Update (3/15): Kerry Gilliard, a teacher in a Prince George’s County school, responds to a post about the county’s academic failures:
The parents – the bulk of them – have lazy kids. My kids are walking around with 800 accessories to go along with their brand new PSPs, iPod nanos, shuffles, and minis, ridiculously expensive cell phones from every major carrier and our county is the NEXT TO LAST in the state in test scores even though we spend the third most in money per student.
Weak curriculum, weak administrators and officials and too much ‘top turnover’. I’ve been teaching in PG since Aug. of 2001. When I came in, Iris Metts was in office and the title of the office was changed from Superintendent to CEO. After her, we had another guy. After him, the last thief we just had in office (forgot his name that quick, but look up ‘scandal’, prince george’s county and software contract)…
Commenter Robin says:
As far as having the luxury to stay home… well, we purposefully drive old cars and live in a rural area in an affordable old house (small!!) that has allowed me to stay home and raise our family. We made choices. We don’t get to travel as much as we’d like and we have to think hard about every purchase, but the tradeoff is that we’re raising our kids. I can’t think of a better investment.
Emphasis added. See Day Care Deception (reviewed back in 2003, although dated Jan. 2005).
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A “model” school in Los Angeles now ranks #1 among district high schools for crime. Read about this mess, and weep.
Liberals and other social engineers never learn. Immorality, lack of discipline, fatherless homes, fear of being sued, watered-down, politically correct curricula, a repugnance to education among too many students — these are major reasons why government schools are seething cauldrons of chaos and failure, NOT a lack of taxpayers’ funds.
Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be government school pupils unless it’s located in a rural area, far away from the ghetto, and/or filled to the brim with traditional-minded teachers, conventional, no-nonsense administrators, and a hefty percentage of families whose men live with and bear responsibility for their offspring.
Otherwise, flee like a cat chased by a rottweiler.
Addendum: For a short list of homeschool bloggers and other resources, follow this link.
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Anybody who is surprised by this story, please leave the gene pool immediately!
La Shawn,
No worries from my slice of the People’s Republic of California….I keep a close watch on my daughter’s education and what they’re pushing on her.
She’s told me that she is a REPUBLICAN….just like her Dad. (No kidding!)
Mikey
Welcome back to the blogosphere, Mikey!
Wow! We lived in CA for a little over a year, and you’re bringing back memories with those links.
We’re pretty lucky with our boys. Two are deaf w/implants, and the Catholic program here runs a school for the deaf. No kidding! It’s not “perfect”, but I think my kids are doing better ALL AROUND than they would be if in the public program. This can be a tough topic for parents of kids with special needs.
La Shawn, I have also recently learned that Los Angeles has a high homeless rate, and they are torturing elephants in zoos…
Unfortunately the liberal that informed me of this did not realize that the mayor is “progressive”
I blogged about it of course…
I’ve always thought that ever since government started caving to athiest suits against prayer in school, posting of the Ten Commandments, things have gotten significantly worse in schools.
Taking God out of everything has unleashed a horde of problems…
Only Christ can solve this problem, no amount of government, money, nothing else will work….
So what’s the solution?
Homeschooling kids in these districts is not an option (seeing as they grow up in undisciplined “fatherless homes” and all).
Do social conservatives have a better idea? One that *doesn’t* involve social engineering?
I’m afraid the people who decided to have the children bear most of the responsibility of finding solutions, “Kman,” and not “social conservatives,” as shocking as that may sound. The first step toward personal responsibility is to think and act for oneself. – Admin
I know you’re pro home-schooling, and I’m not against it…but it pains me to hear wholesale condemnation of the public school system. It pains me even more when it is justified. Nevertheless, remember that we get the government we deserve. School boards are responsible for the policies of their districe, and are responsible for their choice of superintendent who in turn is responsible for their choices of principals, who in turn is responsible for hiring of teachers. It all starts with the voter, though. If the schools are bad, it’s the responsibility of the people to hold their school boards accountable and _vote them out of office_!
By the way, note also that the Mayor of Los Angeles is trying to eliminate the school board, and take over control of the schools from his office. I haven’t researched the law on this, but the problems you’ve indicated are probably the reason for his action. I don’t approve, but I understand. They couldn’t get much worse, it seems.
