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I am not arguing for desegration; I am arguing for neighborhood schools - and I don't think racial balance is necessary to create the desire for achievement. I think good educators are what is required - and students who want to get an education - and parents who give a damn whether their kids are attending school and applying themselves.
Yes, I am familiar with Marva Collins and her work. If every teacher were Marva Collins, the world would be a better place, no doubt. But every teacher isn't Marva Collins; every neighborhood is not Myers Park; every student isn't motivated; and every parent isn't involved.
Schools should be part of the community where families live. This engenders pride for the school itself along with a sense of ownership. That alone can spur parents to more involvement.
But hey - maybe I am wrong. My kids did not attend school here.
You aren't wrong It's a shame that simply supporting the concept of neighborhood schools somehow equates with being pro segregation - you and I know it is not (and Baybook I'm not trying to imply that you do think it is )
In my mind, so much more can be accomplished in any school once people have a stake in that school, take some ownership and develop some pride in it. This is what has happened at Myers Park High School by and large and is one reason is has the successes it does.
I don't know that strictly neighborhood schools would fix any of the problems in places where there are problems. I think you'd continue to have the disparities you have now. I understand the desire for neighborhood schools, I just don't know that it would fix anything.
And no, I don't intend to imply that if one supports neighborhood schools one is somehow anti diversity or a proponent of segregation. There are many many different issues at play and sometimes the water gets muddied.
Then again, what do I know. I went to Catholic school. My school was my parish and it was in walking distcnce of my house. My HS was also within walking distance. I don't know what it is to take a bus or train to school. I went to school and church with basically the same crew of folks until college. We all lived pretty close to each other. Their families were pretty much like my family. It is a nice feeling and great way to grow up. ;-)
You aren't wrong It's a shame that simply supporting the concept of neighborhood schools somehow equates with being pro segregation - you and I know it is not (and Baybook I'm not trying to imply that you do think it is )
In my mind, so much more can be accomplished in any school once people have a stake in that school, take some ownership and develop some pride in it. This is what has happened at Myers Park High School by and large and is one reason is has the successes it does.
That is what I am thinking in re: to neighborhood schools.
And that is why I feel school district lines should be cut and dried . . . based on going block by block . . . and no gerrymandering.
Whatever ends up being the make up of that school (economically and racially) then that is what it is. People must work together for the betterment of their communities and the education of their children. If there are community problems (i.e., hunger, violence, drugs) then that is reflected in the school and should be reflected in the concern of the parents who live in the district (as well as the school officials and teachers).
I think there is a disconnect with what we perceive as "education" these days. We send our kids off to school to be "educated." Education begins at home. And the attitudes in neighborhoods aren't created in a vacuum. To me, it is all connected.
I think Charlotte's schools would be stronger if the emphasis were on starting with neighborhood buy-in . . . but again . . . I have never taught in this school system; I don't have children attending school here - so maybe my thoughts are unrealistic or out of touch.
The reason we don't have neighborhood schools now in Mecklenburg comes down to 2 things. Money & Politics. (as usual) Money and politics are intertwined with each other and as the largest school system in the state, there is a lot of money to cover a lot of bad government. For example Peter Gorman, the head of CMS makes close to $400K/year and he gets body guards if he wants them. This is to control a system with mabye 105K students. In comparison Beverly Purdue, the governor of NC gets paid $135K and this is a state of 9 million people. Gorman may have others on his staff that make more than this. It makes no sense.
The CMS budget consists around 1/2 of the Mecklenburg property taxes paid by everyone each year. Then there is state and federal money that comes into too. Look at your tax bill and see how much of this makes up your yearly taxes. If this isn't bad enough, they also have placed bond and bond measure on the ballot in the last few years that ring up billions in public debt. So we have an elected board that gets control of all of this money so they have no incentive to give it up. Both the Board and the Superintendent are totally against going the neighborhood route. There is no political advantange for them to do so.
Look at what happened when Huntersville briefly looked at the idea of breaking away from CMS and forming it's own school system. The decks are completely stacked against this sort of thing.
Money and Politics. Unfortunately it has nothing to do with a good education.
Isn't segregation something mandated by the government. Prodominately white/black/asian neighborhoods created by adults CHOOSING where to live is not segregation and neither would their neighborhood schools be as long as anyone regardless of their race would be allowed to attend.
I had to run to the grocery store in between posts. Today's topic on 1110 is The Forced Inegration of CMS. The specific schools touched on were Mint Hill and Meyer's Park. A school board member was on also - Gavreau? pro Intergration vs pro segregation is not the issue.
I'm not from the area, so I don't have all the past history that some on the board may have. But this type of topic is one of the things that turns me off. Maybe it's a politician thing. If I take the point of view that CMS is doing whatever it does for the sake of being pro integration, then the opposite POV must be pro-segregation. That doesn't work for me. I don't think most people are that simple or that backwards. But that type of rhetoric, when we go there, really tends to divide folks that for most part are probably on the same side of the fence.
