Old Weird Ward
Unless otherwise noted, that which is posted here is opinion, which is protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution. If you don't like my opinions, go somewhere else. Nobody is forcing you to actually read this drivel.
The presumption exists that you can read at all.
That may be a large assumption.
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Saturday, June 12, 2004
- - - - - More on Education and Minorities That is Not The News - - - - -
I read my local newspapers (daily the Georgia Times-Tribune, twice weekly the Tribune-Georgian) when each issue comes out. I cruise the news sites - Yahoo News, ABC News, Fox News, and the San Jose Mercury-News' on-line edition. Somehow, this one (HERE) didn't make it into the nationally reported "news", although it originally appeared in a major city newspaper, the Boston Globe. Yet this story has serious implications for the improvement of education for a class of students whose performance in school is, sad to say, abysmal.
On the National Assessment for Educational Progress test, the typical black or Hispanic student at age 17 scores below at least 80 percent of white students. "On average, these non-Asian minority students are four years behind those who are white and Asian," said Thernstrom. "They are finishing high school with a junior high education."
. . . .
Indeed, "conservative" may be a misnomer for the panel's agenda. Abigail Thernstrom noted that she and her husband found themselves radicalized by working on their book. Without a "radical overhaul of American education," she said, too many black and Hispanic young people will find the doors of opportunity closed, and "ancient inequalities" will persist. "Is that acceptable? No decent American will say yes."
Cathy Young is a Reason contributing editor. This column appeared in the Boston Globe on May 31, 2004.
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Now, why should I care about some conference in the NorthEast?
Prior to coming to SouthEast Georgia, my adult experience with California's public schools, particularly in San Jose, was not confidence inspiring. In the local public grammar schools, we found that more than half of the students spoke English as a second language. That wouldn't be so bad, but of that half, the majority didn't speak English at all when they started kindergarten, and these kids were "mainstreamed" into classes without going through intensive English instruction. Consequently, we felt obliged to spend a LOT of cash to send our two girls to a private school, where fluent English is a requirement for enrollment.
However, in Camden County, Georgia, we have found public schools that are the equal of the private schools we sent our children to back in California. Every kid in the classes speaks English. Every kid is expected to do their homework, behave in class, and be respectful to each other. Most importantly, the parents of these kids are involved. This involvment is universal - Black, White, Hispanic, Oriental - the parents are there, demanding that their children do well, and demanding that the basics be taught by the teachers, and working with their kids to make sure that the teachers succeed.
This should be the model for every school district in the land. Sadly, it probably won't happen.
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