I understand your pain, suek, but I’m not here to present a balanced view of government schools. I think they, generally speaking, have run afoul of their mission to educate. Curricula are too trendy, too pop culture-oriented and too darned socialist and anti-American. Their failure to produce well-rounded students with the ability to think critically is problematic, and a lot of the fault lies with parents who don’t discipline or guide their children, don’t stress education, good manners, upright behavior, etc.
“Homeschooling kids in these districts is not an option (seeing as they grow up in undisciplined “fatherless homes†and all).”
The option (choice) was there all along, the parents CHOSE (had the option) to have sex, which in turn resulted in pregnancy. We all are faced with choices every single day of our lives. The problem in America is…NO ONE THINKS ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES of the choices we make and America is all too happy to rid people of the consequences because “no one should suffer” in the social engineers attempt to make utopia (another word for Godless society). People believe there is no consequence, no sin, no truth…evertything is a disease, a mistake or someone else’s fault.
As Luke said, without Christ it’s all man’s futile attempt to play God. Whether we believe in the Lord, sin, absolute truth or not doesn’t really matter… doesn’t change the fact that…He exist, sin exist, and there are consequences to sin and being outside of His will. As long as we purposely remain blind to the truth, we will suffer the consequences.
Well said.
– Admin
This is what happens when teachers’ hands are tied, and administration isn’t allowed or willing to discipline students.
What’s Morgan Freeman up to these days?
The answer to this is easy: be an elite democrat politician or political activist, so people put money in your pocket to say PC things, and you can send your kid to a private school. Exactly like every single one of the ones who refuse the concept of school choice do. Some are more equal than others when it comes to their children’s education. Obey the commissars.
Once again, homeschooling is nice, if you can afford it. Also, I can only afford a house where I can. Moving to burbs will cost you about 100,000K more here in Seattle, that is not my fault or anyone else’s fault that cannot afford to move to the burbs. I guess I could move into an apt with my two sons and wife, but why give up the American dream just because the teachers union does not want to hold up their end of the deal. I work with my kids everyday on homework and music. Working harder than everyone else is the only solution I have found that works. Public/Private/Homeschooling all take hard work to compete. It is no easier to home-school than it is to put your kid in public/private school. Staying home for me or the wife is NOT an option. Sounds nice and seems like a good idea, but financially cannot happen. I know you don’t have to offer a balanced approach to public schools, but it seems there is no hope at all unless I am rich enough to send my children to Private/Christian schools. And we all know that unless you make less than 15,000$ you don’t get a scholarship or any resources to help. I did not sin when I had my kids, nor did I sin when I was able to buy a house in my price range. What am I saying: Is it hard to have kids and work at the same time? YES! Is it a nice to have a stay at home parent? YES! Is that feasible for ALL people? NO! Work hard with your children to ensure they can read, write, and understand Math. Work harder with your children if you want them to be the top of their class. Get a tutor/spend quality time with them. I feel you about this example of public school dumbness, but I truly believe that if I/You work with our children, then the only person we can blame when they do not do what is expected….is ourselves. Thanks for letting me voice my opinion.
That’s kind of the point of school choice, Marc. To make it more affordable to decide where to have your children educated. And yes, Hillary, if someone decided to send their kid to the Jihadi school, they could – ITS THEIR DAMN MONEY AND THEIR FAMILY. The unspeakable hypocrisy and blatant in your face superior attitude of these pundits who oppose school choice then take advantage of it through their wealth and connections is truly one of the most repugnant things of today’s politics.
And it’s one of the reasons the Democrat party is, in my opinion, bleeding minorities.
As a student of a (rather liberal) public high school, I must agree that many public schools in this country have veered far to the left. However, many have veered far to the right. It’s impossible to make public school systems impartial, because the teachers will always hold viewpoints. However, eliminating the public school system is *not* the answer. That will only exacerbate the problem. Sending children to expensive, all white Catholic schools and/or homeschooling them isolates a large portion of poor inner city kids. Homeschooling is nice for some who like to explore, but it’s not the mainstream.
A good, upstanding, secular public school system is the best. Unfortunately, that’s impossible. You can’t give the same standard of education to rich white suburbanites and poor inner city kids. Back in the days of Thomas Jefferson, schooling was mostly apprentice-like. However, half the country was not educated. It’s either strong, moral, upstanding education for a minority, or a decent education for all. The only real option is the latter. If you really want educated children, hire professors to teach them, or do it yourself. For most people, both of these are nearly impossible to achieve.
