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

[Anonymous]

How about having older kids from the same cluster reading with younger kids at lunch? How about buying books for real kids (who may not own any other book) instead of throwing over-the-top HoCo parties? How about buying musical instruments for another school? Did you know a trumpet costs about $700?

Lots of ways to help folks. Make it happen. Get out of the bubble.

[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.

Correct, there can be neglect from both sets of parents: uneducated poor parent, over educated not poor parent.

Family planning and setting goals goes a long way.

[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.

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.

There a preconceived notion in many cultures and genders that their job as parents is to ship the kids off to school and that’s that. All set, pat in the back.
Involved parents’ children will have an advantage. Half of our neighborhood has work at home or atay at home dads or moms. I can ask them anything about any sports program or teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about having older kids from the same cluster reading with younger kids at lunch? How about buying books for real kids (who may not own any other book) instead of throwing over-the-top HoCo parties? How about buying musical instruments for another school? Did you know a trumpet costs about $700?

Lots of ways to help folks. Make it happen. Get out of the bubble.

pTAs and foundations already do the sister school thing.
Plus it’s not like taxes are going down nor getting increasingly redistributed to FARMS and ESOL students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The multigenerational and multi-family homes are quite common in the DMV’s AA and Central American cultures do the caretaker and housekeeper is usually the older aunts or grandmother.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

There a preconceived notion in many cultures and genders that their job as parents is to ship the kids off to school and that’s that. All set, pat in the back.
Involved parents’ children will have an advantage. Half of our neighborhood has work at home or atay at home dads or moms. I can ask them anything about any sports program or teacher.

That used to be the preconceived notion among the US-born white middle class, into at least the 1980s.

[Anonymous]

And most men.

[Anonymous]

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.

This is a really tone deaf and terrible idea. I'm sure that you are well meaning but come on.

1. You are going to bus in wealthy white kids and then announce that they are there to be role models for the AA and hispanic youth. A few lucky URMS will get to bask in the presence of these special white people who will serve as their mentors. Yeah, this will go over really well.

2. You are going to excitedly tell the white parents that you are now shipping their kids off to ganglandia so those kids can teach the poor kids. Yeah, this will go over really well.

3. You are treating AA and hispanic kids as inferior and you are treating white kids as if they are resources for you to use.

Just stop. This is why the the label SJW has such negative connotations. Dumb wealthy people meaning well but being clueless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This is a really tone deaf and terrible idea. I'm sure that you are well meaning but come on.

1. You are going to bus in wealthy white kids and then announce that they are there to be role models for the AA and hispanic youth. A few lucky URMS will get to bask in the presence of these special white people who will serve as their mentors. Yeah, this will go over really well.

2. You are going to excitedly tell the white parents that you are now shipping their kids off to ganglandia so those kids can teach the poor kids. Yeah, this will go over really well.

3. You are treating AA and hispanic kids as inferior and you are treating white kids as if they are resources for you to use.

Just stop. This is why the the label SJW has such negative connotations. Dumb wealthy people meaning well but being clueless.

But that is exactly what MCPS is proposing to the whole county. When a large number of AA and Hispanics cluster up together they form a toxic environment that neither group can succeed in. So in order to rectify the situation they need the presence of white and Asians to detoxify the school environment. That is the exact message that studies after studies have shown. It’s sad that AA and Hispanics can’t seem to get it together enough to create a successful school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

But that is exactly what MCPS is proposing to the whole county. When a large number of AA and Hispanics cluster up together they form a toxic environment that neither group can succeed in. So in order to rectify the situation they need the presence of white and Asians to detoxify the school environment. That is the exact message that studies after studies have shown. It’s sad that AA and Hispanics can’t seem to get it together enough to create a successful school.

No, it's not. What MCPS is proposing to do is to pay a consultant to analyze the possibility of adjusting school boundaries to even out capacity and demographics.

Take your bigotry elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But that is exactly what MCPS is proposing to the whole county. When a large number of AA and Hispanics cluster up together they form a toxic environment that neither group can succeed in. So in order to rectify the situation they need the presence of white and Asians to detoxify the school environment. That is the exact message that studies after studies have shown. It’s sad that AA and Hispanics can’t seem to get it together enough to create a successful school.

