POL, Northlake student appointed to state board [NL]

Governor Rod Blagojevich press release:

Governor Blagojevich and State Supt. Randy Dunn name fifteen outstanding students to State Board’s Student Advisory Council
Illinois students offer front-line view of education policies and programs

SPRINGFIELD – As more than 2.1 million students statewide get back into the swing of things for the 2006-07 school year, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich and State Superintendent Randy Dunn today announced that 15 outstanding sophomores, juniors and seniors from across Illinois have been selected to represent their peers on the Illinois State Board of Education’s (ISBE) Student Advisory Council.

“These students were selected because of their service to their schools and communities, and because of their interest in Illinois education,” said Gov. Blagojevich. “They have the unique opportunity to provide input to the State Board of Education and shape programs and policies based on their perspectives. It’s an important responsibility and one that I think these young leaders are ready for.”

And here's the part about Nicholas J. Diaz, junior, West Leyden High School:

Nick Diaz, son of Jose and Rita Diaz of Northlake, is a student at West Leyden High School. Nick is involved in many activities at school including the Principal’s Advisory Board, Math Team, Model United Nations, the Honors Plus Program, the Class of 2008 Advisory Board, and the Barbecue Club. Music is Nick’s passion, and he participated in Marching Band and is a member of the cello section of Chicago’s Protégé Philharmonic. Nick hopes to attend a prestigious music school or university and pursue a career in music and business.

My take on Blagojevich is that he's mostly indifferent to public policy issues, but he's got a keen sense of how to get positive media coverage. His sense doesn't seem to extend to avoiding negative media coverage.

Congrats to Nick Diaz. I hope he gets something from the experience. But I'm skeptical whether this advisory council exists for any purpose other than to make Blagojevich look like he cares about education.

And a politician looking like he cares about education is different from him actually caring about education. And caring about education is one step removed from doing something about education. And a governor can do something about education without doing anything constructive about education.

Don't forget that in addition to being able to vote for Rod Blagojevich and Judy Baar Topinka there will be another candidate for governor: Rich Whitney (Green Party).