DH> MS>     The _student_ is not the "customer" in the K-12 industry, 
DH> since 
DH> MS> neither pays the bills nor (for the vast majority of students) 
DH> choos
DH> MS> school he goes to.  
DH>  
DH> In basic "Quality" terminology, you have customers and suppliers - in 
DH> the K-12 environment the students *are* indeed customers and the 
DH> teachers (in the case of classroom instruction) are the suppliers. 
    Then what is the taxpaying public that is _paying_ for the service, or 
the parents who are _shopping_ for the best deal by choosing what attendance 
zone to live in?
    It's also real hard to take a second-grader as a "customer" in the K-12 
market when nobody would see the same kid as the "customer" in the 
pediatric-medicine market, even though the kid receives the services in both.
DH> The process of aligning customer needs (note that is "needs" not 
DH> "wants") with supplier capabilities is a critical step in the process 
DH> and theoretically (at least) should totally involve both the customer 
DH> and supplier.  A customer that understands the supplier's limitations 
DH> and capabilities in meeting their needs is going to understand the 
DH> process better and enjoy a greater opportunity of having their needs 
DH> satisfied.  
    Agreed, but that won't happen if the K-12 "customer" is misidentified as 
the elementary-school child whose only interest is classes with easy grades 
and no work!  K-12 students, particularly up to high school, have 
radically-different desires than their parents (or the general public) do, 
and satisfying one means making the other upset.
DH> MS> happy.  It's the adults, particularly the parents, whose loyalty 
DH> to 
DH> MS> system you cannot afford to lose...not satisfying the kids!
DH>  
DH> Certainly the parents are also a "customer" in the education process 
DH> as 
DH> well, but I have to take exception to your comment about "not 
DH> satisfying the kids", if (as a professor) I don't meet various needs 
    You're a _professor_ whose students are _adults_ who themselves are the 
ones shopping for your services, choosing whether to enroll at your college 
and then what profs to take.  It's a world different in K-12.
--- Simplex BBS (v1.07.00Beta [DOS])
---------------