No, it's not. What MCPS is proposing to do is to pay a consultant to analyze the possibility of adjusting school boundaries to even out capacity and demographics.

Take your bigotry elsewhere.

Sadly, I must agree with the PP that I am hearing the same message as well. Moreover, I will assert that neither the PP nor I believe that message to be correct. Students on FARMs and of AA / Hispanic descent are brilliant, expressive, amazing human beings. The MCPS narrative that they are unable to succeed unless you add white students to their classroom if offensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But that is exactly what MCPS is proposing to the whole county. When a large number of AA and Hispanics cluster up together they form a toxic environment that neither group can succeed in. So in order to rectify the situation they need the presence of white and Asians to detoxify the school environment. That is the exact message that studies after studies have shown. It’s sad that AA and Hispanics can’t seem to get it together enough to create a successful school.

No, it's not. What MCPS is proposing to do is to pay a consultant to analyze the possibility of adjusting school boundaries to even out capacity and demographics.

Take your bigotry elsewhere.

Sadly, I must agree with the PP that I am hearing the same message as well. Moreover, I will assert that neither the PP nor I believe that message to be correct. Students on FARMs and of AA / Hispanic descent are brilliant, expressive, amazing human beings. The MCPS narrative that they are unable to succeed unless you add white students to their classroom if offensive.

Eh. The DCUM narrative that your children will suffer and your property values will plummet if there are more poor black and Latino students in your children's schools - that's what I find offensive.

[Anonymous]

mcps is looking for ideas and suggestions to deal with diversity and capacity. There is a group of students who are pushing diversity diversity diversity. I don't think anyone would argue diversity is a bad thing. The students who are pushing for diversity, won't be around to deal with the results of this outcomes of the study. They'll be off to college. And they are not the students or families that wanted to stay in their neighborhood schools (eg, from recent boundary studies, Twinbrook ES families did not want their kids bussed to other schools, they wanted to stay in their walkable, title 1 school. Same thing happened when the opened Silver Creek MS, low income families did not want their children bussed elsewhere). These HS students seem to think otherwise, and that they speak for all, and anyone who speaks against what they propose are considered bigots or racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: mcps is looking for ideas and suggestions to deal with diversity and capacity. There is a group of students who are pushing diversity diversity diversity. I don't think anyone would argue diversity is a bad thing. The students who are pushing for diversity, won't be around to deal with the results of this outcomes of the study. They'll be off to college. And they are not the students or families that wanted to stay in their neighborhood schools (eg, from recent boundary studies, Twinbrook ES families did not want their kids bussed to other schools, they wanted to stay in their walkable, title 1 school. Same thing happened when the opened Silver Creek MS, low income families did not want their children bussed elsewhere). These HS students seem to think otherwise, and that they speak for all, and anyone who speaks against what they propose are considered bigots or racist.

Then you haven't been reading DCUM. Or anything else.

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/racial-equity-concerns-surface-at-boundary-meeting/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But that is exactly what MCPS is proposing to the whole county. When a large number of AA and Hispanics cluster up together they form a toxic environment that neither group can succeed in. So in order to rectify the situation they need the presence of white and Asians to detoxify the school environment. That is the exact message that studies after studies have shown. It’s sad that AA and Hispanics can’t seem to get it together enough to create a successful school.

No, it's not. What MCPS is proposing to do is to pay a consultant to analyze the possibility of adjusting school boundaries to even out capacity and demographics.

Take your bigotry elsewhere.

Sadly, I must agree with the PP that I am hearing the same message as well. Moreover, I will assert that neither the PP nor I believe that message to be correct. Students on FARMs and of AA / Hispanic descent are brilliant, expressive, amazing human beings. The MCPS narrative that they are unable to succeed unless you add white students to their classroom if offensive.

Eh. The DCUM narrative that your children will suffer and your property values will plummet if there are more poor black and Latino students in your children's schools - that's what I find offensive.

You do not think that is one of the factors why houses are more expensive in Bethesda, Potomac, Rockville etc when compared to Silver Spring or Wheaton?