Oakland is probably better than SF

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by Malloric

Continued dumbing down isn't the right retooling, though. I suppose with the proliferation of gate/magnet and charter schools there's that option for people who are at or above grade-level. Still, I went through those K-5 and 7-8.... I'd prefer my kids to go to a regular public school, but not if that means teaching to the dumbest, least educated 25% of the student body.

I also have a philosophical opposition to viewing education as the Three Rs. It's more about self-enrichment, an appreciation for knowledge, critical thinking and problem solving abilities than just regurgitating information on a standardized test. I mean hey, it benefited me. Regurgitation of simplistic material got me into the UCs, but that doesn't mean I learned much of anything in high school. Academically, it was pretty much a waste of four years.

As far as academics, I dont think its as bad as you think but I do think cirriculum needs to be more challenging and the school year needs to be longer.

Otherwise,
I think that with respect to schools, we've pandered to weakness and feelings for far too long and that is why we are where we find ourselves.

There is no real disciplineand every bad/lazy/destructive behavior is explained away and even coddled instead of being dealt with.

[bigdumbgod]

Maybe the dumbing down has something to do with the fact that so many kids believe they don't need to know anything - it's all just a Google search away.

[Thugocracy]

Originally Posted by goldenchild08

Oakland is probably better in SF in 2012. I miss the old SF. Back when The City was affordable. My parents sold our old home on Ramsell and Randolph in Lakeview for barely $200K back in the 90's. Try to find that price in SF today; it's impossible. Same houses that used to sell for 100-200K in SF back in the days now sell for 600K-1M+. You can't even get cheap rent in SF. On Randolph Street in Lakeview, you can rent for $600 a month with two roommates who are annoying binge-drinking SF State kids who play obnoxious music in a generic "Indie" Rock band that sounds like indistinguishable background music from MTV's Real World. Although Randolph isn't as bad as it was in the 80's and 90's, bad sh#t still happens there. There is much tension and occasional violence between the remaining section 8 dwelling ghetto native residents of Lakeview and the mostly White hipster college kids who are gentrifying the neighborhood:

Vernon Anderson convicted of 2006 San Francisco murder of Zachary Roche-Balsam

For that same price of $600 a month, you can get a studio apartment all to yourself on a decent block in an okay neighborhood in East Oakland, Vallejo or even San Jose.

Yeah for sure, SF is expensive as ****, even to live in the hood for the most part. I do think lakeview/ingleside is somewhat cheaper though (it's still pretty real down there). And of course HP but most people aren't really trying to go down there...

I'm in the mission on a wild ass corner that exemplifies that disconcerting San Francisco mix of homeless people dying on the streets while yuppies step over them and even with the seemingly constant violent crime here (that people love to deny exists) rent is very expensive. I'm lucky enough to live in a spot that's been around for years so the rent situation isn't too bad, but still more than you'd be paying in Oakland. Thing is I wouldn't be surprised if 5 years from now people are saying the same **** about west oakland and temescal that they are saying about the mission and parts of SF. Rents are going to rise there too, for some reason despite the relentless homicides in the area it seems like young alternative white people love moving to west oakland all of a sudden. Maybe because most of the violence is intra-ethnic (black on black, brown on brown) so it's just like a show for them (basically same situation in the mission). But seriously, young alternative people are leaving the city for Oakland every day it seems like. It still surprises me how quick these kids are to move to the middle of the hood though, but I guess people are getting priced out of the city.

[Nineties Flava]

Originally Posted by Thugocracy

Yeah for sure, SF is expensive as ****, even to live in the hood for the most part. I do think lakeview/ingleside is somewhat cheaper though (it's still pretty real down there). And of course HP but most people aren't really trying to go down there...

I'm in the mission on a wild ass corner that exemplifies that disconcerting San Francisco mix of homeless people dying on the streets while yuppies step over them and even with the seemingly constant violent crime here (that people love to deny exists) rent is very expensive. I'm lucky enough to live in a spot that's been around for years so the rent situation isn't too bad, but still more than you'd be paying in Oakland. Thing is I wouldn't be surprised if 5 years from now people are saying the same **** about west oakland and temescal that they are saying about the mission and parts of SF. Rents are going to rise there too, for some reason despite the relentless homicides in the area it seems like young alternative white people love moving to west oakland all of a sudden. Maybe because most of the violence is intra-ethnic (black on black, brown on brown) so it's just like a show for them (basically same situation in the mission). But seriously, young alternative people are leaving the city for Oakland every day it seems like. It still surprises me how quick these kids are to move to the middle of the hood though, but I guess people are getting priced out of the city.

It's because they're not really moving to West Oakland, they're moving to condos and warehouses that happen to be in West Oakland on paper. There's little to no interaction between condo-dwellers and people who live in the traditional West Oakland neighborhoods.