[JViello]

Originally Posted by goldenband

...I think the educational system's resources, and society at large, are better served by encouraging the high achievers as much as possible than trying to rescue the folks at the bottom

*knock* *knock* Golden you in there or did aliens take over?

I tend to agree, as hard as it is to say about that kind of situation.

Originally Posted by goldenband

I've known too many people who've overcome adversity, and become high achievers despite the obstacles of a bad or abusive upbringing.

I agree and there are several right here on this forum, myself and Brasscitybluenwhite and Leilani for example. (Maybe it's a Waterbury thing. )

[brasscitybluenwhite]

Originally Posted by Leilani Vasquez

My sister is a school teacher. She couldn't score a teaching job in Connecticut without a master's degree. She ended up taking a job as a paraprofessional for $10/hour for 3 years while she pursued this. Teachers in any state have to attend work shops certain times per year as well.

I also understand that Hartford also pays a higher salary then some surrounding towns. I have considered going back to school for secondary education as I have a passion in uplifting youth. Although many people couldn't do it, I would teach at an inner-city school in a heart beat.

u already kno leilani, lol me too. But theres so much out there that I wanna do first. I went back senior year of high school to my seventh grade teacher to tell him I had decided to put off teaching, he was like "THANK GOD U WOULD HAVE BEEN A WASTE". He said that teachers in waterbury were powerless and you could do much more in a political position than u could do in as a "lousy teacher". Waterbury has some of the highest paid teachers in the state. I'm thinkin about runnin for school board when I get home...

[brasscitybluenwhite]

Originally Posted by JViello

*knock* *knock* Golden you in there or did aliens take over?

I tend to agree, as hard as it is to say about that kind of situation.



I agree and there are several right here on this forum, myself and Brasscitybluenwhite and Leilani for example. (Maybe it's a Waterbury thing. )

I disagree with both of you. After talking with kids from Hartford and New Haven, I have soooooo much respect for these towns. I personally believe they have soo many people go to college from these schools because they do such a good job of not politicizing (if thats a word) their public schools and teaching all the students that they can attain if they tried. Waterbury tried soo hard to make us all "good citizens", ie, suspending us if we didn't have a collared shirt on, finding ways to arrest our parents if we didn't go to school, anti-bullying, non tolerance, etc.

Wanna hear a true story? I failed freshman chemistry because I didn't know how to study for it. But I did have a whole lot of collared shirts in my closet!

In my opinion, Hartford does a good job trying to motivate its impoverished base. It acknowledges that it has a high poverty rate and has program after program to get its kids to go to college. Waterbury, on the other hand, pushes its poor kids through the system so they get arrested after graduation and come back after jail to sit on the green. (while of course, the kids that display ability go off to college and never come back because they get too depressed seeing all their old friends on the green) It tries sooo hard to hide its poor that it actually annoys me. I'm trying to get with this girl from the south end of hartford. All of her friends go to college with her (a group of 4 girls). Their all really bright and they all tell me about all the things that they were exposed to when they were in high school. (after school programs, different groups in school, etc). They're all successful. Not saying that I'm not a success, but frankly, I was petrified my first 2 years. It was like an adventure, challege after challenge. I think those girls were way more prepared than I was because they were trained in how things were gonna be in college. I got to UCONN and hit the ground running.



J, as a side note, did u see the interview the rep-am did with the CEO of Saint Mary's? he said that something like the city would benefit from itself if it stopped looking in the rear view mirror all the time. lol! hahahahahahaha

[hartford_renter]

Is Hartford becoming a modern day wild west?

Hartford is much more dangerous then people realize.

http://
concatenate the string below...
"en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_rate_(100,000_-_250,000)"

This site had the murder total for 2007 at 25, but actually it was 31.

If you look at the murder rate per person it is the 3rd highest in the country, if you look at cities between 100K and 250K. (that is out of around 125 cities)

Also Hartford is one of poorest cities in the country, there is not a lot of tax revenue, it has massive debt...

So yes saying that Hartford has a great deal of problems is not exaggerating at all.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Leilani Vasquez

My sister is a school teacher. She couldn't score a teaching job in Connecticut without a master's degree. She ended up taking a job as a paraprofessional for $10/hour for 3 years while she pursued this. Teachers in any state have to attend work shops certain times per year as well.

I also understand that Hartford also pays a higher salary then some surrounding towns. I have considered going back to school for secondary education as I have a passion in uplifting youth. Although many people couldn't do it, I would teach at an inner-city school in a heart beat.

My sister teaches too, in a large inner city high school. She too loves to help kids that need help. She spends a lot of her own time helping them. She does things with kids in the evenings and on weekends. She will bring groups of kids to museums and parks on weekends. She holds study groups. She even assisted a high school senior find a place to live when his parents abandoned him. I give her a lot of credit for doing this. It can be difficult and trying, but it is very rewarding. Jay

[Vinnie Scafo]

Hartford is about to erupt all over again over gang and drug turfs. neighborhoods housing projects will be 1,000 times more dangerous even innocent by stander's will be fair game. This city has not had a brutal gang war in awhile and there is a difference between having random acts of violence such as getting shot and killed for looking at somebody the wrong way, being in the wrong neighborhood getting robbed ect. honestly these young kids are to trigger happy and think nothing of taking somebody's life it just became the norm everyone wants there stripe's pop there cherry's at young ages you now when the city has lost control when it is no longer a surprise to hear that a 12yr old kid gets killed by another 12yr old i guess they do not call Hartford the black hole for nothing. And it is just not Hartford its New haven they already have well over 50 shootings in 2009 with 22 murder's Bridgeport well Bridgeport will always be the most dangerous city in C.T. if not the east coast. But Listen this is not some young kid trying to act like a tough guy what I have told you is real and is going to be a reality soon! So if you live in Hartford please be careful use your street smart's that you all have and that have kept you alive this long and never forget its always calm before the storm.

[ctownplayer]

i live in the "dangerous" northend section, and while it's not so great over here, it's not that bad either. my old hometown of eastside cleveland was a lot worse and i was actually shot there and robbed and stabbed twice. nothing has happened to me in hartford yet and i've been here for like 5 years. hartford is good city in need of a crutch.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by Vinnie Scafo

Bridgeport well Bridgeport will always be the most dangerous city in C.T. if not the east coast.

I disagree. It has its' faults, but it isn't nearly the most dangerous city on the east coast, or in the state, for that matter.

[hartford_renter]

Originally Posted by ctownplayer

i live in the "dangerous" northend section, and while it's not so great over here, it's not that bad either. my old hometown of eastside cleveland was a lot worse and i was actually shot there and robbed and stabbed twice. nothing has happened to me in hartford yet and i've been here for like 5 years. hartford is good city in need of a crutch.

Just curious why do you choose to live in the North End? I would think if there were any other options with similar price I would go there. The north end is still pretty sketchy even if you have never had any problems.

[ctownplayer]

Originally Posted by hartford_renter

Just curious why do you choose to live in the North End? I would think if there were any other options with similar price I would go there. The north end is still pretty sketchy even if you have never had any problems.

because i am poor and i live below the poverty line.