Reply to WCP article on Watkins

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "WCP article on Watkins"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]I'm sad that the drama at Watkins continues. I hoped that the new building would be a stabilizing force.

When we enrolled a few years ago, I was pleased that the school had a mix of race and income that few other schools in the city could match. Time quenched some of that idealism. I would send them there again, though, given the chance.

My take away is that there is no easy answer. For all those claiming that focusing on the achievement gap doesn't hurt kids in the middle or above are living in la la land. There are finite resources (time, energy, money). Sometimes an amazing teacher can manage to cover the spectrum, at least some of the time. I saw it happen. On the other hand, our last year there, I was in heavy rotation as a volunteer for a teacher who let my kid (no academic superstar) and anyone else who met the base line level of proficiency languish while she spent her efforts, often one on one, with kids who were failing. It was elementary school and I knew my kid would probably make up for lost time but still it was unnerving to see a large group of student left to entertain themselves with worksheets and reading for a significant chunk of time.

From a big-picture perspective, we can argue that all extra resources should go to those who need them most. But we are parents first. It's unrealistic to think we won't lobby for our kids' best interests (especially if we convince ourselves that it's gonna help out everyone in the long run). [/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