The best and brightest

What I'm Reading: The Lonely Crossing of Juan Cabrera by J. Joaquin Fraxedas

What I'm Working on: Finishing up the tasks that have to be done for my family so I can get back to the writing.

I recently attended a conference where I heard a very well respected leader of independent schools speak. He said something that got me fired up.

First, let me say that while I aspire to be a writer and will keep pursuing that until it happens, I have a bill-paying career in private education.

Back to the story....
This well-respected individual informed us that those people typically going into education are in the bottom 30% of their college classes. I believe this. I don't like it, but I believe it. He pointed out that the "really smart ones" are going into business, medicine, law, etc. I think this is so sad. It's sort of proves that old adage -- those who can do, those who can't, teach.

I don't like it, but in many cases it's probably true. Don't get me wrong, I think alot of really smart people become teachers because that's where their callings and passions lie, but education isn't attracting the best and the brightest.

How much does the federal government spend on education each year?

Almost 60 million. (http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget09/summary/appendix1.pdf)

Not alot considering we're spending billions to bail out banks and a fighter jet costs over twice that.

Maybe if our government valued education a little more and showed it with some dinero, our best and brightest might say, "Hmm... medicine or education? Wow, that's a tough one. They're both great careers."

In the meantime, I'll keep living the good life on my whopping salary as I search out the best and brightest to teach at my favorite school.

M