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Children Left Behind

By TChris, Section Other Politics
Posted on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 07:47:06 AM EST
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by TChris

Poverty and social injustice are key causes of crime. Education should be the leveling force that helps disadvantaged individuals overcome those obstacles. That's why it's tragic to read accounts of public education like this one, written by Rich Halvorson, a teacher of ninth grade world history in Miami, as his students were being tested.

Just calling attendance, any illusions about "integrated" public schools are wiped away. My class was typical for the school -- 29 black students, three Latinos and one white. Once the test began and the students were quiet, we heard the intermittent traffic of rats scampering through the air ducts. ... How can it be that tens of millions of young Americans attend dilapidated schools often lacking basic sanitation, qualified teachers and up-to-date textbooks?

Virginia Gov. Mark Warner reported that "three out of 10 students who enter high school do not graduate. Four out of 10 who do graduate lack the skills and knowledge to go on to college or succeed in the work force." With a little simple math, this adds up to 60 percent of young Americans being unprepared to participate in our nation's fast-paced, high-skills economy.

Further, we must remember that this 60 percent is not evenly distributed across schools. In many low-income areas, the number of unprepared students may be as high as 90 percent. Until we remedy this vast inequality of opportunity, the national divide along race and income lines will surely worsen. ... If we continue with mere tinkering and testing, we will pay dearly for decades of worsening injustice and utter negligence.

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    • Children Left Behind | 35 comments (35 topical)
    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 11:25:29 AM EST
    The bush Boys have a plan and its to make as many bankrupt/broken people that can be made, its a good start for the bush people to help in the total collapse of this nation/empire, and think how many prisons you can build and how much money a few people can make with this new idea of education. so lets hear it for the boys in washington, and the coming new third world empire, with millions and millions of good little slaves.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#2)
    by scarshapedstar on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 12:23:29 PM EST
    After reading Savage Inequalities it's hard for me to believe that these "not-so-integrated" schools are not purely coincidental. It's also hard to stomach.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 12:24:10 PM EST
    Er, are purely coincidental.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 12:27:19 PM EST
    At least they're getting their marx-lite indoctrination.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#5)
    by wishful on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 01:52:58 PM EST
    It makes me angry, but after the anger, what should we do? Scar is right--this atrocious treatment of our most vulnerable is no coincidence. The plan is to step it up, and so far it is working quite well. How can we unite to begin the movement back toward true social justice? So many have been so totally hoodwinked. Why? Is it that the truth is not clear? Is it that the truth is too disturbing to look at? Is it that so many know the truth, but feel that the downtrodden are just getting what they deserve? Is it that so many feel that they are not their brothers' keepers, so there is nothing they are responsible to do for the struggling? What? Is it too late, or are there enough who want our democracy back that we can do this thing?

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#6)
    by jimcee on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 01:58:21 PM EST
    "How do schools like this exist?" Got me by the short and curlies because I just paid my school taxes and could have sent a child to a mid-ranged private school for two years for the same amount. Perhaps they could create an alternate tax where you could donate your money to a needy student for private school? No wait can't do that because the teacher's unions wouldn't like that and would scream bloody murder or more like "NO TO CHARTER SCHOOLS!". I still can't figure out how you can't educate a kid adaquately for $8,000 to $10,000 a year in a public school. Heck my grandmother did it for 40 years in a woodframe two room school house in the middle of nowhere and through the depression and a World War for a lot less. Something is definately wrong with the US education system and I don't think that it is a lack of funding.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 03:02:20 PM EST
    How much is the Superintendent of that school district making?