Hubs and I have lived in the same school district now for about 20 years. We have seen a horrendous decline in quality during that time. And we HAVE voted to replace the School Board, who has replaced the Superintendent (several times). In fact, they are conducting a search now.
From my perspective, as a parent and a tax-payer, the problems are the principals spend WAY too much time “Downtown” in meetings instead of on campus. They establish rules one week, but do not enforce them. They are afraid of the teachers’ union and of the politically active parents who threaten to sue because “too many” children of color are suspended, expelled, and/or fail to graduate.
“Liberals and other social engineers never learn.”
Here is another comparable attribution:
African-american and Hispanic students never learn. Did you know that there is a high correlation between the population percentage of different nationalities and the test scores you can predictable expect when it comes to public schools? Generally, the higher the percentage of african-american and hispanic students, the lower the standardized test scores one can expect.
Now, if you want to persist in attributing the blame for all the problems in that school to liberals, I will assume you could refute my attribution that it is the nationality of the students that attend that school, not so much the ‘liberals’ that somehow are forcing the students to fail. Perhaps you can get off your liberal-bashing for a second and address the real problems that do exist in our public schooling system in most of the large metropolitan cities. I too despise the sometimes short-sighted, moronic views of the liberals. But they are not the cause for ALL the problems in our society.
Well said. – Admin
Welcome back to the blogosphere, Mikey
Thank you very much La Shawn!! Especially for the prayers – they were needed….especially for my family to deal with this mess.
Mikey
Ari:
You say “Sending children to expensive, all white Catholic schools and/or homeschooling them isolates a large portion of poor inner city kids.
Really? This is somehow implying that White people who leave the city schools are somehow depriving Black city children of something special – the presence of White people.
Sorry: I’m White, sent my children to Mostly White suburban schools (because that’s who lived there – and there were a lot of Mexicans and a few Blacks – and I never felt guilty by depriving Black people of my presence.
PS – I lived in Stephenvile TX for 3 years, and many of my friends’ children were home-schooled – All White because that’s who lived there.
They were VERY socialized – 60 families participated, kids belonged to 4H Club, etc.. The children were NOT isolated from anything. In fact, the homeschoolers and parents traveled to Fort Worth to go to the Science Museum overnight. How’s that for socialization. Total nonsense that these kids are not socialized – perhaps because there were few Black children there.
Great post, La Shawn. And unfortunately, sad.
Great post! I wish other people, especially the “intelligentsia” and decision-makers saw educational problems as clearly.
LaShawn: This is the horror of California—-
California does not have money to fund it’s failing public schools —-not that more money would help this mess anyway. Schools and public education in California is a loss-leader.
The real growth industry in California is in the incarceration business.
California is the leader in increasing, and building the new max, and supermax prison systems Foslsom, New Folsom, Pelican Bay, Corcoran, Chowchilla, Wasco, Calpatria…a second prison at Corcoran etc….Delano, a 100 million maximum security prison at New Delano…..
The building boom in prisons, and they are a source of civic pride in their respective towns. The California Dept. of Corrections and the Prison Guards Union (with the aid of Gray Davis for years)……
…have completely overtaken the Teachers Unions in terms of political muscle.
That it costs taxpayers 3 times as much to incarcerate a citizen, rather than send him to college makes no difference.
Prisons are THE growth industry in California currently, and we don’t even need to mention the overwhelming skin color of the majority these prisons are housing.
The California Dream ….the finest institutions, —and I don’t mean educational ones.
“–seething cauldrons of chaos and failure”–LaShawn
Such the poet.
And, that’s understating it.
Public school = Dante’s Inferno
I’ve got an idea for Mr. KMan. If a single mother is living in a district where the schools are no good…….. MOVE!
Public schools and public education are not the same thing. Our citizen responsibility is to provide free, quality education for our children. Vouchers and tax credits are the obvious way to help get children out of the public school trap.
The public school has its place. It is a wonderful place for the kids of parents who want to manipulate the curriculum and battle over The Pledge of Allegiance. It is a great place to park kids who are mostly in the way. It is a terrific daily social gathering place with pizza and free round trips.
There are rural and small town public schools that do a darn good job. But they are not the topic.
