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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

The good ole US of A, right here in MoCo. If you ever stepped foot in a homeless shelter or worked with charities dealing with impoverished families, talked to a foster child... or had any exposure to "others" beyond watching reruns of "Cops", you would know that. But you like being willfully ignorant of such things. It justifies your inflated sense of superiority and refusal to see beyond your own narrow world views. Careful, don't trip on your sheet on your way to becoming completely irrelevant.  :roll:

Anyway...
Totally agree with the poster who pointed out that the key is to challenge kids and provide a good education for the youngest of learners. That's why it's completely stunning to me that a so-called blue state like Maryland doesn't have funded preschool and pre-K programs for all kids, regardless of income. I mean,[b] red states like Georgia and Tennessee have this. [/b]
Much of the achievement gap has its roots in early childhood education (or the lack of it). 
The kids of middle and higher SES parents can afford to send their kids to pricey preschools (and I don't knock them or blame them for this...heck, I've done it). They are better educated--often due to a generations-long series of privilege--and use more honed vocabulary--a proven brain booster for young learners. Healthy diets, exposure to music as infants, all of this helps.
Meanwhile, the lowest income kids, who due to institutionalized inequity, start off behind. Parents who may not have access to healthier food choices, education, etc... Early Head Start and Head Start try hard to correct for this, but in many areas in MoCo that's only a few hours a day. For a parent working some 10 hour shift job, this kind of staggered day is impossible to balance. So the child goes into an affordable daycare that likely may not have an educational underpinning. Or the child stays home with a relative who may not have the background or bandwidth to educate the little one at home.
Meanwhile, his/her more affluent peers are learning the rudiments of literacy and math in preschool. Nature walks provide hands on science learning. Arts, music, foreign language...all of these things get little minds working overtime.
So, by the time all of these kids arrive for kindergarten, the kids with good preschool educations are already ahead. Meanwhile, the lower SES child is already behind.
The gap broadens from there as the kids are grouped by ability and differentiated math and reading. Teachers in Title 1 and Focus schools (the good ones at least) try to catch everyone up, but it's a lot to overcome. Throw in ESL and it's a herculean task to get everyone on level.
Jump ahead three years and it's a rare child that can overcome that kind of gap.
If you want to preserve the integrity of HGC and ensure fair and across the board standards--start at both ends of the equation. Open access now so that more kids might get that type of education and get a long awaited intellectual jolt. And advocate that all children receive access to an enriched and free preschool education. [b]Level the playing field for toddlers and watch the brightest of all hues rise to the top. [/b][/quote]

You're contradicting yourself right here.  You think that universal pre-K is the answer?  No freakin' way.

Do you look at those red states (Georgia and Tennessee) as shining examples of the US education system?  If they offer universal pre-K, then why aren't URMs performing well in those states.

Also, there have been studies that show the gains made by kids who do attend Head Start type programs do not last very long.  By the time the kids are in upper ES, they are behind.  Really, these kids need better support when they are actually IN ES.

FTR, I'm a minority.  I actually voted for Hogan because Brown was supporting universal Pre-K.  I truly don't think that is the answer.  [/quote]

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