WhaT does say when the head of the school board can not form a coherent sentence?

[Danno 1,228]

Yeah I know,

I am the last person who should be pointing out the shortcomings of others poor command of the written language.

Really I don't want to pick on this gentleman, but rather a system that will graduate him from both high School and even collage someone who cant form a simple sentence.

Actually, I have seen it happen with my own eyes and it is very reason I am a consistent critic of the Public school system.

Does DPS leader's writing send wrong message?

LAURA BERMAN

The president of the Detroit school board, Otis Mathis, is waging a legal battle to steer the academic future of 90,000 children, in the nation's lowest-achieving big city district.

He also acknowledges he has difficulty composing a coherent English sentence. Here's a sample from an e-mail he sent to friends and supporters on Sunday night, uncorrected for errors of spelling, grammar, punctuation and usage. It begins:

If you saw Sunday's Free Press that shown Robert Bobb the emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools, move Mark Twain to Boynton which have three times the number seats then students and was one of the reason's he gave for closing school to many empty seats.

The rest of the e-mail, and others that Mathis has written, demonstrate what one of his school board colleagues describes, carefully, as "his communication issues." But if these deficits have limited Mathis, as he admits they have, they have not stopped him from graduating from high school and college. In January, his peers elected him president by a 10-1 vote over Tyrone Winfrey, a University of Michigan academic officer.

"I'm a horrible writer. I know that," says Mathis, 56, a lifelong resident of southwest Detroit. His difficulties with language were spotted as early as fourth grade, when he was placed in special education classes. His college degree was held up for more than a decade because he repeatedly failed an English proficiency exam then required for graduation at Wayne State University.

In another city, these revelations might be grounds for disqualification. But Mathis is liked and defended by many of his peers, who cite his collegiality, lack of defensiveness and leadership as more important than his writing skills. Even Winfrey, his defeated rival for the presidency, declined to criticize his qualifications.

But the story of Mathis speaks directly to Detroit's educational conundrum, as officials try to raise standards and the proficiency of its students.

Is Mathis a success story? A man who beat the odds to win political success and career opportunities on the strength of his personality and judgment? Or is he an example of the system's worst failings -- a disinterested student who always found ways to graduate, even when he didn't meet the requirements -- likely to perpetuate lax academic standards if the board wins its court battle with Bobb over control?

"It's kind of scary to even talk about," says Patrick Martin, 49, a Detroit contractor whose 12-year-old son is a student at Noble Middle School.

"If this is the leader, what does it say about the followers? It explains a lot about why there's so much confusion and infighting with the board and Robert Bobb."

Another e-mail

Here's another mass e-mail from Mathis, from Aug. 11, 2009:

Do DPS control the Foundation or outside group? If an outside group control the foundation, then what is DPS Board row with selection of is director? Our we mixing DPS and None DPS row's, and who is the watch dog?

"I told him just last week that he should have his e-mails read by somebody before he sends them out," said fellow school board member LaMar Lemmons Jr., who praises Mathis as a leader he can trust.

"I said, 'If somebody gets ahold of this, it will become an issue that you can't read or write. It will go around the world.' "

Can Mathis read?

"Yes, I can read. I'm capable of reading a lot of information and regurgitation," says Mathis, who told me he sometimes needs to read documents two or three times to fully comprehend their contents but then masters -- and memorizes -- them.

Engaging and honest

Mathis is an engaging man. When I asked him about the grammatical deficiencies in his e-mails, he didn't waffle or grandstand, instead honestly answering questions about his difficulties in school.

High school saw him bouncing back and forth between schools. "I was kicked out and kicked in and kicked out," he says with a chuckle. He credits a high school English teacher with encouraging him to graduate, getting him to attend school "once a week instead of every two weeks" by giving him an audio version of Alex Haley's "Roots," one vinyl record at a time.

He graduated from Southwestern High School in 1973 with what he says was a 1.8 grade-point average but was previously reported as a .98 average. After serving in the Navy, Wayne State placed him in a special program to help academically unqualified students move forward, on the G.I. Bill.

He stayed at Wayne for 15 years, as a student and a counselor, becoming a virtual "prisoner of Wayne," as he jokes, unable to graduate.

Mathis and another student unsuccessfully challenged the use of an English proficiency test as a requirement for graduation. In 1992, when the case went to trial, the lawsuit gained national attention. Mathis said then his failure to pass the test "made me feel stupid." The requirement was eventually dropped in 2007, and Mathis applied to get his degree the next year, after his election.

Understands struggling kids

Mathis, who can be a persuasive public speaker, retired from Wayne in 1995. He's served as a substitute teacher in Detroit schools, run a nonprofit and served on the Wayne County Commission.

In his career, Mathis has compensated for his rudimentary writing skills by seeking help from others and working on his listening and speech skills. "We picked him (to be president) because we thought he has the intelligence for it and the tolerance for disruptive behavior," says Reverend David Murray. "He has that type of calm."

Is it absurd for a man who cannot write a simple English sentence to serve as the board president? Or to lead the elected board of a district that ranks at the nation's bottom for literacy?