Two names come to mind when public school reform is the topic: Walter Cronkite and Bill Cosby. When Cronkite retired he formed a group to bring the power of smart television into the curriculum. It bombed. Bill Cosby mistakenly thought he could teach teachers to inspire and encourage learning. He soon discovered that his unique personality was a gift of God and that it could not be bottled and passed around.
We need to get on with providing a quality, free, public education and let the public schools fail or succeed on their own.
>>Perhaps you can get off your liberal-bashing for a second and address the real problems that do exist in our public schooling system in most of the large metropolitan cities. I too despise the sometimes short-sighted, moronic views of the liberals. But they are not the cause for ALL the problems in our society.>>
You can say that, but I’d disagree. I disagree because I think that it is a liberal tendency _not_ to hold people accountable – and that includes students. The NEA is a liberal organization and won’t allow adminiatrations to hold teachers accountable, or reward for performance. Conservatives generally set a standard and expect individuals to meet that standard, and if they don’t, they fail. Liberals don’t want people to fail – they’ll move the standard to prevent that.
People – and especially kids – know how to milk a system so that they get the most for themselves with the least effort. Allow them to “succeed” without applying themselves and they’ll do it.
>>Generally, the higher the percentage of african-american and hispanic students, the lower the standardized test scores one can expect.>>
This is true – but it doesn’t help to accomodate them by saying “poor things…what do you expect…they can’t learn because they’re so poor”. They have cultural handicaps, but they _can_ learn, and will if held to the same standards as whites or asians. You can’t give someone self-esteem by giving them grades – you give them self-esteem by helping them _earn_ good grades.
“Sending children to expensive, all white Catholic schools and/or homeschooling them isolates a large portion of poor inner city kids.”
Interesting comment, obviously by someone who has not been around Catholic schools in a long while.
In the Bay Area, many Catholic school students are NOT white. In my suburban Catholic school, in fact, most are Asian. The Diocese struggles to keep inner-city Catholic schools open and tuition affordable (but not cheap nor free) in the inner-city schools so those parents DO have a choice.
And the Catholic schools in the inner-city do a good job of educating exactly those kids who struggle in the public school system. The difference? The parents care enough to sacrifice to send their kids to Catholic schools; the parents, teachers, and students buy into the concept that they are a community with a common goal; and the students are held to standards of behavior and learning.
Oh, and the fact that the Catholic schools are specifically “Christ-centered” probably doesn’t hurt!
Well, we live in a wonderful small rural district with very traditional family values and a BOE respectful of the community and it still doesn’t fulfill the needs of all the children in the district. Public schools simply cannot meet everyone’s needs.
Because of this, we will be homeschooling our ten year-old next year. He is bright, inquisitive and learns in a completely different manner from the rest of his class. He’s bored with the pace and there isn’t enough money in the district to staff the less able students’ support programs AND a gifted program. Worse, the administration won’t consider a parent initiative to jumpstart a gifted student program with volunteers despite a talented community with a wealth of skills and backgrounds.
To me this reflects all that is wrong with public education. Our BOE is comprised of good people, but they don’t have the negotiating skills to stand firm against professional union negotiators, so we have a retirement package we cannot afford and are paying almost 100% of health insurance. These costs alone prevent us from hiring teachers or spending money on programs for the “rest of the kids” who don’t require special needs programming.
Our teachers’ union is so powerful in our small district that they deter new enthusiastic teachers from pursuing new ideas and offering their time to students outside of class. We have yet to keep any of these young wonders from staying for more than a couple of years.
I’m sure there are good public schools, but they are the minority and they will survive a voucher program or some other program that allows the money to follow the student to whatever school meets their needs. The current system is rotten and cannot be fixed from within. As more parents pull their children out of mediocre or underperforming schools for alternatives, hopefully our politicians will stop worrying about the unions and start worrying about the kids.
As far as having the luxury to stay home… well, we purposefully drive old cars and live in a rural area in an affordable old house (small!!) that has allowed me to stay home and raise our family. We made choices. We don’t get to travel as much as we’d like and we have to think hard about every purchase, but the tradeoff is that we’re raising our kids. I can’t think of a better investment.
>>Our BOE is comprised of good people, but they don’t have the negotiating skills to stand firm against professional union negotiators, so we have a retirement package we cannot afford and are paying almost 100% of health insurance.>>
Don’t know where you are, but this isn’t unusual when there are unions involved. Unfortunately, they pretty much have a lock on the system. Getting rid of unions would go a long way towards improving the system. Between unions and courts, school districts are in a bind – even when there are qualified administrators. When you have less than well qualified administrators, your problems are major.
