Standards

The DC Board of Elections publishes a voter guide that includes brief statements from each of the candidates. Here's one from a Ward Eight candidate for the State Board of Education. Ward Eight is the poorest area in the city. 

The statement of a candidate that declares my information deemed necessary to protect the qualified experiences of/and the integrity for the School Board's Participation are the 10 years of experience Teaching in the Public Schools and the priorities which process the stature of qualified participation to support the focus of the school's mission and accomplishments that defend the appropriate education-with rights to an adequate education.

Another begins like this:

Hello, I am...an inspiring, intelligent, phenomenal Washington with great ambitions, infinite achievements and life long experiences. I was a student in the DC Public School system.

Let me be the first to note that this post is immediately preceeded by one in which I condemn the practice of mocking DCPS employees whose jobs are much harder and more important than mine. But there's nothing funny about this, not for DC teachers, graduates, or students currently enrolled. It's deadly serious -- we need to do better.