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#8)
    by soccerdad on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 03:30:13 PM EST
    Florida's public school revenue per student and spending per $1000 of personal income usually ranks in the bottom 25% of U.S. states. Link

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#9)
    by soccerdad on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 03:39:01 PM EST
    in 2002 Florida ranks 49th in high school graduation rates. Florida ranks 50th in per-capita spending on education. Florida ranks 44th in student-teacher ratios. Florida ranks 46th in SAT scores. Over the last three years, Florida’s ranking has fallen in per-capita education spending, graduation rates, and SAT scores, while class sizes have increased. Link

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#10)
    by soccerdad on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 03:47:56 PM EST
    Over recent decades, Right Wing forces have engaged in a comprehensive assault on our nation’s public schools. From attacks on specific curricular choices in individual schools, to challenging state and national reform efforts, to diversionary schemes such as vouchers and tuition tax credits, to imposing school prayer, to challenging the very notion of a free public education for all Americans, the Far Right has aggressively sought to discredit and undermine public education.
    LINK

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#11)
    by desertswine on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 05:05:34 PM EST
    Ecactly; and then blame the teachers.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 05:38:27 PM EST
    The schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg system are quickly heading back toward pre-Swann conditions. If the folks on Lake Norman and in southern Mecklenburg County have their way, that's exactly what will happen, as CMS would be split into three separate districts. The schools in Charlotte proper, having the highest populations of African-American students and the lowest outlay of funds for capital improvements, would be left behind in this scenario. Although observers have said this is the result of several years of frustration with the school system, it actually has its roots in white flight to the suburbs that truly began in the 1970s. What we'll see here, if secession plans go through, are three systems--two with up-to-date facilities and the money to keep them up, and one that will struggle not to leave anyone behind.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#13)
    by jimcee on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 07:27:50 PM EST
    Soccerdad, If you don't like your kid's school, move. Yeah it blows but do it. Or if you're doing well economiclly go private. Anecdotely I had a friend move back to NYS because her kid was suffering in Florida schools. He came here and was 2 years behind everyone else and honestly our schools are more expensive but the quality is dubious. If you want your schools to be better then get involved, lobby your school board and make them improve the school. If your not willing to make that investment yourself for your own kid's sake then just quit whining. If you think that Bush is causing your kid to be poorly educated than you have abandoned you parental responsibility and found a scapegoat. It is not the government's, responsibility, especially the Federal gov'ts responsiblitiy to educate your kid. Grow up and take some reponsibility yourself. Public education is not the be all to end all, just ask Ward Churchill at the State U of C. Is that what you want to pay for with your tax/tuition dollars? Sheesh.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 07:34:18 PM EST
    Florida is going to be a terrible state for public education funding because of the retirement population. They generally don't have school age children and they aren't interested in passing levies. But generally speaking I believe like others stated above that wealthy conservatives are engaging in class warfare. Education stories like this one are just one aspect of the war.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#15)
    by soccerdad on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 07:40:44 PM EST
    Jimcee - wtf are you talking about. There is nothing wrong with my kid's school's. They are doing fine in public schools in the NE. i supplied some data on Miami school after Ace's snarky comment about the superintendent. The second post was to point out that it has been a well known goal of the Christian right to get rid of public education. So your tirade is misplaced. Better luck next time. However, I do feel public education is one of the factors that made this country great. Destroying public education will hurt this country in the long run. Its the religious right who want the government to pay for their kids to go to religious schools maybe you should go lecture them,

