Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We know several families who already bailed for private schools (including a lot going to Catholic schools), temporarily or permanently moved to a part of the country with open schools, moved back to their home countries where school is open, and put their kids in pods. If it wasn't for pods, the exodus would be higher, but pods kids are still technically enrolled in their public school even though they outsourced the public school teacher's job.
We're starting to look into moving to a different part of the country that has schools open, and we'll make a final decision in May/June if DCPS hasn't committed 100% open for full-time school at that point. We're lucky enough to be able to move even without first securing jobs. Most people can't do that. For us, we just lost faith in WTU/teachers, administrators, corrupt WTU-endorsed politicians, and a weak mayor who's too afraid of WTU to reopen. We also see how our WOTP schools are part of a very broken DCPS system that's tied to issues with voting habits of the very poor and corrupt politicians, resulting in a very dysfunctional and largely poorly performing school system.
We are also looking at moving away, job dependent. Even if schools open full time next fall, this disillusionment you speak of is a main driver. That and disillusionment that this city can even function with such incredible inequality and intense racial animosity. I don't want my kids growing up here anymore.
Another factor is the understanding that my kids don't matter in this school system, at all, or to their school. So much energy must be focused on underperforming and at risk kids that they will be increasingly ignored especially as teachers struggle to close this huge increased learning gap the pandemic is creating. Even now they are just coasting and hardly learning, but it's not important because they're white and not at risk. We will be required to do so much more for them even after the pandemic.
If 2020 taught you anything, it should be that this is the case all across America. And good luck if you are moving to another country where racism is generally even worse, if you can believe it.
DC is structurally worse than most cities. SE is a normal low- and modest-income local population that happens to be Black. NW is highly-educated ‘best and brightest’ from all over the country, including all races (but is minority Black because that is how the country overall).
So here, *every* issue — even it is fundamentally about economics or education or whatever — gets viewed as racial, even when that’s not the pertinent dynamic.
Aha. I think you've explained something to me, yes. The white folks here aren't just here, they moved here and are of a type. There are very few ordinary working class white people in DC. This makes the racial animosity so much worse than other cities.
Anonymous wrote:yeah, I'm not going to miss the "I could do my job from Jackson Hole" people. I'd love it if the white people in DC were a little more civic minded and not always on alert for perceived privileges being taken away. Gives other white people a bad name. I don't want to be treated like some "Karen" but if all white people get mentioned for is REOPEN NOW GODDAMIT and DEAL ACCESS 4EVA then it's hard to explain myself.
Anonymous wrote:yeah, I'm not going to miss the "I could do my job from Jackson Hole" people. I'd love it if the white people in DC were a little more civic minded and not always on alert for perceived privileges being taken away. Gives other white people a bad name. I don't want to be treated like some "Karen" but if all white people get mentioned for is REOPEN NOW GODDAMIT and DEAL ACCESS 4EVA then it's hard to explain myself.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We know several families who already bailed for private schools (including a lot going to Catholic schools), temporarily or permanently moved to a part of the country with open schools, moved back to their home countries where school is open, and put their kids in pods. If it wasn't for pods, the exodus would be higher, but pods kids are still technically enrolled in their public school even though they outsourced the public school teacher's job.
We're starting to look into moving to a different part of the country that has schools open, and we'll make a final decision in May/June if DCPS hasn't committed 100% open for full-time school at that point. We're lucky enough to be able to move even without first securing jobs. Most people can't do that. For us, we just lost faith in WTU/teachers, administrators, corrupt WTU-endorsed politicians, and a weak mayor who's too afraid of WTU to reopen. We also see how our WOTP schools are part of a very broken DCPS system that's tied to issues with voting habits of the very poor and corrupt politicians, resulting in a very dysfunctional and largely poorly performing school system.
Are you me? Because I agree with everything you wrote.
I regret not taking my parents up on their offer this summer to have our kids live with them in Florida, where schools reopened as normal in the fall, and stayed open. It's March, and our ES kid is only back two days a week, and our MS is still 100% distance learning. The schools, teachers, and DC government have completely failed to meet their obligations to the city's schoolkids.
Anonymous wrote:We know several families who already bailed for private schools (including a lot going to Catholic schools), temporarily or permanently moved to a part of the country with open schools, moved back to their home countries where school is open, and put their kids in pods. If it wasn't for pods, the exodus would be higher, but pods kids are still technically enrolled in their public school even though they outsourced the public school teacher's job.
We're starting to look into moving to a different part of the country that has schools open, and we'll make a final decision in May/June if DCPS hasn't committed 100% open for full-time school at that point. We're lucky enough to be able to move even without first securing jobs. Most people can't do that. For us, we just lost faith in WTU/teachers, administrators, corrupt WTU-endorsed politicians, and a weak mayor who's too afraid of WTU to reopen. We also see how our WOTP schools are part of a very broken DCPS system that's tied to issues with voting habits of the very poor and corrupt politicians, resulting in a very dysfunctional and largely poorly performing school system.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We know several families who already bailed for private schools (including a lot going to Catholic schools), temporarily or permanently moved to a part of the country with open schools, moved back to their home countries where school is open, and put their kids in pods. If it wasn't for pods, the exodus would be higher, but pods kids are still technically enrolled in their public school even though they outsourced the public school teacher's job.
We're starting to look into moving to a different part of the country that has schools open, and we'll make a final decision in May/June if DCPS hasn't committed 100% open for full-time school at that point. We're lucky enough to be able to move even without first securing jobs. Most people can't do that. For us, we just lost faith in WTU/teachers, administrators, corrupt WTU-endorsed politicians, and a weak mayor who's too afraid of WTU to reopen. We also see how our WOTP schools are part of a very broken DCPS system that's tied to issues with voting habits of the very poor and corrupt politicians, resulting in a very dysfunctional and largely poorly performing school system.
We are also looking at moving away, job dependent. Even if schools open full time next fall, this disillusionment you speak of is a main driver. That and disillusionment that this city can even function with such incredible inequality and intense racial animosity. I don't want my kids growing up here anymore.
Another factor is the understanding that my kids don't matter in this school system, at all, or to their school. So much energy must be focused on underperforming and at risk kids that they will be increasingly ignored especially as teachers struggle to close this huge increased learning gap the pandemic is creating. Even now they are just coasting and hardly learning, but it's not important because they're white and not at risk. We will be required to do so much more for them even after the pandemic.
If 2020 taught you anything, it should be that this is the case all across America. And good luck if you are moving to another country where racism is generally even worse, if you can believe it.
DC is structurally worse than most cities. SE is a normal low- and modest-income local population that happens to be Black. NW is highly-educated ‘best and brightest’ from all over the country, including all races (but is minority Black because that is how the country overall).
So here, *every* issue — even it is fundamentally about economics or education or whatever — gets viewed as racial, even when that’s not the pertinent dynamic.