Why are there so many threads trashing South Side and West Side neighborhoods? (Chicago: loan, purchase)

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Drover

The schools can't do it all. They won't improve until the last vestiges of anti-intellectualism and marginalization of "sellouts" are stamped out of the black culture.

Those attitudes are a First Class ticket to Nowhere! I bet people would be surprised what the schools could do if the parents cared a little bit.

[cohdane]

I stand by my original point. Caring or uncaring or no parents at all, if a child attends school five days a week for eight years and can't read by the end of those eight years, the problem is the school. It's simply unforgivable.

If by parental involvement you mean that people need to protest to demand a decent education for their kids, I'd agree with that-- although people shouldn't have to march in the streets to get fundamental services. If by parental involvement you mean helping kids with homework, you're in a fantasy land. They either don't have the academic ability or the time-- the upstanding citizens are working double shifts just to make their rent (which also impairs their ability to supervise at-risk teenagers).

Of course, some parents are already involved. It's still a pretty deep hole to dig your kid and yourself out of. If you cared, but couldn't afford to move out of that school district, what would you do?

[Manigault]

Look, at a minimum everyone here can run a computer so you all have some lifetime skills. But this thread has convincec me:

Monday is the deadline for signing up to run for a local school council. I ran twice before in the nineties when it was a new thing and lost twice. Believe me, I'm as busy as anyone else but I gotta put something in the plus column.

This thread has convinced me to run for the LSC. I hope others do, too -- there are schools where no one wants to do it.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Manigault

Look, at a minimum everyone here can run a computer so you all have some lifetime skills. But this thread has convincec me:

Monday is the deadline for signing up to run for a local school council. I ran twice before in the nineties when it was a new thing and lost twice. Believe me, I'm as busy as anyone else but I gotta put something in the plus column.

This thread has convinced me to run for the LSC. I hope others do, too -- there are schools where no one wants to do it.

It is sad is it not?

[LakeShoreSoxGo]

Originally Posted by Drover

The schools can't do it all. They won't improve until the last vestiges of anti-intellectualism and marginalization of "sellouts" are stamped out of the black culture.

Sounds about as likely as stamping out the last vestiges of provincialism and waggishness from white culture. Anyways the west side has always had its reputation as being a lower class/immigrant area. When my mother was growing up, she was not allowed to go to the westside, because her father did not want her around southern and eastern europeans. Westside just seems to be one of those places where the people change but the stigma remains the same.

[LakeShoreSoxGo]

It seems to me, that a large part simply has to do with the decline of American manufacturing. There was a very brief period of time(1940's-1970's), when a black man or latino from the south or west side could could get hired at a factory and provide for himself, family, and even at times neighbours. Fact of the matter is, this is not a reality anymore. Furthermore, any attempts at creating vocational training to help these people to make it in a shifting economy, were completley whiped out by the republican revolution of the 80's. The end result is what we have today here in Chicago and through out the country. Forty some odd years of 'equal opportunity under the law' can not negate 400 years of utter decimation. It's just simply not logical, in any sense...I think.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by LakeShoreSoxGo

Sounds about as likely as stamping out the last vestiges of provincialism and waggishness from white culture.

Yes, how droll. Of course, waggishness and provincialism don't typically destroy entire communities and their chances of self-improvement. Slight difference, no?

[LakeShoreSoxGo]

Originally Posted by Drover

Yes, how droll. Of course, waggishness and provincialism don't typically destroy entire communities and their chances of self-improvement. Slight difference, no?

Well if there ever was a circumstance of case and point of entire communities (nations)being destroyed due to provincialsim and waggishness, I would probably say: Germany. Specifically under Wilhem and Hitler. But than you have other empires, the Japanese, the French, the Russian etc. But yes, a slight difference with out question. But I wasn't trying to mock you so I mean no offence. I was just merley trying to point out that I feel the quintessential explanation for a solution, regarding this issue, is a little bit more complex.

[Drover]

I gave no indication that I meant my response as an all-inclusive solution. In fact it was an attempt to add complexity to the somewhat simplistic "fix the schools" solution. My point was to say "it's not that easy."

[Humboldt1]

The west side was affected very badly by the decline in the manufacturing sector. I think blaming the republicans is folly but that is to be debated on another thread as I know people on here like to see anything controversial or political get moved to the political forum. Democrats were involved in the decline of manufacturing as well but the biggest culprit in all of this is globalization, which is a force that can't be stopped.

NAFTA was a major culprit as it led to the shutting down of Brach's. Essentially you have 4-5,000 manufacturing jobs shifted to Mexico. Now, the plant is being razed to make way for get this, 300-500 warehouse jobs for the two massive warehouses that are planned to be built on the former site. I say that the warehouse jobs are better than nothing but clearly not going to generate the sort of tax base that Brach"s did.

Chicago is doing better than say Detroit or Cleveland as we do have a strong service economy, but unfortunately service jobs don't pay as well as manufacturing jobs. I guess that is just life. The glory days of manufacturing may be behind us.

Hopefully, the increase in fuel costs and the further gentrification of our inner core in Chicago will encourage more and more yuppies to live in the city instead of taking the train from places like arlington heights or naperville. Of course, they will move once they have kids to avoid raising them in CPS, but hopefully Chicago can keep them for a few years prior to their kids being enrolled in public school. With people having children later and later, this might be 15-20 years of living in the city for a recent college grad, so not bad.