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#16)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Mar 05, 2005 at 11:10:02 PM EST
    I don't like to throw the "racist" term around, because I think it gets abused. But I've seen it in Alabama. A couple years ago, Montgomery's schools were going broke, they were cutting programs, and they were worried they'd have to shut the doors. The lead solution being discussed at the time? Raise the sales tax, which was already at something like 8.5%. Bear in mind that property taxes were quite low. In Montgomery, Alabama, political power lies with the "old money" crowd. Dividing lines between rich and poor are alarmingly sharp, as are borders between white and black neighborhoods. The well-off people all send their kids to private schools. So the unspoken undercurrent driving the political debate was "public schools are for the po folks; let them pay for it." Hence a regressive tax proposal that put most of the burden on the lower class. In the Deep South, social status is extremely important (far more so than most Northerners realize), and it's amazing how far some people will go to maintain their positions and keep the caste system in place. But I don't think that's a nationwide issue. Other states take a more communal approach and believe good schools are an investment in the community. The problem lies with the states, not the federal government.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#17)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Mar 06, 2005 at 12:02:03 AM EST
    They are doing fine in public schools in the NE. i supplied some data on Miami school after Ace's snarky comment about the superintendent. The second post was to point out that it has been a well known goal of the Christian right to get rid of public education. Soc, My primary education was both private and public. No doubt, religious conservatives truly hate public education (still ingraining racist attitudes towards social/racial/cultural integration into their children). The problem is, our public schools have eliminated racism but have entrenched classism and economic discrimination through local laws, zoning laws, districting laws, and appropriations. The money goes into a black hole somewhere above the school level and somehow ends up being spent on the new suburban schools for the latest textbooks and football uniforms. Meanwhile the inner city kids go to school with lead paint, asbestos, decades old window unit air conditioners, under prepared teachers, and no materials available for them to work with. And as much as I detest Doctor Ace, I have a very low opinion of our County schools administration. They're woefully inept, but they are woefully inept alongside their equally guilty compatriots at the County Commission and the State Legislatures. Local politics and local laws are responsible for localized economic discrimination, which in turn, leads to racial discrimination. Those laws are the crux of the problems with education, local governance, enticing low end employers paying non-living wages, spiking (highly concentrated) property values in suburban areas, gentrification, suburban sprawl, the destuction of wetlands (FL), etc.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#18)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Mar 06, 2005 at 02:20:40 AM EST
    Tampa: You wrote: ", religious conservatives truly hate public education (still ingraining racist attitudes towards social/racial/cultural integration into their children)" Is that eveyone who sends their kids to private schools? If you could prove it was everyone, I bet the Old Grey Lady would be all over it. Does it include the families who have sent their kids to Sidwell Friends School? My kids go to a Christian School ($3600 a year). About 20% of the kids who go are black. Am I a racist for sending them there? Please inform me. Next year my kids start at public school. Don't you worry though, the public schools are excellent here.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#19)
    by soccerdad on Sun Mar 06, 2005 at 03:47:41 AM EST
    Tampa, My response was simply to jimcee about his comments. I have never lived in Fl. but the state has a reputation for poor schools in general. So your description of the problems dont surprise me and completely consistent with articles on Florida public education. In the 80's I had an job interview at a University in Mississippi. I asked the guy who was showing me around Jackson, as we passed a local HS, how the schools were. He said "nobody" sends their kids to the public schools. There has been an on going battle in New Hampshire about the funding of public education. The funding had depended almost exclusively on local property taxes so there was great disparity across the state. Its been in the courts for years. I think that the issues you describe are not everywhere, but do exist in a significant number of locations. Calif. is another example of where inner city schools get short changed. In the end the funding of public education is a political issue and will reflect the people in power in that location along with the people running the state dept of education. These people will make sure that the areas they come from will be fine and those places are not the inner city for the most part. I am very concerned about the organized attack on public education nation wide which originates for the most part from members and leaders of the Christian right, people like Falwell, Dobson, etc. You have the former Head of the Fed. Dept. of Education calling the teachers "terrorists". You have groups all over the country trying to force their curriculum like creationism or intelligent design into the class room. As this continues the long term effect will be a shrinking of support for public education. The NCLB was designed to identify more and more schools as failures without provideing resources for improvement thereby firther undermining the support for public education. If you want to destroy some institution or program step one is to demonize it. The other group of people who want to see public education fail are those who are waiting to make a lot of money off education with privately run schools, where profits will be the number one concern. Is that eveyone who sends their kids to private schools? of course not.
    Am I a racist for sending them there?
    Of course not, however, the fact that you are not does not preclude others from being so. Also the issue about schools can be as much about class as it is about race.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#20)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Mar 06, 2005 at 07:54:35 AM EST
    Bush is making sure he has an ample supply of people who have no other job hopes but to die in Bush's wars for profit

