The post ended on an explanatory note about league tables. These are the English variation of our school rankings under No Child Left Behind (an abomination of a law). Steven Mintz begins his comment at that point.

I couldn’t agree more about “league tables.” Newsweek reported the best high schools in the U.S. in June 2010 and based its selections on how hard school staffs work to challenge students with advanced placement college-level courses and tests. Nowhere in the ranking is the fact that the best high schools are those that serve all of the students not just the very best among them. As a college professor I find it to be disturbing that so many students lack a strong work ethic and motivation to learn for learning sake. How do we measure whether a high school instills these values that are so important to success in college and to create the thirst for lifelong learning? We also should recognize that what a teacher should and does accomplish in the classroom may not be known for years. Perhaps Henry Adams said it best: “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell, where his influence stops.”

The Ethics Sage (Steven Mintz) can be found here. I recommend his web site. It is on my blog roll.

(The Ethics Sage’s current post deals with Jeff Skilling (Enron) and his appeal which if successful could release him from prison.)

James Pilant