The REAL issue with the proposals to shift boundaries & how MCPS can fix it

[Anonymous]

When did they say that? My understanding was that the four factors would be given equal weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The BoE already stated their highest factor when deciding boundaries is diversity. This is why forming consortiums with schools near one another like Kennedy, Wooton and WJ makes so much sense.

No, they haven't.

What they have said, is that the four factors are equally important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yep, this is all a coverup of huge portion of poorly performing students. It is already hurting property values and the school districts reputation. It will be an sanctuary city school district like Los Angeles - complete with flight of educated families and continued bottom of the bottom test scores.

Time for you to move somewhere where you won’t feel so threatened.

Absolutely time to move. The evidence of sinking/stagnating property values, the downward spiral of mis-managed public schools, and the increasing number of underperforming students is a very valid reason to move away.

Absolutely not threatened. I feel bad for those non focus families with no option but to stay for the MCPS joy ride.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yep, this is all a coverup of huge portion of poorly performing students. It is already hurting property values and the school districts reputation. It will be an sanctuary city school district like Los Angeles - complete with flight of educated families and continued bottom of the bottom test scores.

Time for you to move somewhere where you won’t feel so threatened.

Absolutely time to move. The evidence of sinking/stagnating property values, the downward spiral of mis-managed public schools, and the increasing number of underperforming students is a very valid reason to move away.

Absolutely not threatened. I feel bad for those non focus families with no option but to stay for the MCPS joy ride.

You're happy you're moving, I'm happy you're moving, I'm happy you're happy you're moving - win win win.

a non-focus family staying for the MCPS joy ride

[Anonymous]

One solution I’d like to see in these high farms schools is big sister/brother mentoring programs. These high farms students are hungry for not only food but also ATTENTION that their parents/guardians just aren’t sufficiently providing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One solution I’d like to see in these high farms schools is big sister/brother mentoring programs. These high farms students are hungry for not only food but also ATTENTION that their parents/guardians just aren’t sufficiently providing.

The idea that poor parents are bad parents - well, it has a long history, but that doesn't make it any less icky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One solution I’d like to see in these high farms schools is big sister/brother mentoring programs. These high farms students are hungry for not only food but also ATTENTION that their parents/guardians just aren’t sufficiently providing.

The idea that poor parents are bad parents - well, it has a long history, but that doesn't make it any less icky.

It’s also simply not true in most cases. I’ve taught in high income schools, low income ones, and magnet programs in lower income schools. Bad parenting is not limited to a certain tax bracket. When I taught in one W feeder, kids complained constantly that they spent more time with nannies and aupairs than their parents. While poor parents may work many hours, they often are spending much more of their leisure time with their children. And when we have meetings with new immigrant families, there are often relatives and family friends who attend in addition to parents. Sometimes we couldn’t get well off parents to even teleconference with us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One solution I’d like to see in these high farms schools is big sister/brother mentoring programs. These high farms students are hungry for not only food but also ATTENTION that their parents/guardians just aren’t sufficiently providing.

The idea that poor parents are bad parents - well, it has a long history, but that doesn't make it any less icky.

It’s also simply not true in most cases. I’ve taught in high income schools, low income ones, and magnet programs in lower income schools. Bad parenting is not limited to a certain tax bracket. When I taught in one W feeder, kids complained constantly that they spent more time with nannies and aupairs than their parents. While poor parents may work many hours, they often are spending much more of their leisure time with their children. And when we have meetings with new immigrant families, there are often relatives and family friends who attend in addition to parents. Sometimes we couldn’t get well off parents to even teleconference with us.

No, when you work many many hours, your leisure time is spent sleeping, cleaning the house, laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, car maintenance and other errands, leaving very very little time for the kids. I grew up like this and basically raised myself. Never went on a single vacation until I grew up and had my own career. This isn’t about putting down bad parents, busy parents or poor families. All kids need inspiration and hope. These can come from a mentor, a hobby, a book, a sport or something else. Let’s give them something to look forward too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One solution I’d like to see in these high farms schools is big sister/brother mentoring programs. These high farms students are hungry for not only food but also ATTENTION that their parents/guardians just aren’t sufficiently providing.

The idea that poor parents are bad parents - well, it has a long history, but that doesn't make it any less icky.

It’s also simply not true in most cases. I’ve taught in high income schools, low income ones, and magnet programs in lower income schools. Bad parenting is not limited to a certain tax bracket. When I taught in one W feeder, kids complained constantly that they spent more time with nannies and aupairs than their parents. While poor parents may work many hours, they often are spending much more of their leisure time with their children. And when we have meetings with new immigrant families, there are often relatives and family friends who attend in addition to parents. Sometimes we couldn’t get well off parents to even teleconference with us.

Yup. This. Previous PTA president at a Focus school; but now my kids are at a school with much a much larger number of high SES families. I can tell you that the parental engagement was much much higher at the Focus school. There's this preconceived notion that just because your kids go to a "good" school, you can be more hands off as a parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One solution I’d like to see in these high farms schools is big sister/brother mentoring programs. These high farms students are hungry for not only food but also ATTENTION that their parents/guardians just aren’t sufficiently providing.

The idea that poor parents are bad parents - well, it has a long history, but that doesn't make it any less icky.

