The true meaning of "equity"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone has their own struggle. Equity doesn’t work in all
Aspects of life. One who is more deserving should get the reward. It teaches the kids importance of hard work. Some people are lucky, can we take away luck from them, as some others have not been lucky?

That a whole bunch of self contradiction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:May need to watch this before discussing equity.

My dd had a similar activity and was told she was privileged for having two married parents and there always being food on the table. That’s not privileged! There should be basic things that parents provide for their kids.

I think schools should meet kids where they are. I hope that the very smartest are being provided with the classes and support they need too. We need the next generation of entrepreneurs, doctors, scientists and top engineers. Instead we have a dumbed down curriculum where no one is learning well.

You highlighted something very important here.

Of course there are things that parents SHOULD provide for their kids. But the reality is that half of American marriages end in divorce. It is a privilege to have two married parents - and as a child, that privilege is not one that you do anything to earn.

Parents should have their child's education and enrichment as a primary focus. But the reality is that many American parents have to be far more concerned with their family's physical and financial security. Many of them have to work multiple jobs in order to make ends meet. So having parents who have the means to send you to enrichment activities or to transport you to and from those is a privilege - and as a child, that privilege is not one that you do anything to earn.

It is not a child's fault if they have parents who, for whatever reason, cannot provide or choose not to provide the supports that you do. We do not operate within a caste system in America, and the public school system exists for the purpose of educating children of ALL backgrounds to be positive contributors to society. There are plenty of other opportunities for you to use your resources to purchase "extras" for your kids without expecting the taxpayers to do it for you.

Pp here. Sorry yes I said married but I think kids with two very involved divorced parents also are on that same level.

I think calling it privileged makes it seem unattainable or that people should not try to provide for their kids.

I also hate the label privileged because then it seems okay to give kids with good home lives less. Instead I really like everyone being treated the same. For instance, all kids get free lunch and breakfast now. That’s great because now it doesn’t stigmatize the poor kids. I also really like kids who are performing under grade level getting tutoring after school or pulled out for extra resources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:May need to watch this before discussing equity.

My dd had a similar activity and was told she was privileged for having two married parents and there always being food on the table. That’s not privileged! There should be basic things that parents provide for their kids.

I think schools should meet kids where they are. I hope that the very smartest are being provided with the classes and support they need too. We need the next generation of entrepreneurs, doctors, scientists and top engineers. Instead we have a dumbed down curriculum where no one is learning well.

You don’t like the label or you don’t like the concept?

Our schools aren’t “dumbed down”.

Easy for you to say from the ground level.

Easy for anyone to say who sees the curriculum available to our kids.

Looking at actual facts, not propaganda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone has their own struggle. Equity doesn’t work in all
Aspects of life. One who is more deserving should get the reward. It teaches the kids importance of hard work. Some people are lucky, can we take away luck from them, as some others have not been lucky?

What do you mean by “deserving” and “reward”?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:May need to watch this before discussing equity.

My dd had a similar activity and was told she was privileged for having two married parents and there always being food on the table. That’s not privileged! There should be basic things that parents provide for their kids.

I think schools should meet kids where they are. I hope that the very smartest are being provided with the classes and support they need too. We need the next generation of entrepreneurs, doctors, scientists and top engineers. Instead we have a dumbed down curriculum where no one is learning well.

You don’t like the label or you don’t like the concept?

Our schools aren’t “dumbed down”.

Easy for you to say from the ground level.

Easy for anyone to say who sees the curriculum available to our kids.

Looking at actual facts, not propaganda.

What, you mean the one where they don't learn multiplication until 3rd grade? The one where they don't learn 3D shapes until second grade? The one where they are told that "good readers guess" in kindergarten? That actual curriculum?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:May need to watch this before discussing equity.

My dd had a similar activity and was told she was privileged for having two married parents and there always being food on the table. That’s not privileged! There should be basic things that parents provide for their kids.

I think schools should meet kids where they are. I hope that the very smartest are being provided with the classes and support they need too. We need the next generation of entrepreneurs, doctors, scientists and top engineers. Instead we have a dumbed down curriculum where no one is learning well.

