There's a decidedly school-based theme to today's news headlines.
WHYY's 91FM news has two stories today about school-related issues. In these stories they chronicle two of the most important groups of people who work in Philly's schools - the teachers and the cops - neither of whom get paid enough for what they do.
In fact, according the Metro, not only do the cops not get paid enough, but there's way too few of them to keep order. They ought to talk to the prison guards, whose staffing shortages have led to a number of creative solutions.
Perhaps not as many cops would be needed if they had better food in those schools. Granted, this story doesn't mention the quality of Aramark's food but I can imagine that there's way too little fiber and way too much fat in the typical school cafeteria.
Finally, if you're the parent of a school-aged child and you want to evaluate his or her school, just listen to a Daily News Op-Ed contributor. After years of research, he's got it all figured out:
So four things - openness, honesty, service ahead of self and positive outlook - define the good school. Both parents and policymakers should note that none of these has anything to do with money, or certification, or in-service training, or the quality of the buildings, or how many reports get filed.
Philadelphia students return to school on Monday. Good luck, everyone.