It’s also simply not true in most cases. I’ve taught in high income schools, low income ones, and magnet programs in lower income schools. Bad parenting is not limited to a certain tax bracket. When I taught in one W feeder, kids complained constantly that they spent more time with nannies and aupairs than their parents. While poor parents may work many hours, they often are spending much more of their leisure time with their children. And when we have meetings with new immigrant families, there are often relatives and family friends who attend in addition to parents. Sometimes we couldn’t get well off parents to even teleconference with us.

No, when you work many many hours, your leisure time is spent sleeping, cleaning the house, laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, car maintenance and other errands, leaving very very little time for the kids. I grew up like this and basically raised myself. Never went on a single vacation until I grew up and had my own career. This isn’t about putting down bad parents, busy parents or poor families. All kids need inspiration and hope. These can come from a mentor, a hobby, a book, a sport or something else. Let’s give them something to look forward too.

One can do all of these things WITH the children. And indeed many people do, including me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One solution I’d like to see in these high farms schools is big sister/brother mentoring programs. These high farms students are hungry for not only food but also ATTENTION that their parents/guardians just aren’t sufficiently providing.

The idea that poor parents are bad parents - well, it has a long history, but that doesn't make it any less icky.

It’s also simply not true in most cases. I’ve taught in high income schools, low income ones, and magnet programs in lower income schools. Bad parenting is not limited to a certain tax bracket. When I taught in one W feeder, kids complained constantly that they spent more time with nannies and aupairs than their parents. While poor parents may work many hours, they often are spending much more of their leisure time with their children. And when we have meetings with new immigrant families, there are often relatives and family friends who attend in addition to parents. Sometimes we couldn’t get well off parents to even teleconference with us.

No, when you work many many hours, your leisure time is spent sleeping, cleaning the house, laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, car maintenance and other errands, leaving very very little time for the kids. I grew up like this and basically raised myself. Never went on a single vacation until I grew up and had my own career. This isn’t about putting down bad parents, busy parents or poor families. All kids need inspiration and hope. These can come from a mentor, a hobby, a book, a sport or something else. Let’s give them something to look forward too.

Exactly. The high income folks hire cleaners, etc. so they can spend non-work hours with their children. Poor working parents can’t do that. I think mentorship by the well off kids is a great idea, although they should be a year or two older. A “big brother/sister” from the same grade might be a bit, ummm, awkward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Exactly. The high income folks hire cleaners, etc. so they can spend non-work hours with their children. Poor working parents can’t do that. I think mentorship by the well off kids is a great idea, although they should be a year or two older. A “big brother/sister” from the same grade might be a bit, ummm, awkward.

Hi! *waves*

I'm well into the middle class. We don't hire cleaners, etc. Are we bad parents? Should we get a kid from a wealthy family in Potomac to mentor our children?

[Anonymous]

Exactly. The high income folks hire cleaners, etc. so they can spend non-work hours with their children. Poor working parents can’t do that. I think mentorship by the well off kids is a great idea, although they should be a year or two older. A “big brother/sister” from the same grade might be a bit, ummm, awkward.

AHEM.

I do not believe that well-off kids intrinsically have something to offer just by virtue of being born to the "right" parents. This is not 19th century France. We don't believe in noblesse oblige, and my child's classmates are not here to provide college resume fodder for some rich kid from Bethesda who thinks he is "helping" by telling them about the time he went skiing in Switzerland.

If MCPS wants to set up a mentorship program, they can do so by providing kids with mentors who look like them and have faced the same challenges and obstacles, not some kid named Chase who thinks he has important lessons to impart about bootstraps becuase his dad made him start as an "intern" at the family company.

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Exactly. The high income folks hire cleaners, etc. so they can spend non-work hours with their children. Poor working parents can’t do that. I think mentorship by the well off kids is a great idea, although they should be a year or two older. A “big brother/sister” from the same grade might be a bit, ummm, awkward.

AHEM.

I do not believe that well-off kids intrinsically have something to offer just by virtue of being born to the "right" parents. This is not 19th century France. We don't believe in noblesse oblige, and my child's classmates are not here to provide college resume fodder for some rich kid from Bethesda who thinks he is "helping" by telling them about the time he went skiing in Switzerland.

If MCPS wants to set up a mentorship program, they can do so by providing kids with mentors who look like them and have faced the same challenges and obstacles, not some kid named Chase who thinks he has important lessons to impart about bootstraps becuase his dad made him start as an "intern" at the family company.

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

Agreed. I’m thinking of mentors who are college age and are interested in teaching or sociology fields. Maybe MCPS can setup internship program so they get some kind of credit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One solution I’d like to see in these high farms schools is big sister/brother mentoring programs. These high farms students are hungry for not only food but also ATTENTION that their parents/guardians just aren’t sufficiently providing.

The idea that poor parents are bad parents - well, it has a long history, but that doesn't make it any less icky.

UMC white people think they are so virtuous when they romanticize the poor. Some of us on DCUM grew up in poor and dysfunctional households and have tried to explain multiple times that some (a fair number) of families are poor because of bad choices. The choice to have children when you are unmarried, the choice to use substances, etc. Some people are poor because they grew up in a developing country with little education and are now trying to live in one of the most expensive areas in the country. Regardless, it is true that on many metrics of quality parenting, poor parents do worse. It is pointless to argue that it isn't their fault or that some poor people are good parents. If you want to help poor children, you need to recognize that many will have worse experiences with their parents and try to counteract that. Read any number of threads on DCUM by teachers about kids always coming to school late or missing a huge number of days, coming with inappropriate clothing (despite being given multiple winter coats), kids going to bed at midnight, cursing at adults, etc. These are symptoms of the disarray...