Trump's new educational secretary nominee, Betsy DeVos, have a reaching affect on VA Public Schools?

[Anonymous]

The rich keep fighting against change, so it's hard to make any.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The rich keep fighting against change, so it's hard to make any.

How would you change it? Please be specific.

[Anonymous]

That busing cost is academic. What PP is inelegantly (inaccurately) complaining about is requiring more from schools than academics, such as teaching diversity and inclusivity, teaching health including sex ed and broader social issues such as trafficking, and most problematic, expecting schools to ameliorate the achievement gap rather than relying upon parents to do so.

I think PP doesn't realize that schools have traditionally played a significant part in indoctrinating culture. The requirement that schools solve the problem of poverty and/or lack of value of education, though, is new. And probably impossible, but still worth some effort.

This is laughably untrue. My Italian and Polish grandparents showed up at public school not speaking a lick of English and with parents who themselves had zero education. My Jewish grandparents showed up with only Yiddish and German.

Teaching English and American culture has ALWAYS been a part of the public school experience, for as long as we've been committed to public schools for everyone.

As for ameliorating the achievement gap, that's just in the best interests of the country. Children shouldn't be punished because their parents can't or won't educate them at home. All children deserve the chance to achieve to their own personal potential, and the idea that you have only "earned" a good education if you were born to well-educated or well-off parents is frankly unAmerican.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

That busing cost is academic. What PP is inelegantly (inaccurately) complaining about is requiring more from schools than academics, such as teaching diversity and inclusivity, teaching health including sex ed and broader social issues such as trafficking, and most problematic, expecting schools to ameliorate the achievement gap rather than relying upon parents to do so.

I think PP doesn't realize that schools have traditionally played a significant part in indoctrinating culture. The requirement that schools solve the problem of poverty and/or lack of value of education, though, is new. And probably impossible, but still worth some effort.

This is laughably untrue. My Italian and Polish grandparents showed up at public school not speaking a lick of English and with parents who themselves had zero education. My Jewish grandparents showed up with only Yiddish and German.

Teaching English and American culture has ALWAYS been a part of the public school experience, for as long as we've been committed to public schools for everyone.

As for ameliorating the achievement gap, that's just in the best interests of the country. Children shouldn't be punished because their parents can't or won't educate them at home. All children deserve the chance to achieve to their own personal potential, and the idea that you have only "earned" a good education if you were born to well-educated or well-off parents is frankly unAmerican.

AMEN!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The rich keep fighting against change, so it's hard to make any.

How would you change it? Please be specific.

I would make it so lotteries for any potential unique county wide school or program were more equally distributed. I would make lotteries equal per base school and make sure that children who didn't receive a lottery pick before got preference before those that did already get one. I would make sure housing around the county is more equally distributed. I would make sure spending is more equally distributed.

[Anonymous]

I would make it so lotteries for any potential unique county wide school or program were more equally distributed. I would make lotteries equal per base school and make sure that children who didn't receive a lottery pick before got preference before those that did already get one. I would make sure housing around the county is more equally distributed. I would make sure spending is more equally distributed

I assume you mean lotteries for magnet schools. I thought they were equally distributed. Isn't that what a lottery is?

How would you make sure that housing around the county is more equally distributed? There's not much new construction going on.

As far as spending, I think if you investigated, you would find that far more money is put into schools with needy kids. Do you want to take it away from the needier schools? I don't think that is what you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The rich keep fighting against change, so it's hard to make any.

How would you change it? Please be specific.

I would make it so lotteries for any potential unique county wide school or program were more equally distributed. I would make lotteries equal per base school and make sure that children who didn't receive a lottery pick before got preference before those that did already get one. I would make sure housing around the county is more equally distributed. I would make sure spending is more equally distributed.

So now we all get the same house. Sounds great. Equal for everyone

Ww can all have a tiny apt and phd's

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I would make it so lotteries for any potential unique county wide school or program were more equally distributed. I would make lotteries equal per base school and make sure that children who didn't receive a lottery pick before got preference before those that did already get one. I would make sure housing around the county is more equally distributed. I would make sure spending is more equally distributed

I assume you mean lotteries for magnet schools. I thought they were equally distributed. Isn't that what a lottery is?

How would you make sure that housing around the county is more equally distributed? There's not much new construction going on.

As far as spending, I think if you investigated, you would find that far more money is put into schools with needy kids. Do you want to take it away from the needier schools? I don't think that is what you want.

I was referring to community updates. Sorry, it wasn't worded well and you are right poorer areas would need more spending. I would make sure all communities appeared similarly safe and inviting through infrastructure spending.

[Anonymous]

I was referring to community updates. Sorry, it wasn't worded well and you are right poorer areas would need more spending. I would make sure all communities appeared similarly safe and inviting through infrastructure spending.

????

Sorry. I really don't understand your thinking.

[Anonymous]

I would not put all the new roads, parks, libraries, schools in one area. I would make sure there was investment throughout the entire county and help improve areas that are declining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Families aren't the only ones who get to choose in a so-called school choice scenario. The schools get to choose too and then most vulnerable (poor and special needs) students will get the very shortest end of the stick. If separate but equal is your jam, great, because that's what you're going to get with a school vouchers program.

Not to mention the part where tax dollars will inevitably pay for religious schools.

Do you really think they'd be equal?

Not the PP, but I suspect h/she was being tongue in cheek. Separate is never equal, and I think that was the point. Vouchers make the existing inequality even worse.

I was the PP and yes, I was being sarcastic. There will be nothing approaching equal of all the Langley kids go to private school and all the Hayfield kids stay in Hayfield. And the kids with iEPs will be trapped because the for profit charters will refuse to serve them and the traditional publics will have been gutted.

K-12 education choice is the primary component of this shitshow, but it's clear to me that Trump and his sycophants have no real idea what common core is as well. While the high stakes testing aspect is fairly pointless IMHO, I actually like the curriculum and see value in having standardized learning objectives across the country. Everyone loves to complain about common core math, but my first grader is essentially doing algebra right now because of the way math is being taught.

Honestly in the DC Metro we are almost universally fortunate to have strong public education systems. Say what you will about PG or PW, but schools in those districts are still ranked in the top 100 nationally. DC is the outlier. As an FCPS parent of a kid with an IEP, I see DeVos as presenting a huge threat to the strong districts around here, including FCPS and LCPS, and the special ed and FARMS kids will feel it the most.

It's worth nothing they DeVos or really any other Trumpet could also have a devastating effect on higher ed if there is a push to end direct lending. I have no desire to go back to preferred lenders. I really don't believe there is a clear understanding of everything with DOE does, despite the apparent intention to gut it.

And DC is the one that already has federally mandated vouchers -- so if you want your vouchers why not move to DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not put all the new roads, parks, libraries, schools in one area. I would make sure there was investment throughout the entire county and help improve areas that are declining.

Regarding Arlington (I assume we are talking about Arlington?), the issue is not new roads, parks, libraries, or schools. The county is affluent and the infrastructure improvements are not concentrated -- the issue is housing/zoning. This is also true in Fairfax, btw.

In a generation or two, these issues can be addressed by planning at the city or county level. By then, the issues may be totally different anyway, as neighborhoods change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

That busing cost is academic. What PP is inelegantly (inaccurately) complaining about is requiring more from schools than academics, such as teaching diversity and inclusivity, teaching health including sex ed and broader social issues such as trafficking, and most problematic, expecting schools to ameliorate the achievement gap rather than relying upon parents to do so.

I think PP doesn't realize that schools have traditionally played a significant part in indoctrinating culture. The requirement that schools solve the problem of poverty and/or lack of value of education, though, is new. And probably impossible, but still worth some effort.

This is laughably untrue. My Italian and Polish grandparents showed up at public school not speaking a lick of English and with parents who themselves had zero education. My Jewish grandparents showed up with only Yiddish and German.

Teaching English and American culture has ALWAYS been a part of the public school experience, for as long as we've been committed to public schools for everyone.

As for ameliorating the achievement gap, that's just in the best interests of the country. Children shouldn't be punished because their parents can't or won't educate them at home. All children deserve the chance to achieve to their own personal potential, and the idea that you have only "earned" a good education if you were born to well-educated or well-off parents is frankly unAmerican.

AMEN!!!!

Oh come now, you are wrecking the narrative that the country has become more "socialist."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not put all the new roads, parks, libraries, schools in one area. I would make sure there was investment throughout the entire county and help improve areas that are declining.

I disagree that that is what is happening. Could you give examples?

[Anonymous]

As for ameliorating the achievement gap, that's just in the best interests of the country. Children shouldn't be punished because their parents can't or won't educate them at home. All children deserve the chance to achieve to their own personal potential, and the idea that you have only "earned" a good education if you were born to well-educated or well-off parents is frankly unAmerican.

I don't think anyone disagrees with that we want to help these kids. But, how do you expect to do this? We already give far more money to poor kids than wealthier kids. I don't begrudge that--but what do you want us to do? Standards don't help if the kids cannot meet the basic ones. As long as high stakes testing is hand in hand with the standards, you will not be educating children properly. If a third grade teacher has a student on first grade level, the child needs to learn the basics first. Education is building blocks--not a race.