. With 45 kids in a class that is no longer true.

Our fearless leaders gave generous contract settlements to teachers to keep them happy and quiet so as not to screw up the Red Plan building program. Our teacher’s reward is a school system spiraling into collapse.

All of this should have been anticipated. It began with a plan that was pushed down our community’s throat without a vote. But it was shored up with lies or to be very generous disengenuity. Dr. Dixon will leave as the ca-ca hits the rapidly spinning blades attached to a mechanically driven axis.

I’ve skipped many opportunities to blog for the past month because…Well Heck, its the Holiday Season! I’m busy. The Trib continues its non reportage of anything Red Plan. The economy is humming – don’t mention the Red Plan! The City’s demographics are dropping – don’t mention all the new schools! Wonderful things are happening all over the Twin Ports – Ah, but don’t mention ISD 709’s half billion dollar blunder!

My friends wondered if this would make it into the blog. Well, it was reading this story that set me off:

Han Bing, the (pseudonymous) author of Crack the Talmud, says a series on the “Jewish Bible” by a prominent publisher made him realize that “ancient Jews and today’s Chinese face a lot of the same problems,” such as immigration and isolation. The business rules he lists include such unsurprising, and universal, exhortations as “tell a customer about defects,” “help more people,” and “a partnership based on emotions is not dependable.” No statistics are available on the sales of this sliver of the book market. …

Where does Dr. Dixon fit in?

“tell a customer about defects,” Did he? Hell no. He just made things worse by telling the Trib that the School Board would soon have an additional $32 million to spend.

“help more people,” Sure cram your customer’s children in to packed classrooms and make your harried teachers deal with the chaos.

“a partnership based on emotions is not dependable.” Yeah, and keep your dwindling majority on the School Board wrapped around your finger with tears and fantastic tales about how only fools are unable to see the marvelous clothes that are being woven for them from magical thread.

About the author