Mr Bird:

I apologize for my error regarding your honorific.

Thank you for the info. However, I have very little interest in Detroit. I believe it is in a irreversible, negative spiral. My participation in this discourse has been based upon the belief that we should stop blaming others and the hope that we learn from the debacle.

My parting comment: there appears to be little correlation between spending on education and quality of its outcome. I believe that IT is revolutionizing education/learning, just as it has every other information-based process.

Those Detroit kids — independently of adult behavour — might have a chance, yet.