thank the teacher unions for these dismal numbers
Absolutely!
Everytime I hear crap about class size, environment, and Teacher compensation I bring up my experience:
I was in classes that ranged in size from 52 to 60; My teachers were paid nothing (they were Sisters of St Joseph); and I lived on the Lower Eastside of Detroit.
How did I fare with all those 'disadvantages'?
I have two undergraduate degrees (Pharmacy and Engineering) and one post grad (Engineering).
Its all about demanding performance of both teachers and students.
How about thanking the parents? Teachers unions are out of control in most areas of the country but teachers are also unionized in the good suburban districts, where math/reading performance is far superior to the inner-city performance. So might it be the parents’ fault? Maybe there’s only one parent around instead of two. Maybe the one parent that’s still around isn’t there most of the time and the kids turn to crime. The black family unit has basically disappeared since the 1960s. Black fathers who stay around are penalized by the welfare system and this same system encourages single motherhood. It’s a terrible system with no end in sight.