They went on to have a discussion that basically amounted to Meyers Park parents wont send their kids to school XXX b/c those schools have the newest teachers, lacking curriculum, more turnover, lowest preformers, etc... My thought was if Meyer's Park parents won't except a less than quality education for their kids, why should any other parent accept the same??
Interesting discussion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovesMountains
You aren't wrong It's a shame that simply supporting the concept of neighborhood schools somehow equates with being pro segregation - you and I know it is not (and Baybook I'm not trying to imply that you do think it is )
In my mind, so much more can be accomplished in any school once people have a stake in that school, take some ownership and develop some pride in it. This is what has happened at Myers Park High School by and large and is one reason is has the successes it does.
I had to run to the grocery store in between posts. Today's topic on 1110 is The Forced Inegration of CMS. The specific schools touched on were Mint Hill and Meyer's Park. A school board member was on also - Gavreau? pro Intergration vs pro segregation is not the issue.
I'm not from the area, so I don't have all the past history that some on the board may have. But this type of topic is one of the things that turns me off. Maybe it's a politician thing. If I take the point of view that CMS is doing whatever it does for the sake of being pro integration, then the opposite POV must be pro-segregation. That doesn't work for me. I don't think most people are that simple or that backwards. But that type of rhetoric, when we go there, really tends to divide folks that for most part are probably on the same side of the fence.
They went on to have a discussion that basically amounted to Meyers Park parents wont send their kids to school XXX b/c those schools have the newest teachers, lacking curriculum, more turnover, lowest preformers, etc... My thought was if Meyer's Park parents won't except a less than quality education for their kids, why should any other parent accept the same??
Interesting discussion.
Baybook, CMS is no longer under any court mandate to integrate schools, and they are not trying to.
What is happening now is that Gormon is trying to choose the assignment areas that the new schools will draw from. School populations shift from year to year for various reasons (like the opening of a new school). Because of this, some schools become overpopulated and some become under utilized.
Gorman and the school board must try to shift things around to get as close as they can to having every school properly utilized. It's not an easy job - and one I certainly would not want, as there will always be SOMEBODY upset with your decisions. Myers Park is currently VERY overcrowed, so it makes sense ON PAPER to send some kids to East Meck, which is not even close to capacity. However, when you are dealing with disrupting kids lives you are treading on very thin ice!
Last edited by lovesMountains; 08-17-2009 at 02:50 PM..
However, when you are dealing with disrupting kids lives you are threading on very thin ice!
We have the same issues out here in Union County (but there more disruption out here obv). When Sun Valley has to send kids to Weddington or Monroe, you hear the same arguments about disrupting kids lives. (Although you get more furor when its going to Monroe than Weddington....)
You say the discussion on the radio was about Myers Park parents who won't send their kids to certain schools because of the newer teachers, lacking curriculum, turnover, etc.? The parents don't have a choice - they send their children to a school based on student assignment boundaries OR they can apply for magnet schools in their 'zone'. Its not an issue of 'why should parents accept something less than Myers Park.'
Have you ever visited Myers Park High School? Anyone that hasn't should go visit. The campus is likely the worst of all of the CMS highschools. Check out the buildings, classrooms and bathrooms. Walk around the campus and see how rundown it looks. Myers Park doesn't come close to looking like most of the high schools in CMS. Myers Park is desirable due to the fact that the majority of the students there are interested in getting an education.
The world is not 'equal' - never has been and never will be. There will always be those with more, those with less. There will always be someone more attractive, someone less. Life is not fair - the sooner you accept that the better off you will be. We each need to take responsibility for our own lives. Expecting life/school/work/marriage to be 'fair' or 'equal' is ridiculous.
Someone stated that 1/2 of the property taxes we pay go to the CMS budget. Wonder how much the taxpayers in the Myers Park High School district pay? Would it be 'fair' to expect to keep that amount of $$$ at Myers Park?
I'd read this somewhere so it was in the back of my mind.
My point was, that if I were listening to a certain program alone or this board member, today I would have been under the impression that the "redistricting" was specifically to "forcibly integrate" neighborhood schools. It's a hot button issue and it seems (as with most controversial topics) politicians have a way of spinning topics to suit their agenda.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovesMountains
Baybook, CMS is no longer under any court mandate to integrate schools, and they are not trying to.
What is happening now is that Gormon is trying to choose the assignment areas that the new schools will draw from. School populations shift from year to year for various reasons (like the opening of a new school). Because of this, some schools become overpopulated and some become under utilized.
Gorman and the school board must try to shift things around to get as close as they can to having every school properly utilized. It's not an easy job - and one I certainly would not want, as there will always be SOMEBODY upset with your decisions. Myers Park is currently VERY overcrowed, so it makes sense ON PAPER to send some kids to East Meck, which is not even close to capacity. However, when you are dealing with disrupting kids lives you are treading on very thin ice!
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It's a shame that simply supporting the concept of neighborhood schools somehow equates with being pro segregation - you and I know it is not (and Baybook I'm not trying to imply that you do think it is 
)
