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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Having my kids fall behind doesn’t help anyone else. I reject your premise, OP.[/quote]

But I think they won't if influential parents demand better instead of checking out.

What if we compromise.  Don't form pods till December and spend three months trying to get your school to deliver a good education to your kids (and everyone else's kids)  If it doesn't work and what they are giving you, after all your complaints to the teacher and principal and PTA, is still things like chaotic weekly meetings, busywork worksheets, ed tech, and videos followed by poorly worded online quizzes, then form your pod and educate your own kids. But I really think they will figure out how to do it if they have to.  But it won't be cheap so parents are going to have to stay and make them have to.[/quote]

Absolutely not!  I completely reject your premise that delivering quality to my own kids is in any way incompatible with activism on behalf of others or for the quality of DL.  It's bizarre that you think under-serving my kids would make a difference to anyone at all.  It's not like I can hold their education hostage to extract concessions from the teachers.  "Oh noes, high-income parents are letting their kids watch TV, we better provide them some higher-quality stuff!"  Said no teacher ever.  And also, I'm satisfied with my school's DL right now.  I just want to be able to work during the day, so I need to hire someone else to be with the kids.  I need to do my actual job now, I can't put it off until December.

You need to stop being so naive about DCPS.  It's not like they don't understand that parents want quality.  Parents have been demanding better for decades.  They do it all the time.  "Demand better" is not going to get the job done. The problems are very deeply rooted and require a tremendous amount of time and money to address.  A vast quantity of money from the council would help.  Maybe you should focus on that.

Look, I was a PTA president at a Title I school-- a very poorly regarded one-- for two years.  [b]And I learned that persuading people to under-serve their own child never, ever works.  They just won't do it.  They'll do all kinds of things as long as their child still gets an education that they perceive as adequate, and as long as you don't ask them to make themselves miserable with too much of a time commitment.  But they won't accept a bad education for their own child.  Especially if they don't think it will actually benefit any other child.[/b]  If you want to ask for solidarity, go ahead. But ask for something that will actually make a difference.  [/quote]

Thanks for saying this. I agree. [/quote]

This.  And if you come at them with philosophical stuff or ideas that don't make any sense, they won't want to work with you at all.  If you come at them with a specific proposal that makes sense, or ask their support for a specific policy change, they might support it.  If you ask them to do something that really plays to their interests, skills, or expertise, they will often jump at the chance and do a great job.  So ask for those things.  You can push people a little on philosophical stuff, and they'll accept some disadvantage for their child if they think the tradeoffs really are beneficial to others in a significant way.  But this BS idea that if everyone underserves their own kid, the school system will suddenly have enough money to do quality DL, will just make people write you off as a nut.[/quote]

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