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#21)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Mar 06, 2005 at 08:04:22 AM EST
    Public schools are held captive by beaurocracy and the Teacher's Unions. The reason Soccerdad hates the idea of private schools so much is that they force the Teacher's Union to compete (which they usually can't) and therefore upset their status quo. And this is reinforced time and time again when you see private schools outpacing public education, using less $$/student and achieving superior results. Those are the facts; its got nothing to do with anyone's religious preferences, although the hate-mongers will try to tell you otherwise.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#22)
    by soccerdad on Sun Mar 06, 2005 at 08:31:51 AM EST
    Horse's behind It never ceases to amaze me how so many on the right assume what I believe and don't believe, and get it completely wrong. I'm for public education because the alternative stinks. private schools don't have to have standards, standardized curriculum, certified teachers, etc. I never said that the public educations sytem was perfect or was not in need of change. I would agree that the teacher's union in certain locations, my town included, is too strong. I'm not will to throw the baby out with the bath water and accept an inferior product which you will start to get. Today's private schools are good because they can take the cream of the crop for students.
    using less $$/student and achieving superior results.
    I believe thuis to be in general false. Nonrelgious private schools in my area are running 10-14k/student per year. The catholic schools are running anywhere from 5-10k and receive money from the church. Public education is under 8k/student. Your results may vary. Anybody who reads the literature from the christian right knows that their goal is to get public funds for religious schools. Or if that fails abolish public funding of education.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#23)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Mar 06, 2005 at 08:37:46 AM EST
    Soccerdad: You said: "Or if that fails abolish public funding of education" Can you link me to where someone who runs a private school is calling for the abolishment of public paid education? No one has brought up the question wether the family life of the student has any factor. Not suprising for here.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#24)
    by soccerdad on Sun Mar 06, 2005 at 08:59:28 AM EST
    question wether the family life of the student has any factor
    I'm not sure what you mean by this, My quote does not refer to owners of private schools.
    "We must eliminate public education as it is structured today and reinvent it in a new form," according to Roxane Premont, director of the North Carolina Education Reform Foundation (NCERF). If successful, the "new form" of public education will ultimately result in private religious schools paid for by taxpayer money.
    According to NCERF literature: "Charter schools will provide a pool of independent schools that can readily be converted to private schools to meet increased demand for private education once voucher laws are passed. Charter schools that are converted into private schools will be initiated by those persons who want religious education.
    LINK
    "We don't want vouchers; we want the whole system abolished."
    LINK The first step in destroying public education is to demonize it.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#25)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Mar 06, 2005 at 09:07:57 AM EST
    Soccerdad. Take your blinders off. The link says that charter schools who wish to go private/religous may do so (under the author's proposed plan). The religous right doesn't want or need to demonize public schools. Watch your 6'oclock news; public schools do a great job demonizing themselves.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#26)
    by soccerdad on Sun Mar 06, 2005 at 09:21:13 AM EST
    And those kids on the 6 o'clock news like in Miami and other inner cities will be in the same position if not worse after private schools are set up. My blinders are off, Isee the plan, I hear the rhetoric I've beento the far right web sites, I know what the plan is. The christian right want to be able to set up their schools with public money and if that fails abolish public education so they will save on their taxes and have money to establish the christian schools. They feed into the legimate concerns that people have about certain systems. Of course it is disingenous for the Fl. Leg. to complaing about public education when its very under funded, a few years ago it was the worst in the country. The classrooms in inner cities are over crowdwd and the buildings are faling down. Is that the fault of public education or the legislators who won't fund it? If the religious right want to send their kids to private schools, fine let them. I spent 12 years in the catholic schools. Just shut up and go and let the rest of us who believe in it alone. But of course since their way is the only way the rest of us must follow them.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#28)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Mar 06, 2005 at 09:38:23 AM EST
    above by me