You highlighted something very important here.

Of course there are things that parents SHOULD provide for their kids. But the reality is that half of American marriages end in divorce. It is a privilege to have two married parents - and as a child, that privilege is not one that you do anything to earn.

Parents should have their child's education and enrichment as a primary focus. But the reality is that many American parents have to be far more concerned with their family's physical and financial security. Many of them have to work multiple jobs in order to make ends meet. So having parents who have the means to send you to enrichment activities or to transport you to and from those is a privilege - and as a child, that privilege is not one that you do anything to earn.

It is not a child's fault if they have parents who, for whatever reason, cannot provide or choose not to provide the supports that you do. We do not operate within a caste system in America, and the public school system exists for the purpose of educating children of ALL backgrounds to be positive contributors to society. There are plenty of other opportunities for you to use your resources to purchase "extras" for your kids without expecting the taxpayers to do it for you.

Exactly. Children don’t get to pick their families and resources available to them.

Some are born with boundless opportunities and resources. Others, not so much.

[Anonymous]

The purpose of school is to teach everyone. You don't ignore the advanced kids and spend all your time just trying to catch up the ones whose parents failed them (for whatever reasons - economically disadvantaged, uninterested, etc). There are enough advanced kids to put them in an AAP class and give every child the best possible education they can get with the time and resources available. It does no good to have bored kids sitting there with others who are struggling. They'll distract each other and even less learning will happen.

All these contrived pictures are just stupid. Talk to the issue, not some simplified image framed in a certain way to ignore and hide the fact that one group is hurt at the expense of another unnecessarily in the name of "equity."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:one group is hurt at the expense of another unnecessarily in the name of "equity."

one group is *prioritized* at the expense of another unnecessarily in the name of "equity."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The purpose of school is to teach everyone. You don't ignore the advanced kids and spend all your time just trying to catch up the ones whose parents failed them (for whatever reasons - economically disadvantaged, uninterested, etc). There are enough advanced kids to put them in an AAP class and give every child the best possible education they can get with the time and resources available. It does no good to have bored kids sitting there with others who are struggling. They'll distract each other and even less learning will happen.

All these contrived pictures are just stupid. Talk to the issue, not some simplified image framed in a certain way to ignore and hide the fact that one group is hurt at the expense of another unnecessarily in the name of "equity."

As long as AAP gets its fair share of distractions, that sounds fair. It isn't fair to go from 4 classes with each class having a 1 in 4 chance of getting the chair thrower to two advanced classes and two non-advanced ensuring the advanced kids are free from the chair thrower and the non advanced kids now have a 1 in 2 chance of having every lesson interrupted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:May need to watch this before discussing equity.

My dd had a similar activity and was told she was privileged for having two married parents and there always being food on the table. That’s not privileged! There should be basic things that parents provide for their kids.

I think schools should meet kids where they are. I hope that the very smartest are being provided with the classes and support they need too. We need the next generation of entrepreneurs, doctors, scientists and top engineers. Instead we have a dumbed down curriculum where no one is learning well.

You don’t like the label or you don’t like the concept?

Our schools aren’t “dumbed down”.

Easy for you to say from the ground level.

Easy for anyone to say who sees the curriculum available to our kids.

Looking at actual facts, not propaganda.

What, you mean the one where they don't learn multiplication until 3rd grade? The one where they don't learn 3D shapes until second grade? The one where they are told that "good readers guess" in kindergarten? That actual curriculum?

Whole reading sucks and is already being phased out. That wasn’t an “equity” decision- just a bad one.

Learning multiplication in 3rd has been the standard for decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pp please go private if you like, but lobby for a voucher system so the money follows the student. Then the people that stay in the public school can play their equity games from morning till night.

Equity is always more fair when it’s not done on your dime. It feels even good to be magnanimous with the less fortunate as long as it doesn’t hurt your pocket.

For the equity crowd, what have you personally done with your own resources to advance equity? Chances are the answer is nothing.

No way. We aren’t going to cripple our schools as DeVos did in Michigan.

I’m not subsiding your private school tuition just because you don’t want a public school education for your kids.

