Like most everyone else in NYC, I've been loving the story about the construction worker who bravely jumped onto the subway tracks - in the face of an oncoming train - the other day to save a 20-year-old film student from certain death. It is the kind of quintessential New Yawk story that tabloids live for and I'm already looking forward to the made-for-Bravo movie.

NY Daily News columnist Michael Daly, one of my favorites, writes this morning that the city should consider re-naming Brooklyn's PS 380 after the Subway Savior. The guy is currently doing construction work on the library at the school, which happens to be named after John Wayne because an old District 14 superintendent was a big fan of spaghetti westerns. Daly's point is that the macho Wayne was a wuss compared to our modern-day Subway Savior.

On that point, I agree. But I think it would be a serious mistake to go naming a city public school after him -- at least until we have constructed a system where quality is sure to prevail. I have a lot of respect for the administrators, teachers, parents, union leaders (and even a few politicians) who are working hard to try to build such a school system, but we still aren't close. Naming any city school after someone we want to honor runs a risk of turning into a slap in the face.

A few years ago, I found that there were four city schools named after Roberto Clemente that were on the failing schools list under NCLB. Clemente was a hero of mine, so I was shocked and saddened. I tracked down one of his sons and asked him if he had any idea that these schools were so bad. He, too, was shocked and saddened. So I looked at other schools that were less than stellar and whose names were on the buildings and became convinced that we should never again seek to honor individuals this way. There were labor leaders like Harry Van Arsdale, presidents, civil rights leaders, etc. Great men and women. All on crappy schools. It was depressing.

Until we fix the struggling system that supports its schools, we have no business kicking dirt on the people we consider heroes by naming schools after them.