Anonymous wrote:Cuba is admired among the American left for its education system and perceived "fairness" to Afro-Cubans since the 1959 revolution. Castro, Che Guevara, et al, have their American fan base. There is a whole conversation that many of us have missed.

http://www.theroot.com/articles/history/2015/07/one_on_one_with_afro_cubans_what_it_means_to_be_black_in_cuba.html

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they want to open a ballet charter school. That art form is really big in Cuba - exports dancers all over the world:
https://newrepublic.com/article/118945/rebekah-bowman-photos-national-ballet-school-cuba

Unrealistic? DC does have a boarding school charter school.

Gawd! The last thing DC needs is another Duke Ellington boondoggle (huge cost overruns, possible accounting fraud, no governance accountability).

Anonymous wrote:Maybe they want to open a ballet charter school. That art form is really big in Cuba - exports dancers all over the world:
https://newrepublic.com/article/118945/rebekah-bowman-photos-national-ballet-school-cuba

Unrealistic? DC does have a boarding school charter school.

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:From the Post article:

In a news release announcing the trip, the chamber said that the delegation would include D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and that the group would visit primary and secondary schools there to learn “how literacy, graduation and retention rates .?.?. remain consistently high.”

There are schools right here in the U.S.A. that fits the criteria of Cuba. Massachusetts anyone?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just wondering if Scott Pearson is going on this junket to Cuba, or if the Mayor is only taking Kaya with her?

Seems odd to me that all these fancy trips to Las Vegas, Cuba and other places you see Kaya having a grand time...while poor Scott sits at home here in DC.

Clear case of racism.

Do ANY of these folks even speak Spanish?

Anonymous wrote:Just wondering if Scott Pearson is going on this junket to Cuba, or if the Mayor is only taking Kaya with her?

Seems odd to me that all these fancy trips to Las Vegas, Cuba and other places you see Kaya having a grand time...while poor Scott sits at home here in DC.

jsteele wrote:From the Post article:

In a news release announcing the trip, the chamber said that the delegation would include D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and that the group would visit primary and secondary schools there to learn “how literacy, graduation and retention rates .?.?. remain consistently high.”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These types of trips are common for any mayor of a major American city, to develop trade and other relationships. That doesn't make it any less of a junket, mind you, but there are actual reasons.

What trade exactly? Does DC grow corn, wheat, soybeans to sell to Cuba? Fabricate advanced medicines? Manufacture anything that can be exported?

The only trade and relationships that the DC will form with Cuba will be the cronies and hucksters trying to wheedle "consulting" business there. Consider, for example, DC's strong trade relationships with Africa, forged over many taxpayer junkets.

jsteele wrote:From the Post article:

In a news release announcing the trip, the chamber said that the delegation would include D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and that the group would visit primary and secondary schools there to learn “how literacy, graduation and retention rates .?.?. remain consistently high.”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:From the Post article:

In a news release announcing the trip, the chamber said that the delegation would include D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and that the group would visit primary and secondary schools there to learn “how literacy, graduation and retention rates .?.?. remain consistently high.”

So DCPS is trying to learn from .... Cuba? Ya' think such things have anything to do with Cuba being a Communist dictatorship and police state? Mind you, at this point maybe DCPS is looking to try anything.

Yep. Maybe they are looking for ways to emulate the Cuban lifestyle and political structure.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:From the Post article:

In a news release announcing the trip, the chamber said that the delegation would include D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and that the group would visit primary and secondary schools there to learn “how literacy, graduation and retention rates .?.?. remain consistently high.”

Hey, if this helps them start to learn Spanish and pay attention to the real culture and real needs of Hispanics in the city (nope, we are not just "colored"), the trip might have served a purpose.

Please. Wishful thinking. And in any event, Cuban immigrants have a VERY different, preferential experience than other Hispanics. Witness the thousands of Cubans coming over the land border from Mexico -- whisked through the lines, eligibility for food stamps and Medicaid within weeks, expedited green cards and a path to citizenship after a year. Meanwhile, women and kids are being sent back to violent Central American countries. I'm not saying the US shouldn't enforce its immigration laws; we can't take everybody. But the Cuban preferences rankle.