steve perry is our cnn education contribut contributor. steve perry, i'm confused.tal prep is, no, it's not okay to be ordinary. the expectation is you woke up to do something amazing today. so find out what that is and do it. it doesn't mean that you have to be the greatest basketball player, make the most amount of money. it doesn't mean you have to sing the best or look the best but you have to do something that is in you, something powerful that can transform not just your life but the lives of others. >> and i understand at your school, striving for success is the priority. but, you know, then you have all these parents who are giving out the awards who say everyone is amazing and everyone is successful and you're fabulous and you can be anything you want. is that taking it a little too far? >> that's about them, though. that's about them. >> the parents. >> they're giving those awards out so they can feel good about themselves. they are dealing with their own insecurities and as a result of their own insecurities they want to set the bar as low as possible. we

steve perry, good morning, steve perry. good idea or bad idea? >> great idea.nd is why it is even a conversation. if we are not paying people based upon their performance, then what are we paying them for? to make them feel better? we are talking about educators, single responsibility of ensuring that students pick up the skills necessary to be successful in their life. they are being -- paid to do that. if they cannot do that, they cannot have the pay. >> but why wouldn't you say let's pay them in -- you know, the delta, the change from when they got the students to how they -- how much they improved, wouldn't that be a better strategy? you can have a teacher that has great students, honor roll students, knocking out as with no efforts and will get paid more than member who has a struggling class whose students are not particularly good students and their teachers' salary would be lower. >> i don't think it is either/or. do both. i think you have to put together a system in which you pay those people because in our school what we typically get are students --

steve perry's cnn contributor.at was the goal was to make it an all boys black and latino male school but we are not that. we are mixed gender or co-ed school that is multicultural. >> tell me about single sex classrooms. do they help or hurt student learning? >> reporter: i think the greater question is one of choice. each parent should be put in a position where they get the opportunity to choose the school they want to that works best for their child. in some settings i do think the single gender setting is best for a child. parents have to know their kids and give an option for that. we consider schools like mt. holyoke or smith which are women's colleges, they turn out every year hundreds of graduates who go on to make amazing impact or moore house that's a black and male college. if it works and has worked for so many generations, then we can't look past the facts. do i know if it is inherently better? i do not. i do support it as an opportunity as a method of education. >> that's interesting the choice part.

steve perry is with us. he's an education contributor.ng to come down on this. i hope i do. i don't know anything about you if you don't agree with me on this. should we bother to teach algebra? and i think your answer is going to be absolutely yes. am i wrong? >> i think it's important we do ask the question if we're teaching the things that are necessary in modern education. the issue is not whether or not we should teach algebra, it's whether or not the people who are teaching the algebra have the effectiveness necessary for children to learn? the biggest question i find when i interview for math positions is to find a great math teacher. we interviewed a teacher i asked to teach me something, anything, she taught me how to factor a number. she did it wrong in the interthe view. the problem, soledad, she was the best person i interviewed up to that point for a math position. the issue is not whether or not we should teach algebra. >> the argument in this op-ed written by andrew hacker, he says to the nation's shame there is a toll take

steve perry believes the power of words is key for a student to excel in any classroom. it's today's "perry's principles." >> reading is not just fundamental, it's essential. it's what makes a child grow in a classroom. we're talking about being able to interpret and predict. reading is essential to so much. when a child doesn't feel comfortable in school, it's probably because they don't read very well. teachers are trained and certified to determine a child's capacity to read. they have all of the resources at their disposal to make sure that that child's reading level goes up. one of my biggest us frfrustrat is that teachers don't work hard enough to effectively teach children to read. i'm talking about reading for understanding. i'm talking about being able to read and make deductions and have a conversation with the author. you know that's the expectation of reading. so the expectation is that you will teach children to read. you know what's exciting? graduation. when i look up into my students faces, i see pride. you know, i have done something worthwhile. when i e

steve perry warns parents that can be a mistake. >> not just a principle. i'm also a father.ery easy to get caught up in your own dreams. you see some potential in your child and think they should be a doctor, an attorney. parents can keep expectations high because you can demand they do well in school, participate in extracurricular activities. one of the most important things that parents can do is expose your children. to different careers and within a career, the different career tracks. take them on a visit to a corporation. find a way to make sure your child is going to stay focused on a career. simply because you're paying for college, it doesn't mean you should determine what a child should be. you're investing in their future. not yours. i'm one of six children that my mother raised by herself, and so college was a dream when i was a kid. i didn't know how i was gonna to do it, but i knew i was gonna get that opportunity one day, and that's what happened with university of phoenix. nothing can stop me now. i feel like the sky's the limit with what i can do and what i