There are actually alternative unions to the major ones we hear about. They offer the same sort of assistance to teachers but don’t foist a particular educational or political agenda on their membership. Worth looking into if you are a teacher and must be a member of a union (some states require it).
We’re in upstate New York. Teachers don’t have to “belong” to the union, but they must pay the percentage of dues that are “allocated” to contract negotiations. This fee is determined by the union.
More importantly though, the union plays a heavy hand with teachers who do not subscribe to their thinking. TEachers will say quietly to parents, “Well, I have to work with these people everyday” to justify following the herd. Administrators are terrified of them because they have successfully ousted two superintendents who were asking for changes. I incurred the wrath of these teachers simply by writing a letter of support for our last superintendent. It is not a pretty picture in our little community.
What I’ve learned is that change will take too long to benefit my son and we can’t wait for that. I’m not going to undertake a one-woman brigade to change the system as there is nothing we can change to – NY has used all of the legislature-approved charters and until state government lifts the cap, there are no charters available. To take a stand makes you very unpopular in the schools and, regrettably, though the teachers like to pretend that it doesn’t impact your child’s education, I’ve watched it happen with other parents.
Homeschooling is a good option for us, and for me it is a way to tweak the system as they lose another good student who raises test scores, doesn’t cause problems and brings in about $7K annually from the state. When a district only has 900 students, every head counts and losing 5-10 students a year for other options hurts.
I live in the south and my kids go to an inner city school. They are both in Middle School now.
Before we moved to the city they went to public school in a very affluent and diverse although small community, at which time they were both tested for special classes, on different ends of the spectrum.
My daughter’s IQ test revealed that she had a well above average IQ and her needs were not being met in regular classes, she was placed in College Prep and gifted classes immediately. This was considered Special Education and her right to be in the classes was covered as such.
My son’s IQ tests also revealed above average IQ but because his grades were so out of sync with this he was also tested for disabilities and was found to be dyslexic and dysgraphic. He was immediately placed in a class with fewer students, his needs were met, he did the same work his regular classes were doing, only he had more one on one attention and help from the teacher. His grades immediately came up.
Then we moved to the city and the inner city Public School system.
My daughter came home from school the first day crying because she was in classes with students who could barely read and she was in a basic math class when at her old school she was bussed to the High School for AP English and Algebra 2.
My son came home frustrated because he could not concentrate in class because there were so many other kids talking and cutting up and the teacher did nothing about it.
I scheduled a meeting with the principal to make sure he was aware both my children were supposed to be in special education programs to meet their needs. I was told that in this school system there is no funding for Special Education until the High School level. He also told me not to worry about my son failing due to his learning disabilities as my children are biracial and this is an inner city school. THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO FAIL MINORITY STUDENTS AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL. I was appalled to say the least.
I am now looking to move back to the small town we are originally from where my children’s needs will be met. They are unhappy and unchallenged and I think the inability to fail a minority student based on race does not help that child, in the long run it hurts them.
I feel bad for teachers in public school systems. The teachers at my children’s school are faced with the knowledge every day that the kids in their classes are fully aware they don’t have to do the work or pay attention to pass, they only have to come to school. I can’t imagine the frustration they feel.
I suspect that 9 times out of 10, children diagnosed as dislexic or requiring Ridalin are actually children that require teachers to put more effort in their class than they are willing to.
I agree. Teachers taught children for years before Ritalin was around. Of course when I was in school the teacher could still discipline students. Even more frightening for us than being in trouble with the teacher was being in trouble with the principal, because then we would get paddled. Not suspended (or as I like to call it, given vacation days). We stayed out of trouble. We definitely stayed out of the principals office!
I know there are great teachers out there – we’ve certainly had our share – but we currently have a system that has allowed everyone to duck responsibility. Parents blame the schools for not teaching their kids, teachers blame the parents for being lousy about disciplining their children, administrators blame the system for not giving them a blank check to educate students, school board members blame the states for the mandates imposed on districts…. it’s a bureaucratic nightmare!
If you get a chance, you should attend your school district’s budget presentation, when all the numbers are right there in front of you and then you’ll begin to understand why your property taxes increase without the money actually making it into the classroom.