The questions are more likely to elicit complex answers than criticism of Mathis.

"I know he's a terrible writer. Oh wow, I've seen his e-mails," says Ida Byrd-Hill, a parent and activist who runs a nonprofit and is a member of Mensa, the high-IQ group.

"His job, though, is to represent the community. His lack of writing skills is prevalent in the community. If anybody does, he understands the struggles of what it's like to go through an institution and not be properly prepared."

Mathis and some of his supporters say his story is about someone who manages his limitations, just as others manage physical disabilities.

"Instead of telling them that they can't write and won't be anything, I show that cannot stop you," Mathis says. "If Detroit Public Schools can allow kids to dream, with whatever weakness they have, that's something. ...It's not about what you don't have. It's what you cando."

Because of his struggles and perseverance, Mathis describes himself as a role model.

But is he?

Laura Berman's column runs Tuesday and Thursday in Metro. She can be reached at (313) 222-2032 or lberman@detnews.com">lberman@detnews.com.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Dude, I've had a guy working for me years ago who was hired on fresh out of college. The guy could not compose a simple email without making up at least one new word in the body of the text. Seriously, he had no written communication skills whatsoever. Otherwise, he was a great kid but it just blew me away how someone can graduate from college w/o a shred of written communication skills - and a lack of command of his native tongue.

[Niels Bohr 72]

Michael Faraday is not a mathematician. In fact, he can't even do basic integral calculus and differential calculus. But, he became a faculty member at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. The most prestigious school of the time in England.

He can visualize how electric field works, and magnetic field works. And, there's a physical law named after him called Faraday's Law. James Maxwell helped Faraday with the mathematics part.

Dr. Hirshfield who wrote a book on the history of Micheal Faraday explained that without other famous physicist to help Faraday's out with his work, Faraday wouldn't have been listened too.

You don't need to be smart to be a leader, you just need the vision.

[luckytxn 2,265]

Dude, I've had a guy working for me years ago who was hired on fresh out of college. The guy could not compose a simple email without making up at least one new word in the body of the text. Seriously, he had no written communication skills whatsoever. Otherwise, he was a great kid but it just blew me away how someone can graduate from college w/o a shred of written communication skills - and a lack of command of his native tongue.

Sounds like my brother. He is a good chemist and I got him started in chemistry when I was working at my first lab as a lab tech but his communication skills and writing are horrible. I can't understand how he has succeeded. I even have taught him how to use spell check and somehow he still manages to screw that up.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Sounds like my brother. He is a good chemist and I got him started in chemistry when I was working at my first lab as a lab tech but his communication skills and writing are horrible. I can't understand how he has succeeded. I even have taught him how to use spell check and somehow he still manages to screw that up.

Yep, sounds very much like the kid that was working for me. He ended up quitting the corporate world and step into his father's funeral business instead which he's looking to take over one of these days. He'll do alright.

[luckytxn 2,265]

Yep, sounds very much like the kid that was working for me. He ended up quitting the corporate world and step into his father's funeral business instead which he's looking to take over one of these days. He'll do alright.

Well good for him. Strange how I have noticed many kids nowadays are not too literate that have degrees. Writing essays are a requirement still in college right?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Well good for him. Strange how I have noticed many kids nowadays are not too literate that have degrees. Writing essays are a requirement still in college right?

That's what I thought. I wrote a number of research papers and a 115 page thesis in order to graduate.

[luckytxn 2,265]

That's what I thought. I wrote a number of research papers and a 115 page thesis in order to graduate.

Yeah I remember writing a lot of stuff too and even remember that correct spelling and grammar was a requirement or it was handed back to you to redo.

[Ali G. 37]

School boards are a foreign concept to me. Actually, it was only once I moved here, did I first hear about cities or counties electing anyone to sit on the school boards and decide the fate of schools and children. You guys have a bizarre system of government here. What the hell would a random school board, with many having zero experience or any education in the field, know about deciding the fate of a school system?

[Ban Hammer 13,656]

You don't need to be smart to be a leader, you just need the vision.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

I'll bite, how did he graduate from collage???

[MrsCat 6]

^ Its so sad but true. I miss you Georgey

[Danno 1,228]

School boards are a foreign concept to me. Actually, it was only once I moved here, did I first hear about cities or counties electing anyone to sit on the school boards and decide the fate of schools and children. You guys have a bizarre system of government here. What the hell would a random school board, with many having zero experience or any education in the field, know about deciding the fate of a school system?

For better or worse it is self government.

At one time Schools in America were pretty good, I don't think the down fall can be blamed on local school board elections.

[jundp 191]

That's what I thought. I wrote a number of research papers and a 115 page thesis in order to graduate.

Sadly, a well-rounded education isn't a requirement anymore I think. The GURs are so minimal for non-liberal arts classes in a non-liberal arts degree. It's quite a shame, really.

And going back further, those kids shouldn't graduate from high school with a GPA high enough to qualify for college if they can't write.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

You guys have a bizarre system of government here. What the hell would a random school board, with many having zero experience or any education in the field, know about deciding the fate of a school system?

We have elected officials that don't have any experience in what they are doing too.