Reply to Dumb WaPoo Article on Public Schools

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[quote=Anonymous]Havent read through the pages of responses here, but I will find time to do that. This is one of the most important and most difficult social challenges of our generation, in my opinion.

I am one of the "urban gentrifiers" in DC -- we bought our home downtown in 2005. I dislike the term gentrify, but wanted to identify myself as an upper/dual income, Asian, liberal, two young kids and an idealist kind of person. We send our kids to a local dual language DCPS (non charter) school. The kids there are mainly low income and mainly minority. Our kids are learning extremely well, but there are challenging things that have nothing to do with the children who are there, but our approach to educating lower income children. The school has a focus on "rigor" through tons of homework. I mean avalanches of homework. (which we do, but others decline to do; research is ambivalent on whether homework helps anyone); we lack enriching afterschool activities; instead even the littlest kids sit in study hall like rooms doing homework or drawing... I'm ok with it for my kids given that they love to draw and don't mind the academic work, but it is not ideal. There is only a tiny amount of recess, like 15 minutes, and the rest of the day is given over to test prep. Even in specials, like gym and music, the focus is on regimentation, order and discipline. Kids sit out the entire music period because a couple of them didn't file into the classroom silently. Recess is cancelled because kids were not silent -- yes, silent -- in the gym. I doubt (though I don't know for a fact) that these same rules are in place in schools in upper NW dc or in the suburbs. I think the way we treat young children will result in how they grow up. If we treat schools like prisons or factories, no matter how "rigorous" the work, we will be rewarded with prisoners and low-wage workers.  I'd like to see the tenets of the most successful charter schools be actually applied to regular public schools serving low income kids -- focus on creativity, movement, outdoors, etc. a "well rounded education" integrating all the subjects.

For now my kids are learning well and have excellent friends. But I know the paths will diverge in middle school, if not earlier... I wish the other kids had the same opportunities, but I don't see a feeder pattern emerging that will help make that happen. We have the $$ to move or go private, if need be, but I will miss the diversity. [/quote]

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