What can be done to level the playing field?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whenever schools are mentioned and equity is mentioned, it always seems to be for African Americans. No other ethnic group struggles the way this group does.

I have seen African immigrants excel. I have seen uneducated refugees from all over the world work hard and succeed. The US has so many opportunities. You have to take advantage of the opportunities.

I wonder why that could possibly be....what have African Americans experienced that no other ethnic group has... let's think....

Oh please. Slavery ended 150+ years ago. Some of these new immigrants come from war zones, had family members murdered and lived in abject poverty that doesn’t exist in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whenever schools are mentioned and equity is mentioned, it always seems to be for African Americans. No other ethnic group struggles the way this group does.

I have seen African immigrants excel. I have seen uneducated refugees from all over the world work hard and succeed. The US has so many opportunities. You have to take advantage of the opportunities.

I wonder why that could possibly be....what have African Americans experienced that no other ethnic group has... let's think....

Oh please. Slavery ended 150+ years ago. Some of these new immigrants come from war zones, had family members murdered and lived in abject poverty that doesn’t exist in the US.

So you are willing to ignore the issues that arose from sharecropping, Jim Crow laws, red lining, and a host of whole other systemic issues that created an inequalities between African Americans and White Americans in this country?

Granted, the issues with generational poverty affect more then African Americans in the US. White people in Appalachia are an example of a community that is massively impacted by generational poverty. There are entire sectors of the Hispanic population that are struggling with generational poverty.

Most immigrants that arrive in the US through the Visa lotteries and legal methods are people who have a specific skill set or background that makes it easier to succeed in the US then low wage workers or people who risk coming tot he US illegally. And there are plenty of illegal immigrants coming from Asian, European, and African Countries. People granted a Visa or asylum from Afghanistan or another war torn country are able to provide specific skills or have provided some type of service to the US that puts them in danger if they stay in their country. There is an entire vetting process. It is very different for poor people fleeing violence and crime in their local village in Central America that are willing to risk the trip to the US. The skills and backgrounds are very different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whenever schools are mentioned and equity is mentioned, it always seems to be for African Americans. No other ethnic group struggles the way this group does.

I have seen African immigrants excel. I have seen uneducated refugees from all over the world work hard and succeed. The US has so many opportunities. You have to take advantage of the opportunities.

I wonder why that could possibly be....what have African Americans experienced that no other ethnic group has... let's think....

Oh please. Slavery ended 150+ years ago. Some of these new immigrants come from war zones, had family members murdered and lived in abject poverty that doesn’t exist in the US.

So you are willing to ignore the issues that arose from sharecropping, Jim Crow laws, red lining, and a host of whole other systemic issues that created an inequalities between African Americans and White Americans in this country?

Granted, the issues with generational poverty affect more then African Americans in the US. White people in Appalachia are an example of a community that is massively impacted by generational poverty. There are entire sectors of the Hispanic population that are struggling with generational poverty.

Most immigrants that arrive in the US through the Visa lotteries and legal methods are people who have a specific skill set or background that makes it easier to succeed in the US then low wage workers or people who risk coming tot he US illegally. And there are plenty of illegal immigrants coming from Asian, European, and African Countries. People granted a Visa or asylum from Afghanistan or another war torn country are able to provide specific skills or have provided some type of service to the US that puts them in danger if they stay in their country. There is an entire vetting process. It is very different for poor people fleeing violence and crime in their local village in Central America that are willing to risk the trip to the US. The skills and backgrounds are very different.

I am the pp poor Asian immigrant. My grandparents was poor and illiterate. My dad was malnourished as a child during war. My mom worked as a housekeeper and supported our family. I grew up in poverty in a majority black poor neighborhood. It was 100% free lunch.

I am friends with a Serbian family and the dad moved here with his mom and brother after his dad was killed in war. The mom worked multiple jobs to feed them. The kids went to school, got beat up by the black kids but somehow still ended up going to college and doing decently for themselves.

If these kids can come to a country with no money, uneducated parents and not speak a word of English, I don’t see how you can keep using slavery from hundreds of years ago. There are plenty of LMC, MC and MC blacks who were also descendants of slaves who raise their children well.

[Anonymous]

I meant to say there are plenty of LMC, MC and UMC blacks who were descendants of slaves who are raising their kids fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whenever schools are mentioned and equity is mentioned, it always seems to be for African Americans. No other ethnic group struggles the way this group does.

I have seen African immigrants excel. I have seen uneducated refugees from all over the world work hard and succeed. The US has so many opportunities. You have to take advantage of the opportunities.

I wonder why that could possibly be....what have African Americans experienced that no other ethnic group has... let's think....

Oh please. Slavery ended 150+ years ago. Some of these new immigrants come from war zones, had family members murdered and lived in abject poverty that doesn’t exist in the US.

So you are willing to ignore the issues that arose from sharecropping, Jim Crow laws, red lining, and a host of whole other systemic issues that created an inequalities between African Americans and White Americans in this country?

Granted, the issues with generational poverty affect more then African Americans in the US. White people in Appalachia are an example of a community that is massively impacted by generational poverty. There are entire sectors of the Hispanic population that are struggling with generational poverty.

Most immigrants that arrive in the US through the Visa lotteries and legal methods are people who have a specific skill set or background that makes it easier to succeed in the US then low wage workers or people who risk coming tot he US illegally. And there are plenty of illegal immigrants coming from Asian, European, and African Countries. People granted a Visa or asylum from Afghanistan or another war torn country are able to provide specific skills or have provided some type of service to the US that puts them in danger if they stay in their country. There is an entire vetting process. It is very different for poor people fleeing violence and crime in their local village in Central America that are willing to risk the trip to the US. The skills and backgrounds are very different.

I am the pp poor Asian immigrant. My grandparents was poor and illiterate. My dad was malnourished as a child during war. My mom worked as a housekeeper and supported our family. I grew up in poverty in a majority black poor neighborhood. It was 100% free lunch.

I am friends with a Serbian family and the dad moved here with his mom and brother after his dad was killed in war. The mom worked multiple jobs to feed them. The kids went to school, got beat up by the black kids but somehow still ended up going to college and doing decently for themselves.

If these kids can come to a country with no money, uneducated parents and not speak a word of English, I don’t see how you can keep using slavery from hundreds of years ago. There are plenty of LMC, MC and MC blacks who were also descendants of slaves who raise their children well.

It has more to do with the culture surrounding how you parent, the value placed on education vs sports, and the expectations at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell parents outright that the only way for their kid to do well is to sit down every night with them and read and do homework. This means the parent will have to sacrifice and explains that is what parents with more income do. It works. Follow their example.

Tell parents outright that learning to speak English as quickly as possible will benefit their child in the long run more than anything the school will do.

Tell parents that speaking grammatically correct english is imperative if they would like their child to do well on tests bc tests are written in standard grammatical English and not recognizing it on a test means they do worse then other kids. The tests aren’t going to change. The kids who do well have parents who have figured this it. Follow their example.

Provide identification. and remediation services earlier on for the most common identified learning disabilities.

Develop and institute standard curriculum with standard materials for all classes within a school. Teachers can’t provide additional unless approved.

Kindergarten - morning academic work - afternoon play and social skills work. Each class should have a dedicated therapist to work with students and yea even those who neurotypical need it to.

Either make it easier to move a child with behavior issues to self contained classes or pay more individual aids. There should be a 3 strike policy and then either one has to be done. We lose way to many teachers and staff who have to deal with this but no real solutions.

High school - any action that is a crime - even a misdemeanor - report to police and the child is tracked to alternative school and after a year of success there with no further incidents then can be considered to return.

High school - if a student reaches senior year and can’t read or do math at grade level, then senior year is an intensive year of remediation with the goal of the student being able to read and do math by the end of the year. The student will be granted a basic diploma if they successfully complete the year.

This actually makes perfect sense. Especially the part about the disruptive students.

Too many moms answer the school's principal's call with "not my sweet boy" - only to find, this isn't the first time, nor will it be the last.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whenever schools are mentioned and equity is mentioned, it always seems to be for African Americans. No other ethnic group struggles the way this group does.

I have seen African immigrants excel. I have seen uneducated refugees from all over the world work hard and succeed. The US has so many opportunities. You have to take advantage of the opportunities.

I wonder why that could possibly be....what have African Americans experienced that no other ethnic group has... let's think....

Oh please. Slavery ended 150+ years ago. Some of these new immigrants come from war zones, had family members murdered and lived in abject poverty that doesn’t exist in the US.

So you are willing to ignore the issues that arose from sharecropping, Jim Crow laws, red lining, and a host of whole other systemic issues that created an inequalities between African Americans and White Americans in this country?

Granted, the issues with generational poverty affect more then African Americans in the US. White people in Appalachia are an example of a community that is massively impacted by generational poverty. There are entire sectors of the Hispanic population that are struggling with generational poverty.

Most immigrants that arrive in the US through the Visa lotteries and legal methods are people who have a specific skill set or background that makes it easier to succeed in the US then low wage workers or people who risk coming tot he US illegally. And there are plenty of illegal immigrants coming from Asian, European, and African Countries. People granted a Visa or asylum from Afghanistan or another war torn country are able to provide specific skills or have provided some type of service to the US that puts them in danger if they stay in their country. There is an entire vetting process. It is very different for poor people fleeing violence and crime in their local village in Central America that are willing to risk the trip to the US. The skills and backgrounds are very different.

I am the pp poor Asian immigrant. My grandparents was poor and illiterate. My dad was malnourished as a child during war. My mom worked as a housekeeper and supported our family. I grew up in poverty in a majority black poor neighborhood. It was 100% free lunch.

I am friends with a Serbian family and the dad moved here with his mom and brother after his dad was killed in war. The mom worked multiple jobs to feed them. The kids went to school, got beat up by the black kids but somehow still ended up going to college and doing decently for themselves.