More to the point, how many parents do you know who have given up income or saved money to stay home with their kids until they start school. These parents, who have opted to “live their life in chapters” while guiding their little ones through the early years, send children off to school who come home repeating bad words and detailing what the middle school kids were doing on the school bus. Boys who never once acted out violently start trying out new behaviors witnessed in class. The girls are confronted with “gang of girls” nasty behavior. And the school spends valuable education hours on “character development” and teaching first graders to say no to drugs. My son asked me if that meant medicine.
The schools have simply lost their way. Instead of teaching basic reading and math, etc., they have taken it upon themselves to teach our children about nutrition and how to be a better person. When did that stop being my job, I ask you?
I don’t think it’s a matter of “afford.” Thousands and thousands of us have figured out a way to homeschool and live on one income. We may not live like kings and queens, but I love it, and wouldn’t change it for anything, even after 30 years.
here in our county we’ve got a huge problem with discipline, low test scores, and everything else in our public school system. Never have I seen so much fighting.
We got the conservatives screaming its because there’s too many black kids and they are all troublemakers. The liberals are whining that they have to teach too many poor kids.
It’s gotten so bad that a state superior court judge is threatening to shut down some of our underperforming schools in this area.
A local journalist here did a recent story where a smaller county with over half the kids poor and black (67%) are scoring and doing better than even the top white-majority, schools in our state. Better than the rich white kids and totally destroying the black kids here in our county, which is the wealthiest in the state.
It doesnt get any coverage because the elites (liberals AND conservatives) definitely dont want this story to get out.
AND…they are spending less than a quarter than what we spend per student.
Its not money, its discipline and hard work that must be instilled. I dont know the family background in this particular county, but I’m attempting to do some research. I’ll be glad to post the article if permission is granted.
Amazing isnt it?
lukeNC – that’s really interesting isn’t it? I keep thinking back to the article Powerline posted a couple of weeks ago about the charter schools in Minneapolis. The gist of the article was that parents who could choose their children’s schools were much more involved in the education process – from discipline to homework to extra-curricular activities – no matter what their socio-economic or racial background. That makes complete sense to me. How can the schools expect parents to step up, especially parents without a strong moral upbringing, when the schools spend so much time “teaching” our children right from wrong?
For example, this week in my son’s school 2 out of 4 math classes were spent on a development program called CHAD (Children Have An iDentity). They were learning social skills and how to interact with others, they were learning about having a strong sense of self. So, when the school takes it upon itself to determine that this kind of learning is more important for ten year-olds than math class, how are the less confident parents, typically those in a lower socio-economic or minority class, suppose to respond? They leave everything in the hands of the schools, of course, why wouldn’t they?
Minneapolis is one of the best examples of school choice equaling greater parental involvement. It is that simple.
“We got the conservatives screaming its because there’s too many black kids and
That’s one of the single most idiotic things I’ve read yet on a blog comment section and after a few years, I’ve read some whoppers.
Please quote me one conservative anywhere who complains that there’s “too many black kids” and that “they are all troublemakers.”
When you get back here and are unable to do so, please refrain from such mindless trash in the future.
I don’t think that LukeNC did a very good job of articulating his point. He mentioned a small school district with a huge proportion of students “black and poor” and pointed to the great success they were having spending much less money than his local district.
I’d like to know more about the successful district. Is the district comprised of charter schools and are the parents allowed a choice of where to send their kids. I think you find families invested 110% in their children’s education when they have some say over how they are educated.
Personally, I know a lot more liberals in my collegetown who talk about diversity in schools and then spend a small fortune making sure their kids are in the top elementary school where basically every kid is from the same socio-economic background. They all panic everytime redistricting comes up and their kids might be sent to the “downtown” school with a population of “poor black kids”.
I have never met a conservative who once mentioned the make-up of the student population. The general conservative complaint is that children are not learning much in school anymore, period.
Christopher, do a search on Bill James from Charlotte, NC. He’s just one of many from my area. He’s a conservatve “christian” republican who is very well liked and very hated in this area.
I think he was on Fox News a couple years ago on Hannity and Colmes.
Oh, I’m sorry when I read your comment I assumed you were portraying two sides of an issue, not isolated individuals who might exist somewhere and are unknown to most of the world. My mistake.