Too bad the governor elect disagrees with you

Yes, that’s why he has his crazy voucher crew working on it.

The Ds in the Senate will prevent him from doing too much damage.

And he’d have to overpower the local school districts. Doesn’t seem like an R thing to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess you did not see the version where the taller kids' legs are cut off to make everyone equally short. Thus is what implementation looks like in reality.

How exactly is this happening in FCPS? Please provide specific examples.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Am I the only one who was pretty appalled by that video? Speaking to the white kids primarily and singling out kids, e.g. "those black kids back there" and "I guarantee those black kids could smoke some of you?"

I appreciate the fact that he pointed out no one did anything to get where they were but I wonder if what it was like for the kids in the back.

In general, the kids in the back know they are in the back. As it relates to this specific activity it is likely that everyone spent enough time together to know about skills, abilities, and families. No need to pretend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:May need to watch this before discussing equity.

My dd had a similar activity and was told she was privileged for having two married parents and there always being food on the table. That’s not privileged! There should be basic things that parents provide for their kids.

I think schools should meet kids where they are. I hope that the very smartest are being provided with the classes and support they need too. We need the next generation of entrepreneurs, doctors, scientists and top engineers. Instead we have a dumbed down curriculum where no one is learning well.

You highlighted something very important here.

Of course there are things that parents SHOULD provide for their kids. But the reality is that half of American marriages end in divorce. It is a privilege to have two married parents - and as a child, that privilege is not one that you do anything to earn.

Parents should have their child's education and enrichment as a primary focus. But the reality is that many American parents have to be far more concerned with their family's physical and financial security. Many of them have to work multiple jobs in order to make ends meet. So having parents who have the means to send you to enrichment activities or to transport you to and from those is a privilege - and as a child, that privilege is not one that you do anything to earn.

It is not a child's fault if they have parents who, for whatever reason, cannot provide or choose not to provide the supports that you do. We do not operate within a caste system in America, and the public school system exists for the purpose of educating children of ALL backgrounds to be positive contributors to society. There are plenty of other opportunities for you to use your resources to purchase "extras" for your kids without expecting the taxpayers to do it for you.

Pp here. Sorry yes I said married but I think kids with two very involved divorced parents also are on that same level.

I think calling it privileged makes it seem unattainable or that people should not try to provide for their kids.

I also hate the label privileged because then it seems okay to give kids with good home lives less. Instead I really like everyone being treated the same. For instance, all kids get free lunch and breakfast now. That’s great because now it doesn’t stigmatize the poor kids. I also really like kids who are performing under grade level getting tutoring after school or pulled out for extra resources.

But see, that's the entire point of the conversation. Treating everyone the same doesn't get the job done.

Having kids who are performing under grade level getting tutoring after school is a great idea, but what if that student has responsibilities at home in terms of child supervision? Or if they can't get home after school because they can't use the regular bus and they don't have a ride at 5:00 or whenever because their parents are working their additional job?

This is the thing about folks who have resources - they tend not to have any idea the extent to which the public education environment has been catered to their experience, and no idea the extent to which that environment makes it difficult for folks who don't have those resources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The purpose of school is to teach everyone. You don't ignore the advanced kids and spend all your time just trying to catch up the ones whose parents failed them (for whatever reasons - economically disadvantaged, uninterested, etc). There are enough advanced kids to put them in an AAP class and give every child the best possible education they can get with the time and resources available. It does no good to have bored kids sitting there with others who are struggling. They'll distract each other and even less learning will happen.

All these contrived pictures are just stupid. Talk to the issue, not some simplified image framed in a certain way to ignore and hide the fact that one group is hurt at the expense of another unnecessarily in the name of "equity."

As long as AAP gets its fair share of distractions, that sounds fair. It isn't fair to go from 4 classes with each class having a 1 in 4 chance of getting the chair thrower to two advanced classes and two non-advanced ensuring the advanced kids are free from the chair thrower and the non advanced kids now have a 1 in 2 chance of having every lesson interrupted.

If the chair thrower meets the criteria for AAP, he or she should certainly be in AAP.