but steve perry says it takes a lot more than just money, of course, to ensure college success. >> thest time to start planning for a child's education is as soon as you decide to have a child. because it's never too early to start thinking about what you're going to need to do in order for the child to go on to college. not just from a financial perspective, but more importantly, academically. so i want you to start thig about it in elementary school. when you get to high school, that's when the clock starts ticking. so make sure that your child has four years of english, three years of math, three years of a foreign language and i want them to take the highest science that they can in the school. grades matter, of course. it's also important to know that grades are not the only thing that colleges are looking for. because what colleges also want to know is that your child is involved in extra curricular activities. they should also participate in some sort of community based activity. you know what's exciting? graduation. when i look up into my students faces, i see pride. you know,

but we don't look at it in primary and secondary. >> steve perry, thank you so much.up for adoption on ebay. >>> still ahead on "starting point," another good reason to drink that coffee cup that you have in your hand here. it might be good for your skin in a very serious way. and here's one from my place list. "lights and music." you're watching "starting point." great shot. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco. and deposits at the same time. for paying your friend back for lunch...from your tablet. for 26 paydays triggered with a single tap. for checking your line, then checking your portfolio. for making atms and branches appear out of thin air. simple to use websites, tools, and apps. for making your financial life a little bit easier. >>> welcome back to "starting point." a few of the stories ma

steve perry has this advice for laurie, who is searching for a school for her kid. >> since my kid rssbian family and we have different faiths and i want them to be raised in an open environment, how can i decide which private schools are best for her? >> that's a really good and important question. you need to understand where your children are going to school not just because of what they're going to learn academically, but how they'll be treated. i suggest you go to visit the schools, as a family. ask the question you're asking me. what are your values? how do you respond to a gay family? get them to answer your questions and ask the question until you feel like you've got an answer. if they want your money as a private school, they're going to tell you what they want you to hear. but ask your friends ch when you get the opportunity, go on a tour. go with other students. ask them. kids and all they do, they don't typically lie. they'll tell you the truth. somewhere between asking the school, visiting the school, asking their reputation and students who attend, you should find your

steve perry from cnn will be talking as well and roland martin.ed the festival this year. used to be a three-day festival, now a four-day. why the extra day? >> the extra day is to truly formalize the empowerment for our youth. the first day now is thursday and we start with an entire conversation that's focused on what will secure our youth and we partnered with the mayor of new orleans mitch landrieu, and then with first lady of new orleans and girl up, as she calls it. such a fun name. empowering girls and connecting families and their youth to services within the community. so that's been a discussion now formally for the first full day and it ended with the first ever new and next youth concert in the superdome last night. you've never seen so many screaming 10-year-olds in your life. but it was fantastic. we're very excited with our first formal youth day. >> what's the goal? you have done the festival for how many years? >> 18. >> you took -- was it one or two years off after hurricane katrina? >> one. we came right back to new orleans. >>

perry bacon, ruth marcus, and steve lombardo.un little story here about orrin hatch, now that he's passed his primary. it was an ap story where orrin hatch is talking about, if he's chairman of the senate finance committee, that the steve, there's going to be compromise. not everyone's going to get what they want. the ap reporter took that quote and said, well, i guess he's not worried about his primary politics anymore. the office got mad of that interpretation and that's understandable, but i have to say, when you hear a quote like that from orrin hatch, would we have heard him say something like that before the primary in utah? >> doubtful. very doubtful. listen, orrin hatch is 78 years old. he's worried about his legacy and he also wants to do -- >> so he got elected, he got out of the ditch, essentially, and now it's legacy watch? >> i think it is. and i think it's also about doing what's right for the country. and i think he's a little tired of no compromise, as part of the republican politics and democratic politics as wel

joining me now is melissa harris-perry, host of "melissa harris-perry" here on msnbc. and steve kornacki also here on msnbc. this is the biggest story in england right now. it led the bbc news tonight. what happened to romney? >> it's great. i've been trying to figure out if this is a little bit like the naacp moment when sort of romney was doing pretty well. then all of a sudden he starts to stumble. first with the obama care line and then later when he talks about free stuff. and the major analysis behind that was well, when romney said free stuff, he was actually signaling. it was kind of a dog whistle. i actually wanted the boo. >> that's what i felt. >> because of the critique of obama is he is a cosmopolitan president, he has an understanding of the world. that by going overseas and making a mess of it, making a gaffe of it being sort of ridiculously non-cosmopolitan. there he is talking about being in france, speaking in french. it's his way of saying i'm so joe six pack i don't know the right thing to say in london. >> let me give you this. the political editor of "the d

