Dear Dr. Fryer,
I am writing this letter to you because my wife wants to kick your ass. I think you made an ass of yourself, but I am not inclined to come look for you. I will just say that you should count your blessings that her niece went to Boston University and not Harvard.
To say she is deeply troubled by your belief in paying children to encourage them to is just not accurate. I, sir, am deeply troubled by by your belief in paying children to learn.
She is enraged at you because you have chosen a short cut to success. A shortcut that is antithetical to the true purpose of Education.
Education is not a means to an end.
Sorry, Education is not merely a means to an end. It is the end.
And the beginning.
and all that stuff in between.
Education is not a road to success.
Education IS success.
Education is a way of life.
There are no shortcuts.
To act otherwise is to short circuit the circle of life. Whatever short term gains these children receive will come at the expense of what the larger goal SHOULD be.
My wife thinks you have lost your connection with your people. I disagree.
I respect your committment to closing the achievement gap but I am deeply troubled by you hanging your hat on such a hamfisted short circuiting of educational reform.
You sir, have managed to become the Atkins diet of Educational Reform. Paying for scores may benefit some children in the short term, but it is certainly not healthy won’t do anything to effect the long term health of the child’s educational prospects without fundamental change in the long term.
There are no Shortcuts, Dr. Fryer.
A full and thorough and unyielding thirst for education is the most valuable attribute a family can have. Traditionally it is instilled by parents and manifested in their lifestyle.
You cannot buy that. You can only build it.
To pretend there is a shortcut does a disservice to the children and our culture.
Please rethink this before my wife finds you, for your own safety.
Sincerely,
The InkogNegro
Posted by inkognegro
