Feel Like A Number

"To workers I'm just another drone
To ma bell I'm just another phone
Im just another statistic on a sheet
To teachers I'm just another child
To IRS I'm just another file
Im just another consensus on the street
Gonna cruise out of this city
Head down to the sea
Gonna shout out at the ocean
Hey it's me
And I feel like a number" - Bob Seger

hghhhghgghhgggghh - not sure what "a number" really means, but I have a few hits on numbers when it comes to the HCDS.


Today, we have this article from the Tampa Tribune: Lack Of Students Makes 'Lonely' Day

While a lot of people can debate the issues of religion, I want to focus on an interesting phenonenon I see. When one makes statements about how well someone does something, how does one know? Is there scientific methodology or just a call for faith and good will -in other words "trust us".


This part got my attention:

"Student Numbers Not Precise

Principals were told to count heads Friday morning and reported those to the district as well as to reporters. By late afternoon when the district issued its official school-by-school count, some numbers didn't match.

For example: Durant High Principal Pam Bowden told a reporter Friday afternoon that 220 students showed up. The district numbers shows 611.

Also, Boldt's head count at Chamberlain shows 260. The district report shows 386.

"I wonder where they got that from," Boldt said. "It doesn't match my hand body count."

Shortly after being asked for a head count, principals were asked to send in the number of absences. Either way, Boldt said, he had 260 students and can't believe another 126 showed up later.

Every day, school personnel scan attendance cards collected from teachers. That number is the official count sent to the state for funding and other reports. Chamberlain does that during the second class period.

That could be the difference in those two counts on Friday, Boldt said, if fewer cards got scanned because they were locked in teachers' desks or substitutes didn't have access.

Lewis Brinson, the district's assistant superintendent for administration, also unofficially reported low numbers from high schools during the day. He said they came from principals.

Scanned numbers sent to the district mainframe "are as accurate as the person who was on the other end scanning," Brinson said. "Whether they're right or not, these are the official numbers."

"I don't know if scanning created this problem or not," he said. Then he promised, "We're going to get to the bottom of this."

I humbly ask - bottom of what and how will you know when you get there. And who will you tell, if and when you do?


"Numbers" that the District have, or don't have, seem to be a recurring issue. I guess it is based on trust.

I found a couple of hits right here:

Numbers and Coke Leave One Out of Touch with Reality

Footballs, Business Cards, Gavels and Scientific Method