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It's actually even more positive than you're implying: When analyzing U.S. test scores and poverty is adjusted for, we rank in the top three or five countries in the world in all categories. So the system is working for students that have infrastructure similar to students in other countries. The question is what to do for those for whom poverty (and motivation) are issues? As far as I can tell, charter schools are not the answer because they're punting when it comes to dealing with those students.
That 10% was across the board so it would be higher if you look at only schools that are advantaged.
The problem is the biggest advantage a student can have is just coming from a family that values education. Yes, having the infrastructure and equipment and supplies needed is good but I'd rather have kids who want to learn in a school with little in the way of supplies than a state of the art school and kids who don't want to learn.
In the charter school I taught in the kids who wanted to learn learned in spite of my shoe string budget. They embraced everything I did for them. Now the kids who didn't want to learn....they're a different story. NOTHING was good enough for them. I find a student's attitude towards education is the greatest predictor of success.
I agree that charter schools are not the answer but they are better for the students who go into them not because they are superior but because kids in charter schools share one thing in common. They have parents or someone who cared enough to get them out of their district. That is worth it's weight in gold. It is true that many will be expelled (because the reason that compelled that parent to change schools was a last desperate bid to save a child who was failing or threatened with expulsion), for the ones who stay, I do believe it is a better experience. Unfortunately, what does that leave behind.
That 10% was across the board so it would be higher if you look at only schools that are advantaged.
The problem is the biggest advantage a student can have is just coming from a family that values education. Yes, having the infrastructure and equipment and supplies needed is good but I'd rather have kids who want to learn in a school with little in the way of supplies than a state of the art school and kids who don't want to learn.
In the charter school I taught in the kids who wanted to learn learned in spite of my shoe string budget. They embraced everything I did for them. Now the kids who didn't want to learn....they're a different story. NOTHING was good enough for them. I find a student's attitude towards education is the greatest predictor of success.
I agree that charter schools are not the answer but they are better for the students who go into them not because they are superior but because kids in charter schools share one thing in common. They have parents or someone who cared enough to get them out of their district. That is worth it's weight in gold. It is true that many will be expelled (because the reason that compelled that parent to change schools was a last desperate bid to save a child who was failing or threatened with expulsion), for the ones who stay, I do believe it is a better experience. Unfortunately, what does that leave behind.
This kind of gets to the point I made on another thread: If we're going to openly be accepting of schools that segregate students even further, we don't need charter schools (particularly the parasitic for-profits) to do it. If the public really wants tiers of education based on things like motivation and ability, then the public schools should give it to them. Just take the current magnet system that many urban districts have and put that system on steroids.
By every measure I am finding, Chinatown NYC schools have atrocious test scores, particularly at the high school level.
Post them. Keep in mind in NYC high schools do not necessarily pull from the surrounding area and many of the Chinatown high school students end up at selective schools across the city.
Post them. Keep in mind in NYC high schools do not necessarily pull from the surrounding area and many of the Chinatown high school students end up at selective schools across the city.
Aren't you the one that made the claim about Chinatown high school students? Perhaps you should post the test scores and, of course, the demographic data that backs up the point you're trying to make?
One word: parents. I believe socioeconomic status and racial/ethnic origins have very little to do with student success. I may be in the minority here, but I believe that school funding school be cut. In most states, urban school districts receive the most funding...and what are the typical results? It's not money folks, it parents who actually care and take a genuine interest in their kids education. There are plenty of surburban and rural school districts that are subpar because education is not made a top priority by many parents.
I am certainly not a fan of "Waiting for Superman." Stop blaming everything on the teachers! Blame it on parents who do not put education first.
One word: parents. I believe socioeconomic status and racial/ethnic origins have very little to do with student success. I may be in the minority here, but I believe that school funding school be cut. In most states, urban school districts receive the most funding...and what are the typical results? It's not money folks, it parents who actually care and take a genuine interest in their kids education. There are plenty of surburban and rural school districts that are subpar because education is not made a top priority by many parents.
