Reply to 6 Baltimore public schools where not a single student tested "proficient"

Forum Index » Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)

Reply to "6 Baltimore public schools where not a single student tested "proficient" "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This investigative report is depressing.

http://foxbaltimore.com/news/project-baltimore/6-baltimore-schools-no-students-proficient-in-state-tests

It is 2017.  [b]How can Baltimore public schools still be so bad?
[/b]
How many more generations of kids will go without an education before we, as a society, say enough is enough?[/quote]

Because we, as a society, don't want to commit the resources to the things that would actually improve the chances of children born to poor black parents in cities (actually of children born to poor parents of any race in rural, suburban, or urban areas), and then we blame the schools for our own failure as a society.[/quote]

How do we fix this specific problem in Baltimore?

I've got nearly two decades of antipoverty advocacy under my professional belt, and I don't have the answer...so I'm guessing you don't either, pp.

It's not the schools or the teachers. It's the students. And more directly: it's the way they've been raised. Their upbringing and home environment don't typically prioritize education and respect for authority. Just to clarify: there are outliers; not all the kids have parents who have checked out. But if none of the kids are proficient, then that says something that cannot be ignored.

Housing advocates will say the families just need housing. Food advocates will say they just need nutritious food. Kids obviously need both, but that won't improve test scores. Poverty advocates will say they need money. True, but that won't improve test scores.

Why are your kids thriving, DCUM? Think about everything you do to engage your kids, including setting expectations and boundaries. Parenting makes a difference. The home environment makes a difference. The neighborhood makes a difference. The cultural norm makes a difference.

Google the hot mess of a failed experiment by Zuckerberg in the Newark public school system. In short: fancy schools with cool technology and fabulous teachers can't fix the problems created at home. Sad, but true.

So what's the solution? I'm not sure. But I think we would have less people living in poverty and struggling academically if people delayed childbearing until their mid-20s...ideally equipped with at least a HS degree, a stable job, and a partner. All the research and data points to that, but unfortunately there's no way to legislate such things---and I haven't seen a US-based program that incentivizes such things (Africa has some programs that pay girls to prevent childbearing and continue their education). [/quote]
Very well stated.    I think if you offer free and easy access to birth control in inner cities it might help.  Paying very poor kids to graduate HS is not a bad idea.  We either pay for it now, or pay for it later in the form of more welfare or paying to keep them in prison.

Zuckerberg probably has enough money to pay for that.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics