If students are upbeat, smiling, optimistic, then the school is probably doing a good job. 

But if the students are frowning, depressed, obviously not in a good mood, you know the school is failing.

The proof is in the PLODDING. If they're trudging around like convicts In a prison yard, you know the kids are having no fun.

The proof is in the PLODDING..That's the title of the new episode at Let's Fix Education.

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Education-Podcasts/Lets-Fix-Education-p...

I think the biggest goal any school has is to make the kids feel confident, eager, enthusiastic. Conversely, so much of what goes on in our public schools seems to me a deliberate effort to make the kids give up. Then you can do what Gov. Brown of Oregon did this week, just abolish any standards and then blame this decision on the kids. They're just too dumb to learn reading and arithmetic. 

(By the way, this podcast is episodic. The episodes are not dated, but timeless. Check in any time.)