steve: come on. >> jimmy: it's been a rough week for mitt romney. yesterday, ron paul and rick perryomney to release his tax returns. and if ron paul and rick perry tell you to do something, you really don't have to do it. [ laughter ] you really -- i mean, it doesn't really matter. who cares? >> steve: enough is enough. >> jimmy: you guys hear about this? there's a new slow-moving storm in the pacific called hurricane fabio. [ laughter ] yeah, meteorologists expect hurricane fabio to touch the coastline, caress it softly and then whisper, "i can't believe it's not butter." [ laughter ] [ cheers and applause ] enough is enough. that's what i said to him. aw, this is really nice, you guys. today american airlines honored an 86-year-old mechanic who has been with the company for 70 years. passengers were like, "aw, that's so sweet. but he didn't fix this plane, did he?" [ laughter ] "get him out of here. give him a watch." >> steve: thank you. >> jimmy: don't fix my plane. >> steve: no, enough is enough. >> jimmy: hey, this is really fun news. i just read that pixar is planning to rele

perry will be here. but jimmy fallon's happening right now. jimmy! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> stevethe national broadcasting company presents -- tonight's guests are -- and featuring the legendary roots crew. and here he is -- jimmy fallon! [ cheers and applause ] captions paid for by nbc-universal television -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: hey, what's going on guys? welcome! wow. summer crowd. summer crowd in new york city, baby. right there! people having fun. thank you for coming tonight. welcome to "late night with jimmy fallon." here's some campaign news, you guys. mitt romney's nonstop secret service protection is apparently bothering the people who live near his beach house. romney had a lot of questions about the complaint, such as, "which beach house? [ laughter ] that one? they are always complaining, that one." i just saw that president obama is spending $12 million on a one-minute commercial hitting mitt romney's business record. though obama's made some bad business moves too, like spending $12 million for a one-minute commercia

steve. i appreciate. >> it okay, thanks. >>> in today's office politics, i talked with melissa harris-perry about her vision of bringing her cameras. the hidden view of humanity in her favorite guilty pleasure tv shows. but first, i asked melissa for her reaction to mitt romney's speech to the naacp and her early prediction for the election. >> i actually initially thought it was a great speech, that then went bad at the end. weird, sort of racial, cultural way. he also didn't flip-flop which is re -- has been the thing he has been criticized for. he came and said exactly the same things and says to every audience. i am here to cut taxes. i am here to stimulate the economy. and i am here to repeal obamacare. and use the language of obamacare. right? for from my perspective -- >> the boos. >> here comes the boos. mitt romney's biggest challenge is he has been called a flip-flopper. had he gone to the naacp and said well, you know, i'm considering the parts of -- affordable care act i like, everyone -- including naacp wouldn't have called foul because it would not be consistent with his message. i thought he was fine there.

perry, micael wigge and of course, needtobreathe. coming up next, jimmy fallon. tomorrow night, chris pine and rachael ray. jimmy, take it! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> steveg company presents -- tonight's guests are -- and featuring the legendary roots crew. and here he is -- jimmy fallon! [ cheers and applause ] captions paid for by nbc-universal television -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: hey! that's what i'm talking about! that's the kind of love you want it get from a new york city crowd. welcome to "late night with jimmy fallon," everybody. [ cheers and applause ] big show. tonight on the show we have my man, charlie sheen. [ cheers and applause ] we have beth stern. we have musical guest alabama shakes. [ cheers and applause ] incidentally, alabama shakes is what charlie would get after a late night in birmingham. [ laughter ] yeah. let's get to some election news, you guys. over the weekend, mitt romney held a retreat for his donors which included dancing. at one point people started doing the robot, or as romney called that "the me." [ laughter ] they're all doing "the me." mitt romney -- his weekend retrea

going to do an interview with henry kravis, and later steve leisman is taking on bob rubin and hank paulson. becky also has a panel with mr. perryts before. >> breaking economic data. we are just a few moments aaway from housing starts to review. >> up next, the headliner of the morning. treasury secretary tim thigh geithner's keynote address to the best known hedge fund managers and largest investors. he kicks off cnbc's delivering alpha conference when we return. duff & phelps finds the sweet spot that powers sound decisions. duff & phelps financial advisory and investment banking services. like in a special ops mission? you'd spot movement, gather intelligence with minimal collateral damage. but rather than neutralizing enemies in their sleep, you'd be targeting stocks to trade. well, that's what trade architect's heat maps do. they make you a trading assassin. trade architect. td ameritrade's empowering web-based trading platform. trade commission-free for 60 days, and we'll throw in up to $600 when you open an account. between black and white answers... ...and 1,000 shades of grey duff & phelps finds the sweet spot that pow