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#27)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Mar 06, 2005 at 09:49:53 AM EST
    Soccerdad. Private schools are a win-win for Everyone Vouchers force public schools to compete (always a good thing) and focus on results. If a public school is underperforming - fine - let the parents send those kids to private schools, using vouchers. Many people already send thier kids to private schools because they recognize the importance of a good education. Vouchers would make better education available to those who can't currently afford it.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#29)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Mar 06, 2005 at 10:16:29 AM EST
    What does wealth get you during your first 22 years of life? Good food and healthcare, exposure, private schools, a good education, a safer living environment, good legal defense and a college degree. What does that lead to? A high paying job, healthcare insurance, good food, money, exposure, experience, influential connections, a lower conviction rate, access, mentors and purchase power. Why not afford all Americans a good education? Because it will increase competition. What is wrong with competition? Those that are currently entitled, because of wealth, will be less entitled because the competitive pool will be larger. They will not sit by quietly and be threatened by this. How do you erase the threat? Insure good education for the wealth entitled only - self preservation is the first law of nature. Now, today Lieberman, while opposing private accounts, gave reference to a SS change potential option that would be more progressive - the more that you contribute to the SS Trust fund the more benefits you are entitled to. Well, does that not already happen? If so, what change was he referencing? Private Accounts, my take, will benefit heirs only if you do not draw out a penny. Who can afford not to draw a penny from the account during retirement? Net, Net looking at all of this - who benefits. The answer is obvious.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#30)
    by Richard Aubrey on Sun Mar 06, 2005 at 05:38:17 PM EST
    Some of you guys are off your meds. You think we don't know that these schools were lousy before Bush was elected. Get a clue. Just for fun, get a subscription to a Detroit paper and follow the school board follies. Corruption, incompetence, overstaffed administrators, sweetheart deals with contractors. Some years ago, teachers couldn't get books from the warehouses. By Thanksgiving, some went public. They were punished, the union sticking up for them. THE G-D-N BOOKS WERE IN THE WAREHOUSE. Except for the ones which aren't because the employees sold them to somebody else. Bush was not president then. There are certain large firms which simply won't deal with schools becaused the corruption is too great. You don't sell without bribing. I had an experience like that myself and decided to follow that advice. Michigan had a school assesment a couple of years ago. Our system got good ratings for having one of the highest teacher pay scales, the second-highest set of scores within a several-county area, and the second-lowest funding. A nearby system got pretty much the reverse. Low teacher pay, abysmal performance, high funding. They also had the highest per-pupil administrative cost and the highest per-pupil school board travel expenses. Ya think Bush is to blame? You guys are obsolete. You need to hire somebody to dust you off every month.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#31)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sun Mar 06, 2005 at 07:52:24 PM EST
    Watch your 6'oclock news; public schools do a great job demonizing themselves. Or perhaps the 6 o'clock news does a great job demonizing public schools.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#32)
    by Richard Aubrey on Sun Mar 06, 2005 at 09:26:00 PM EST
    You don't have to watch the six-o'clock news. As Bill Cosby says, you can see it live. It's not impressive. But maybe somebody could explain why the six-o'clock news wants to demonize public schools. Is it the Rosicrucians again? Those guys are everywhere.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#33)
    by kdog on Mon Mar 07, 2005 at 08:14:57 AM EST
    I moved to Florida from NY after high school. FWIW, In my experience, the Florida school kids were noticably less educated than my NY classmates. I'm sure there is plenty of blame to go 'round, but it's on the state to make sure schools are clean, well-lit, free of rodents, stocked with current books, and the class sizes are reasonable. After all that, if the kids still ain't learning, get on the teachers and parents.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#34)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 07, 2005 at 06:26:42 PM EST
    But maybe somebody could explain why the six-o'clock news wants to demonize public schools. Corporatists vote for Conservative ideologues. Corporatists own the media conglomerates. Conservative ideologues in power don't believe in educating the masses using tax revenues - they prefer disparate education based on the wealth they're born into and believe they should have the right to (1) be exempt from their tax burden such that (2) they may send their children to schools that teach intolerance for any viewpoint other than their own (i.e. religious bigotry, economic elitism, racial bigotry, etc.) You may disagree, but you'd be wrong. Save your stories - I experienced it first hand. Pardon me if I don't believe that it was a positive experience for an 8 year old (me) to have authority figures "educate me" to the fact that all of the Eastern Asians are doomed to burn forever in a lake of fire because they didn't accept Christianity after hearing about it. Pardon me as well if I didn't accept that slavery actually wasn't as bad as it was made out to be. Wow...but the thousands of dollars my parents spent sure taught me to read and multiply ahead of the other kids. That is the kind of education Southern Conservatives desire for their children.

    Re: Children Left Behind (none / 0) (#35)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Mar 07, 2005 at 06:32:57 PM EST
    Parents should have the right to provide quality education for their children. If a school is underperforming, they should be able to send their kids somewhere else. And vouchers put better education within the reach of EVERYONE. Lefties like Tampa want everyone to remain in the public schools so they can be indoctrinated by the Ward Churchill types.

    Children Left Behind | 35 comments (35 topical)