[RockinRight]

Urban eduacation is bad because THE KIDS DON’T CARE. Nothing less, nothing more. They largely have no fathers in the home, and nobody to tell them that learning and education matters.

Therefore, they don’t care. And no amount of money, or NCLB program, is going to change that.

[SoftballMominVA]

Would charters or vouchers solve it, in your opinion?

[cat76]

I teach at a Georgia elementary school, 90 percent poverty. The after-school program, funded by NCLB runs until 5:45PM M-Th. There is a also a before school program, starting at 7:30 AM. So some of the kids are there from 7:30-5:45PM. Many of the parents do not work, so it's free baby sitting for almost 12 hours. They receive snacks, homework help, recess time, and even free field trips during our inter-sessions (we are a year-round school).
The children in 3rd and 5th grades performed horribly on the state test in math and are completing a fast track summer school (2 weeks, with re-testing the final week.) This is also a free half-day program, with bus transportation, to and from. You are right, most of the kids have no fathers in the home, just an occasional boyfriend or grandfather trying to take up the slack. It's very sad and almost a hopeless cause. But we all keep trying (in spite of the bureaucracy), because of the kids.

[moehoward]

"Urban eduacation is bad because THE KIDS DON’T CARE"

Partially true. Where did these kids learn this attitude?

"At “back-to-school night” for parents early in the school year the camera pans the auditorium; it is largely empty"

It's the parents don't care.