Christopher,
The conservatives and liberals on our city/county council and school board really represent ONE side. They both play the blame game and have no solutions. The rest of us call them the elites.
We’ve got SOME conservatives (black and white) saying the MAIN problem with the schools is that most, if not all, of the inner city black kids are causing problems and are unteachable. They have actually said, “inner-city black kids” mutliple times and every chance they get. There have been recent stories of fights in schools involving black kids.
Some liberals are saying the same thing but that there are too many poor kids (black, white, or hispanic) are in the system and just cant be taught, which is why we have so many low performing schools. The poor kids in our district are performing horribly.
The numbers show that even some of our top schools are not really performing that well. Something is wrong.
Some conservatives want more money, some dont. All the liberals want more money.
Then we have Judge Howard Manning, a conservative republican whom I highly respect, threatening to shut down the low performing schools here. He’s drawn the line in the sand and now the elites are scrambling. That means those “poor kids” will have to go some of the other schools. And no one wnats them at their schools.
But, over in Pitt county, a rural county, the schools there are above the state average and are actually over-achieving. Yet, the income levels are much lower. North Pitt high school, which is 67% black, is performing better than the 3 of the top 5 majority white, wealthy schools here in our county. All of the schools there are over-achieving while over half of our schools are under-achieving. In fact, Pitt County schools are suing the state for more public funds, going on 5 years now. There are lots of Pitt Countys in our state. And why should they not sue? They are functioning on much less per student than we are here in Meck County.
The problem is that we refuse to enact any type of real discipline, Teachers cant teach if they know that they can do nothing about disruptive kids.
Its just a huge mess and no one knows what to do except blame poor black kids and poor kids in general.
There is a very small minority of people, me included, who want to see real discipline enacted AND hard work demanded, just like in Pitt County.
We need to revamp the curriculum NOW.
We are sick of the in-fighting and finger pointing.
And we are against any more tax money being poured in to do it.
But why are the Pitt County schools working???? What are they doing right???? That doesn’t seemed to be examined or offered by your comment. Sure, we all want to emulate what’s working in a successful school district against the odds, but you have to know how it’s happening.
What are the discipline policies in Pitt County? How is the funding distributed for the most effective teaching? Is there a particular figure who has carried the torch for this district? Have they managed to eliminate a sizable number of administrators and focus the funds on the classroom? Do teachers have more autonomy with curriculum? Do the teachers receive merit pay? How are parents involved in the process? How has the district managed to balance state education mandates and the needs of their community?
Obviously you can’t throw more money at a problem until you address what your district is doing wrong and a neighboring district is doing right. Throwing blame around is a convenient dodge to asking the hard questions and that seems to be what your district is engaged in now. It seems that the conservative judge you write of has basically pushed your leadership into confronting these questions or seeing schools close and students disbursed to the more successful schools. Good for him, sometimes it takes a harsh stand to force an issue to move forward.
Good luck.
Luke thank you for being more specific. See, without context, your post read like a criticism of the people posting here, which made it bizarre and without logic. I’d suggest you talk to some of these councilmen who are saying this kind of thing and ask them what they meant and why they said it. It’s always possible there’s a misunderstanding – it’s happened before between humans
Lashawn,I agree with much of what you said,but,there were things we didn’t know about either when I was in school.Also,I need to point out that some of the proponents of the homeschool movement have become to full of themselves and very elitist just like the leftists you criticise justly.However,the homeschool movement got its own rude awakening in Novemeber of last year when a homeschool students parents where murdered by her boyfriend and she was complicit in it.I believe that crime of passion occured in rural PA.Yes, as a matter of fact,it was,The homeschool movement should realize that although they are the ones that are in control of what their kids learn,they can’t control everything,and this was a huge eyesore nationally,that most of the movement and even WND willfully ingored.I do understand why they do and applaud what they are doing,but,as the Bible teaches,the heart is deceitful.Only God knows what goes on in human hearts.I believe in school choice and wished that my folks had the opportunity to choose as well.Our people need to be indulged in some straight talk on this subject and be steered with some straight thinking to boot and confront the opponents of this and confronted with their hypocrisy on this issue.Its is time to get the nonsense out of our schools and out of education or at least have them where they are not in any kind of influence over what our kids learn.
From the washingtonpost.com via Drudge:
Putting Parents In Their Place: Outside Class
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/20/AR2006032001167_pf.html
Really strange article.
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