I am certainly not a fan of "Waiting for Superman." Stop blaming everything on the teachers! Blame it on parents who do not put education first.
So how do you propose to remedy our problems with schools when we have so many parents who don't care or who don't have what it takes to be good parents? Just write off those kids? If not, then what?
So how do you propose to remedy our problems with schools when we have so many parents who don't care or who don't have what it takes to be good parents? Just write off those kids? If not, then what?
Pretty much. Unless we are willing to damn to hell all the kids whose parents who are "not good enough", then it pretty much is society's problem. I mean you either deal with it now or deal with it later. I promise solving is now is better (and cheaper) than later. I think it is just common sense that schools in high-need areas will need more money and staffing with people like social workers and ESL specialists, robust community centers, etc. But no, we'd rather whine, beyotch and moan now and then pay 10 times the amount later in welfare, policing, juvenile court, healthcare for the uninsured, feeding and housing prisoners, etc. We deserve what we get as a society IMO.
Pretty much. Unless we are willing to damn to hell all the kids whose parents who are "not good enough", then it pretty much is society's problem. I mean you either deal with it now or deal with it later. I promise solving is now is better (and cheaper) than later. I think it is just common sense that schools in high-need areas will need more money and staffing with people like social workers and ESL specialists, robust community centers, etc. But no, we'd rather whine, beyotch and moan now and then pay 10 times the amount later in welfare, policing, juvenile court, healthcare for the uninsured, feeding and housing prisoners, etc. We deserve what we get as a society IMO.
And in the meantime, the charters schools movement is trying to divest the schools of experienced long-term staff who are interested in helping a particular community in favor of a series of short-term novas from the Ivy League who are interested in making themselves more interesting for professional school admissions. I'm glad they come, because they do add a lot as a complement to a hard-to-staff school, but they are no substitute for a teacher who has been at one school for 20-40 years.
It is because of just such a relationship that I had with a student 10 years ago that I was able to defuse a really ugly situation today. A young man became menacing toward me after a relatively minor PDA reprimand and began cursing loudly and telling me what I had better do if I knew what was good for me. I was hoping that one of my students was nearby, as there are few staff members in our area of the building. One with a formidable reputation as as street fighter herself was standing by around the corner just in case she had to jump in to help me, although I didn't see her. It was the JROTC instructor who was on the spot this time. He knew the boy and the details of a difficult home/gang situation, so he didn't overreact to his behavior either. Now I have another student to watch my back when the next one "steals on" me. Gang kids are nothing if not loyal.
This is the fifth time this has happened so far this year, and in all but one case, the situation was able to be defused, saving the taxpayers a lot of money by keeping them out of juvenile detention now and hopefully teaching a lifetime lesson in character for the long term. In the third case, the student had only attended school for five days over the course of five months, probably to stay enrolled in some program, and he escalated in another situation later that day, hitting a girl in the face and getting referred for expulsion. He's probably going to cost taxpayers a lot of money over the course of his lifetime, unless he dies young. That's pretty common around here too.
I'm not willing to write off any kid without a concerted effort to help him make something of his life. At the very least, as you pointed out, it makes economic sense as a nation to ensure that every child reaches adulthood without being in the justice system, and preferably with marketable skills. That is not happening now, and the actions that are purportedly the solution will likely cause a further deterioration of the public schools that struggle, further benefits to those that don't, and a widening of the gap between their students for the rest of their economic lives. On a good day I can almost believe that it's not the intended outcome and that movies such as Waiting for Superman are not just propaganda. Almost.
Post them. Keep in mind in NYC high schools do not necessarily pull from the surrounding area and many of the Chinatown high school students end up at selective schools across the city.
Schools zoned to Chinatown. Schools are supposed to receive 90% proficient.
PS124
77% proficient. That is the top school in the area.
PS130
67% proficient
MS131
23% proficient
Pace High School
Regent exams are all over the place, but they are below the state average in Algebra 2, Trigonometry, Chemistry, Earth Science, Geometry, Integrated Algebra, Mathematics B, US History, and Government.
They are above the average in English, Global History, Geography, and Living Environment.
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