Reply to Extended School Year Approved for 2 MoCo Elementary Schools

Forum Index » Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)

Reply to "Extended School Year Approved for 2 MoCo Elementary Schools"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

[b]OK. What can be done, by whom, to make that happen?[/b][/quote]

Nothing can be done. It would require people to PERSONALLY make this decision and to change their value system. Schools cannot and SHOULD not be held responsible for making sure that this happens  to compensate for what is lacking at home. There is only.so.much. that schools can do. HOw about personal ownership and pride as a parent that you want the best for your child? [/quote]

So for children who have parents who (according to you) have lacking homes is, what's your answer? Too bad, you should have picked richer, whiter parents?[/quote]

As I said, [b]there's only so much that the schools can do.[/b]  I think no one can argue that MCPS is already doing a lot to compensate for the lack of whats happening at home; but to expect that we continue to throw more and more resources on top of what's already being done to completely close the gap is foolish. People need to stop being dillusional, thinking that the solution is solely on the schools to come up with.  Your assertion that one can only be rich and white to care about a child's education is effed up by the way. I'm a minority middle class parent who have children in a FOCUS school. Lots of parents; not just white or rich, care about their children's education. The point I'm making is that caring about your child's education is something that personally anyone regardless of your SES or ethnicity CAN do. [/quote]

OK. Is there something that not-schools can do, and if so, what?

The achievement gap is between kids from wealthy families and kids from poor families, and between kids from white and Asian families and kids from black and Hispanic families. That doesn't say that black, Hispanic, and poor parents don't care about their kids' education. That says that, as a group, test scores for kids from poor, black, and Hispanic families are lower. So, why? You say that it's not because poor, black, and Hispanic parents don't care about their kids' education, and I agree with you on that.[/quote]

I think a lot of it is cultural and what people are familiar with from their own childhoods. If their parents didn't talk to them using rich language or read aloud to them as part of a routine then they won't be inclined to do so for their own children. This is painting with a broad brush and of course it's not true of everyone of certain races or ethnicities, of course. It also has a lot to do with SES. If you're living in poverty your priorities are going to be different than those of a middle or UMC family. If you're worried about keeping food on the table and a roof over your heads, reading to your kids may not be what you choose to do when you have a spare 20 minutes. Again, not for everyone, but for enough.

Some of the hardest working students I've had come here from countries in Africa. They may be living at or below the poverty level when they first arrive and for some years after, but the parents instill the idea in their kids that education is the first priority. The parents continue their schooling here in order to get better jobs and the kids see them setting that example. They are reluctant to sign up for FARMS or to accept donations or gifts. On the flipside, there are families of all races and ethnicities who have not come from other countries and live at or below the poverty line but keep perpetuating the cycle. These are the families who value things like iPhones, X boxes and luxury cars even though having those things means not being able to afford needs and they are fine with others subsidizing their needs so they can pay for their wants. They're used to those things and feel like they deserve them, and will work to get them because that's what they prioritize. Reading and the like aren't seen as "cool" by their parents, so the kids don't see it as "cool" either.

Again, painting with a broad brush...[/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