Choices by some educational leaders don't make the grade

With apologies to Stephen Colbert and his "Better Know a District" segment on "The Colbert Report," here's my first humble installment of "Better Know a Local Politician."

Let's start with Dottie Holtz, Virginia Beach School Board member.

Lots of people have wanted to know more about the outspoken former teacher who supported Sandra Smith-Jones' decision to remain on the board while living 7,000 miles away in Saudi Arabia.

"What better way to bridge the achievement gap than to have somebody standing on the precipice on the other side," Holtz gushed at the time.

"I feel she is in a unique situation to support VBCPS in an extraordinary, unprecedented manner," Holtz added in an email to a reporter.

(Of course, that was before Smith-Jones finally gave in to the outrage of the other 437,993 people in the Resort City and resigned her seat.)

Still, it does make you want to know a little more about Holtz's take on the world. And what better way to know a politician than to check out her Facebook page?

Oh, look. Pictures of Holtz with friends, family and other politicians. Oooh, there's one of her with a "Spirit of Norfolk" life preserver ring around her neck. And some snaps of hurricane damage.

Wait. What's this? A serious post, pleading with people to sign a petition.

Not just any petition, a MoveOn.org petition to "Stop the police repression of Occupy Oakland."

Really? I hesitate to point this out, but Oakland has been the site of some of the most disturbing "Occupy" demonstrations this fall. Protesters there closed the port, and vandalism has occurred. In addition, The New York Times reports that several journalists have been attacked.

Last week, a man was shot to death near the encampment.

Stop the police repression? How about stop the lawlessness?

I called Ms. Holtz to ask about her support for this fringe group on the West Coast and to get her take on local demonstrations.

Alas, she didn't return my call. Still, I do believe we now know her a little better.

How do you spell trouble? Are you sitting down? Good. Newport News schools have announced the death of the weekly spelling test. Yep, the tried and true get-a-spelling-list-on-Monday-memorize-the-words-by-Friday method is history, according to a story in the Daily Press.

Teachers now use a "word study" method that "focuses on patterns instead of memorization."

Sheesh.

Here's a prediction: In five years, no kid in that school division will get past the first round in a spelling bee.

Sadly, this looks like one more fad in education. As a victim of that failed 1960s experiment known as "New Math" - where memorization of times tables was scrapped - I can attest to the damage that can result when wacky educators experiment on little minds.

To this day, if I need to know how much seven times eight is, I have to count on my fingers. And toes. Ask me how to spell restaurateur, however, and I'm good.

In even more alarming education news, we learned Tuesday that Superintendent Richard Bentley is leaving the Norfolk Public Schools after less than 16 months in town. It's unclear if he is absconding or has been sacked. If the latter, it would seem that city officials asked too much of a mere mortal.

Did anyone really expect Bentley to reverse in months a precipitous decline in the city's schools?

Then again, maybe Bentley simply gave up. I'm not sure I'd stay on in a city where politicians salivate over light rail and neglect education.

It's worth considering that the average daily weekday ridership of The Tide is 5,036. Yet approximately 31,000 kids go to school every day.

It's all about priorities, Norfolk.

Kerry Dougherty, (757) 446-2306, kerry.dougherty@cox.net