If these kids can come to a country with no money, uneducated parents and not speak a word of English, I don’t see how you can keep using slavery from hundreds of years ago. There are plenty of LMC, MC and MC blacks who were also descendants of slaves who raise their children well.

It has more to do with the culture surrounding how you parent, the value placed on education vs sports, and the expectations at home.

I grew up in a shockingly similar environment, and my parents knew nothing about college. I made my own way, but I am not typical.

Nowadays, immigrants are organized, and have connections in education, to help with settling in at college, at the very least. Thousands of us did not have that.

[Anonymous]

I'm skipping 10 pages ahead, but I hope at least one person has mentioned: paid parental leave, home visiting, and expanded federal funding for (affordable, accessible, high-quality) child care.

[Anonymous]

Your government plans can’t help with the above. At least you admitted that you skipped ahead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm skipping 10 pages ahead, but I hope at least one person has mentioned: paid parental leave, home visiting, and expanded federal funding for (affordable, accessible, high-quality) child care.

Lots and lots of parents don’t read to their kids, swear at them, hand them a phone as a toddler and smoke pot much of the day, view school as a place where their kids go so they aren’t at home. Just all around terrible parenting. No amount of government programs will fix that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are public schools where there are significant achievement gaps between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Yet some schools thrive despite having great economic differences among the student body - these schools show no significant achievement differences in math, science, social science, and language arts. What are the schools that have no gap doing right? Do these schools provide after-school tutoring, supplemental weekend and summer enrichment? Do these schools provide parents with the resources to supplement their kids or are systemic issues permanent barriers in schools that cannot overcome the gaps (such as parents not having sufficient time because they work in the evenings and nights and needs to sleep during the day)?

Maybe we should accept that not all kids are the same and simply try meet all kids where they are instead of getting worked up over it or bringing down others to the lowest level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are public schools where there are significant achievement gaps between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Yet some schools thrive despite having great economic differences among the student body - these schools show no significant achievement differences in math, science, social science, and language arts. What are the schools that have no gap doing right? Do these schools provide after-school tutoring, supplemental weekend and summer enrichment? Do these schools provide parents with the resources to supplement their kids or are systemic issues permanent barriers in schools that cannot overcome the gaps (such as parents not having sufficient time because they work in the evenings and nights and needs to sleep during the day)?

Maybe we should accept that not all kids are the same and simply try meet all kids where they are instead of getting worked up over it or bringing down others to the lowest level.

We used to live in Alexandria and know many families in the Hayfield and W Springfield pyramids. If we are talking African Americans and Hispanic families, the families in those two pyramids have parents who care. The military families with two parents who are involved especially have kids who thrive.

I think having one or two parents who are vested in children and their future is so key.

We used to live by Lee/Edison and my child attended Springfield Estates, which is both an AAP center and Title 1 school. The AAP program was full of smart black and brown kids. The kid has to have someone who cares about them and wants the child to do well. I don’t think it matters how educated or how rich or the color of the skin. Love matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dc prep and kipp get results from lower ses kids

It's mainly drill and kill which is needed when folks are so far behind

The end goal is foolish you are advocating for communism ina capitalistic society

Those kids largely fail at college or if they go to another prep school for high school.

Signed,
Former boarding school teacher who saw every KIPP kid fail within 2 years. Not their fault even, but you can’t handhold to that extent and then throw them in the deep end. They need to be thrown in the deep end so to speak before leaving KIPP to make sure they can do it on their own, but then KIPP would rarely have any kids leave them.

[Anonymous]

It would be great if we could control fertility.

There should be rules around people only having 2 kids in their lifetime. They could only be fertile and have these kids between the age of 25 and 35. If your HHI was below 100K, you could only have 1 kid. You needed to show that you are a responsible adult, no addiction, a parenting certification etc, to become physically able to procreate after 25.

To have more than 2 kids you would have to pay heavy taxes. If people did not have kids, they would get tax credits or an allowance for the rest of their lives. If you were poor and had your 1 kid, you would be given an allowance to raise the kid till kid graduated from HS. Community college and vocational training would be free for children who came from families where HHI was less than 100K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It would be great if we could control fertility.

There should be rules around people only having 2 kids in their lifetime. They could only be fertile and have these kids between the age of 25 and 35. If your HHI was below 100K, you could only have 1 kid. You needed to show that you are a responsible adult, no addiction, a parenting certification etc, to become physically able to procreate after 25.

To have more than 2 kids you would have to pay heavy taxes. If people did not have kids, they would get tax credits or an allowance for the rest of their lives. If you were poor and had your 1 kid, you would be given an allowance to raise the kid till kid graduated from HS. Community college and vocational training would be free for children who came from families where HHI was less than 100K.

There are poor destitute people all over the world. Only in America do we try so hard and throw money at the problem for it not to work.

We probably need more social workers and helpers inside the home to make sure child has proper nutrition, makes sure homework is done, helps child where help is needed, etc. this has to be done at the home level.