Schools with high FARM rates

[Anonymous]

Agree 100%. So many Indian kids are doing great in school and go on to become successful. Many of their parents can't speak English well nor do they speak to their kids in English at home for fear of the kids not being able to speak the mother tongue. However in India and Pakistan education is everything and the families support their kids completely.

Pretty ignorant for anyone to think you must speak English in the home for kids to become successful. Children pick up on English in school eventually anyway

Many of these parents do not speak English well, but chances are they were schooled in English since it is the official language of India. Many countries use English textbooks and the children read in English, but will use the native language to discuss or talk to their friends and family (so it is basically their social language). These people have had academic language in English through reading at school, but have not heard enough English to feel comfortable or to speak it without pronunciation "errors" that make them hard to understand for natives. So they may not speak it, but they have a pretty good understanding of much of it. This is basically the difference between learning English here as versus there.

My niece spent time in college in another country and she had no problem with the textbooks (all English as she was in the sciences at that level), but she had to listen to lecture and discussion in the second language (which she had learned). She did fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your child's instructional day will be interrupted by countless episodes of disruptive behavior. The classroom culture will be tense as these children are frequently not engaged and well below level of the grade level material. Many of the teachers will be on the spectrum of burnout. Lots of staff turnover. The school focus will be to raise those test scores and the curriculum will be focused entirely on that. The common denominator of rigor will be much lower. Your kid will look like a rock star to most teachers who appreciate that he does his work, doesn't mouth off, and makes an effort. Is this a good thing? Not really, because the perception is skewed. He won't be challenged. He will not be motivated and inspired by other achievers, as they are not the norm. He will be involved in a close knit group of friends there, which is nice, but there are few options to make broader connections. School events are sparsely attended by the whole of the community.

Before the flamers start, yes, there are some kids from low income environments who excel beyond all these characterizations, but it is not the norm.

Sincerely,

Someone who really knows......

This “someone who really knows” has a very narrow knowledge of higher poverty schools.
The answer to your question is that if you have a child who comes from a very supportive home, he will likely do quite well in school, regardless of the economic level of the other students. Many Title I schools (which ARE Title I because of their high free and reduced lunch rates) have a student body that does well.
I have taught in several of these schools. I have not witnessed the “countless episodes of disruptive behavior.” Quite the opposite, really. Most of these kids are excited to be at school and quite eager to learn. Do some students misbehave? Of course. This happens in ALL schools. I won’t go through all of the pp.’s negative comments, but will point out a crucial point - the quality of your child’s teaching is most affected by the quality of the teacher. It is the TEACHER that makes the difference. So, you can have a GREAT teacher in a “bad” school or a BAD teacher in a great school.
Title I schools do have additional resources and the teachers at these schools also receive additional professional development. That is a plus.
My advice is to visit the school in question. Watch instruction. Do the teachers seem to like what they do? Do they treat the students respectfully? Do the students seem happy? Are the teachers supported by administration?
Good luck with your child and his/her schooling.

You know I'm really getting sick of these sorts of answers from educators. I'm sure you are a fantastic teacher and really know how to get through to the kids, but you realize these responses are all about your ego right? Your high opinion of yourself and the job you do. You believe you are so talented that the circumstances a school is mired in are irrelevant. It's so not helpful to the discussion.
The reality is that there is plenty of data out there that suggests there is a tipping point in the amount of poverty a school can absorb. When more than half of a school is poor, EVERY CHILD SUFFERS. That includes the middle income children. It doesn't mean that the middle income children are failing- they are just being out performed by their peers another zipcode over. The teachers who write the above comments don't seem to be bothered by that, but it sure as hell bothers me.
I'm much more interested in my child's performance than your ego.

It so sad to see upper middle class white kids suffer this way. You're a cracker lacking in empathy.

Signed, another white parent.

[Anonymous]

The irony of all this is that there are many majority-FARMS, majority-white public school districts in VA and other states. It's only when the skin color of the children gets more diverse that these posters get the vapors. The Internet lets the white racists and their Asian sidekicks come out of their closets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The irony of all this is that there are many majority-FARMS, majority-white public school districts in VA and other states. It's only when the skin color of the children gets more diverse that these posters get the vapors. The Internet lets the white racists and their Asian sidekicks come out of their closets.

Please.... It's when people are paying a fortune for a home, and property taxes that you see this. No one cares what the kids look like as long as they aren't pulling down the test scores. They also get irritated when there is too much drain on resources.
It affects home values. It's a money issue.

Ps- no one likes poor white trash either.

[Anonymous]

Please.... It's when people are paying a fortune for a home, and property taxes that you see this. No one cares what the kids look like as long as they aren't pulling down the test scores. They also get irritated when there is too much drain on resources.
It affects home values. It's a money issue.

Ps- no one likes poor white trash either.

+1

Signed,

a white person who has lived around poor whites and who is paying a lot to live here now . . . it's not a racial issue so much as a socio-economic one, but white people who have lived their whole lives in the UMC don't understand this---they only see the color issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Please.... It's when people are paying a fortune for a home, and property taxes that you see this. No one cares what the kids look like as long as they aren't pulling down the test scores. They also get irritated when there is too much drain on resources.
It affects home values. It's a money issue.

Ps- no one likes poor white trash either.

+1

Signed,

a white person who has lived around poor whites and who is paying a lot to live here now . . . it's not a racial issue so much as a socio-economic one, but white people who have lived their whole lives in the UMC don't understand this---they only see the color issue.

You poor babies. Sounds like you're going to need to raise your game if you want to avoid all the undesirables in the DMV.

[Anonymous]

^^^ exhibit A

[Anonymous]

Smells like WHITE PRIVILEGE.

[Anonymous]

Smells like WHITE PRIVILEGE.

There are plenty of people who are not white who are looking for the same. It's not a color thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Smells like WHITE PRIVILEGE.

There are plenty of people who are not white who are looking for the same. It's not a color thing.

Oh don't even bother. Calling racism is an easy, and lazy argument for many people. You don't have to look at numbers, or acknowledge reality. Not impressive or persuasive.

[Anonymous]

It's OK. You are the Klanners you've been waiting for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's OK. You are the Klanners you've been waiting for.

Yawn