Lexicographer review — Page 4 of 37 S1

If there were such evidence , you can be sure you would have heard of it .

If we wish to be serious about American education , we know exactly what to do -- and , just as important , what not to do .

There are many successful schools scattered throughout this nation , some of them in the poorest of ghettos , and they are all sending us the same message .

Conversely , there are the majority of unsuccessful schools , and we know which efforts at educational reform are doomed beforehand .

We really do know all we need to know , if only we could assimilate this knowledge into our thinking .

Thus at the recent governors ' conference on education , Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas announced that “ this country needs a comprehensive child-development policy for children under five . “

A comprehensive development policy for governors over 30 would seem to be a more pressing need .

What Gov. Clinton is advocating , in effect , is extending the educational system down to the pre-kindergarten years .

Whether desirable or not , this is a child-care program , not an educational program .

We know that very early exposure to schooling improves performance in the first grade , but afterward the difference is quickly washed away .

Let us sum up what we do know about education and about those education reforms that do work and do not work : -- “ Parental involvement “ is a bad idea .

Parents are too likely to blame schools for the educational limitations of their children .

Parents should be involved with their children 's education at home , not in school .

They should see to it that their kids do not play truant ; they should make certain that the children spend enough time doing homework ; they should scrutinize the report card .

If parents are dissatisfied with a school , they should have the option of switching to another .

If parents are dissatisfied with a school , they should have the option of switching to another .

-- “ Community involvement “ is an even worse idea .

Here , the experience of New York City is decisive .

Locally elected school boards , especially in our larger cities , become the prey of ambitious , generally corrupt , and invariably demagogic local politicians or would-be politicians .

New York is in the process of trying to disengage itself from a 20-year-old commitment to this system of school governance , even as Chicago and other cities are moving to institute it .

-- Students should move up the educational ladder as their academic potential allows .

No student should be permitted to be graduated from elementary school without having mastered the 3 R 's at the level that prevailed 20 years ago .

This means “ tracking , “ whose main purpose is less to permit the gifted youngsters to flourish ( though that is clearly desirable ) than to ensure that the less gifted get the necessary grounding for further study or for entering the modern world of work .

The notion that tracking is somehow “ undemocratic “ is absurd .

The purpose of education is to encourage young men and women to realize their full academic potential .

Haney peered doubtfully at his drinking companion through bleary , tear-filled eyes .

He had no ready answer , as much from surprise as from the fit of coughing .

Was the man drunk or crazy or both ?

But his new-found buddy had matched him drink for drink until he lost count , and the man 's eyes were still clear .

The guy is off his rocker , Haney thought to himself , and looked away from those eyes .

Phil usually went alone and kept to himself , sitting in a corner and passing the time by nursing his favorite grudges .

But he decided he would n't mind company in return for free drinks , even though he made good money at his job .

Phil was like that .

Now he wondered if it was worth it , having a screwball for company .

He really did n't take the offer seriously , but he began to feel uneasy .

This favorite grievance was not the landlord .

He had already quite forgotten about him .

In fact , he had only mentioned him on the spur of the moment .

His real grievance was Lolly .

Toward the end of his fourth hairy highball , while he was moodily making wet rings on the table-top with the bottom of the glass , he became aware that he was not alone .

Prior to 1932 , the pattern was nearly the opposite .

What accounts for the results of recent decades ?

A simple economic theory may provide at least a partial explanation for the split personality displayed by Americans in the voting booth .

The theory relies on three assumptions :

1 -RRB- Voters can “ buy “ one of two brands when they select their political agents -- a Republican brand that believes in the minimalist state and in the virtues of private markets over the vices of public action , and a Democratic brand that believes in big government and in public intervention to remedy the excesses attendant to the pursuit of private interest .

If they put a Republican into office , not only will they acquire less in terms of local benefits but their selected legislator will be relatively powerless to prevent other legislators from “ bringing home the bacon “ to their respective constituencies .

Each legislator , after all , is only one out of 535 when it comes to national policy making .

In races for the White House , a voter 's incentive , at the margin , is to lean Republican .

Although a GOP president may limit local benefits to the voter 's particular district/state , such a president is also likely to be more effective at preventing other districts/states and their legislators from bringing home the local benefits .

The individual voter 's standing consequently will be enhanced through lower taxes .