Posted on 02/03/2015 8:06:37 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Here is a post by a Colorado teacher who vividly explains the difference in the lives of fortunate students and the less fortunate students whom she teaches. Her last post on this blog was a nuanced look into the psyche of some students of color who live in poverty, which you can read here. This public school teacher often blogs anonymously under the name Shakespeare’s Sister at Daily Kos. She teaches 11th grade AP Language and Composition in the Denver area.
Here is Shakespeare’s Sister newest post for this blog:
Recently, events in Ferguson and New York have reminded us there are still two very different Americas. What I wish more people were talking about is that there are two American educations: One for the affluent, and one for students living in poverty.
Many of the reports focus on numbers for free and reduced lunches, which is, some say, a “rough proxy for poverty,” but those labeling it in such a way have probably never set foot in a classroom.
Almost every day, I slip food to one of my students. Both of his parents are in prison. Or, one of his parents is in prison and the other is dead. We can’t quite get the full story from him. He lives with his older sister, whom he refers to as his mother because he doesn’t want to explain anything. Or he doesn’t live with her. He won’t say where he’s staying. We’ve attempted home visits but can never get anyone to answer the door....
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Whatever.
That’s life giving you feedback and a moral lesson.
Life will constantly inform about you choices, outcomes and getting head slapped for making a poor decision.
From where I sit: “Don’t be like your parents. It’s a bad road to go down”.
Yes, the American mass culture is corrosive to any moral values... or achievement
to be sure...
We’re seeing mostly brand new people flooding in from the PRC, and these buy up our houses at highly-inflated (mostly) all’cash prices.
There are largely the ‘privileged’ and educated families (think: communist party factory managers)
so maybe they combine traditional Chinese culture (such as strong families with parental guidance and discipline for the kids, plus an achievement orientation) with of course, financial advantage.
SInce these are largely persons of privilege (in their native country at least, and here given that they have lots of dineros).... perhaps the article’s author would choose to criticize them and their achievement-oriented kids who actually do their assigned studies each day
“blame” their success all on their “unfair privilege”
but frankly,, it really seems mostly a matter of culture and the functionality of their family life
money buys them into these neighborhoods (ironic: the house prices are so incredibly high primarily BECAUSE the Chinese are buying, driving up the prices...so now only Chinese immigrants, mostly at least, can even think of affording houses !)
But anyway, it really seems to be culture and that includes functional family life
their money does not advantage the rugrats, indeed the Chinese parents can be quite frugal with their kids’ allowances
Okay, I’ll bite. I see some writing that could be tightened—but where exactly do you see comma splicing?
She admits the problem with her own argument: “So what do my students need, then? Access to the same funding, opportunities, and “exceptions” afforded to privileged, affluent students.... A growing number of children start kindergarten already trailing their more privileged peers and rarely, if ever, catch up. They are less likely to have support at home, are less frequently exposed to enriching activities outside of school, and are more likely to drop out and never attend college.” They are, overall, less likely to succeed.”
So we throw all this funding and opportunity at them, and it’s wasted because it’s not supported at home. At least she’s not asking for much. Just “A Society”...
“They need a society and educational system designed to actually meet their needs, instead of a society that passes laws to keep them constantly underfoot and an educational system designed to test them to death and tell them how they are inadequate instead of educating them.”
Conjunction junction, what’s your function?
Given the twitterification/textification of written language, comma spices aren’t grammar sins any longer. Brevity is in. It might even have a soul.
The reason students don’t care to learn to identify comma splices is that they hold no real bearing on today’s written language. It’s the equivalent of the “s” in “defense” in the King’s English.
Put another way, if only 1 in 10 can ID a comma splice, then the only people that would be annoyed by their use are the exact people the Internet generation doesn’t care if they annoy: grammar police. Not knocking on you, just suggesting this battle is lost.
Yeah, all of that societal bigotry directed at minorities sure is expensive.
Ha ha—says ‘Cicero’.
I listened to an argument between a couple of older friends once upon a time; the old engineer basically took the racialist line, while the old schoolteacher said, he could tell on the first day of every school year which kids had parents who’d already taught them the value of an education. The only privilege I’ve had is to have parents who did.
Yes, my complex is becoming way too Asian because there are Chinese cash buyers who are snapping up units. The transfer agent (being a fat lazy creature) would much rather avoid having to deal with banks, mortgages, etc. and would just take the cash (undoubtedly with HER share under the table). I don’t find these cash buyers to be upper class in any way, shape or form. I find them unable to speak English, very clannish, having as little to do with Americans as possible. Turning Queens into a filthy Chinese ghetto.
My wife won’t let me help my girls with “Social Studies” lest I screw up the stuff they need to regurgitate to their teachers.
Mind you I live in a GOOD school district. I do not want to know what it is like in bad school districts like Atlanta.
They usually do understand English because English has been a required skill in PRC schools dome many years. Indeed, only in the last year or two has the Chinese govt somewhat reduced the number of years if required English Instruction, on the grounds that the world’s changing and English fluency is becoming less important. The time is being spent on chinese and science- tech instead. They often don’t speak or interact much with you because they avoid conflicts as policy. And what better way of staying away from arguments then to not speak? This “move in quietly and stay quiet” method of immigration (infiltration?) has made many Americans view the Chinese as “ pretty good neighbors - they don’t make any noise or cause any trouble”. I guess it’s just how we view it?
MORE MONEY IS SPENT ON “POOR” STUDENTS THAN ON “AFFLUENT” STUDENTS.
That is a truth that will not be admitted.
That's the logical and inevitable result of the welfare state.
We don’t know if her students are homeless. Since they lie about their circumstances you can believe nothing from them. They learned early that some of their teachers will believe anything and lower standards for them.
I know a woman whose daughter is a teacher in an urban school. Her students tell her the most outlandish stories and the daughter takes food to them because she says they’re all hungry.
Sorry, once someone lies about one thing it undermines the validity of everything else he says.
Very true. Some students consider their teacher as an opponent; the teacher is trying to educate them, and they are trying to defeat her.
It was not in the article. It is my statement.
OK, it is the absolute truth, though.
Too bad leftists can’t or won’t see it.
They hate Christian values so much they reject them to their own detriment, but to them, that detriment is far preferable to adhering to those standards.
“We have been successful too because Americans have known that one’s status at birth was not a permanent station in life. You might not be able to control your circumstances but you could control your response to your circumstances. And your greatest ally in doing so was a quality education.
Let me ask you, though, today, when I can look at your zip code and can tell whether you are going to get a good education – can I really say that it doesn’t matter where you came from – it matters where you are going. The crisis in K-12 education is a grave threat to who we are.
My mom was a teacher – I have the greatest respect for the profession – we need great teachers – not poor or mediocre ones. We need to have high standards for our students – self-esteem comes from achievement not from lax standards and false praise. And we need to give parents greater choice – particularly poor parents whose kids – most often minorities — are trapped in failing neighborhood schools. This is the civil rights struggle of our day.
If we do anything less, we will condemn generations to joblessness, hopelessness and dependence on the government dole. To do anything less is to endanger our global economic competitiveness. To do anything less is to tear apart the fabric of who we are and cement a turn toward grievance and entitlement.”
— Condoleezza Rice 2012 RNC Speech
This teacher, from just this post cannot be classified as a communist extremist, she may be, but from this posting alone we cannot make that claim. The effects she sees are absolutely real, and are disgusting. I am sure I will disagree with this teacher on many things, but what she sees is not imaginary or communist, its real, and like Ms Rice states above, if we do not fix it, we will lock this entire nation into entitlement and mediocrity.
Obama delenda est. Dicit Scipio ET Cicero.
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