MS>     The second-grade student is no more the "customer" of the K-12 s
MS> attends than a dog is a veterinarian's "customer".  Only the person 
MS> either paying the bill (taxpayer) or choosing the supplier (parent) 
MS> taken seriously as a "customer" in K-12 schools, for the same reason
MS> the dog's owner can be seen as the veterinarian's "customer".
 
A dangerously narrow paradigm.  But one you quite obviously subscribe 
to.  I disagree with you Matt, but rather than get sucked into a host 
of messages that beat this topic into the ground I'll concede that we 
see things differently.  Fortunately many of my kids teachers (4 
daughters in grades 1 through 11) *have* treated them as customers and 
it has been a part of why the girls have thrived in school and continue 
to enjoy it.  I will also admit that they've had teachers that treated 
them no better than (to use your example) a vet would treat a dog and 
those have been painful experiences to say the least.
 
BTW, I don't think I ever asked...do you have children in the K12 
system?
 
Dale
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