Comedian mocks Wake schools' assignment controversy (NC)

WRAL ^ | 1/19/11 | Renee Chou

[AT7Saluki]

The controversy surrounding the Wake County school board's plan to assign students goes up for another debate Wednesday night. The issue is once again getting national attention – this time on a comedy show.

First, it was a story in The Washington Post, then a letter to the editor by the U.S. Secretary of Education. Now, news of Wake County public schools has turned into comedy material.

Comedian Stephen Colbert, of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central, devoted five minutes to mocking the school board's assignment policies and one of its members.

[AT7Saluki]

More attempted thwarting of the will of the people. The school board members ran on and were voted in on this platform.

[Hodar]

So, the debate, the ability to freely exchange ideas - is now prohibited by the ‘tolerant elite’?

[swain_forkbeard]

I can’t imagine having my kids bussed halfway across the county to attend a public school. Nuts.

[MrB]

So...
is the premise that poor black kids are incapable of learning unless they are sitting next to a rich white kid

“racist”?

[Constitution Day]

NC *Ping*

Please FRmail MitchellC if you want to be added to or removed from this North Carolina ping list.

[swain_forkbeard]

Not exactly. I think the historical premise - and fact - is that schools full of rich kids will be better funded and attract better teachers.

[Hatteras]

Interesting that the Mayor of Raleigh, Meeker, has weighed in on the issue against the majority conservative school board’s decision in the name of Martin Luther King.

BTW, Meeker’s wife just happens to be one of the dissenting liberal school board members.

[RightOnline]

Precisely....and as one who has put 6 kids through these schools (a 7th currently in grade school) here in Wake County, I can tell you the busing idiocy HAS to stop...and for so many reasons. The school board has huge popular support for this.

[IronJack]

Hmmmmmm. “Rich” people buy homes in expensive areas of town, pay high property taxes to build schools, hire teachers. Poor people live in cheaper parts of city, pay lower property taxes. Yet people paying lower taxes get to send their kids to “rich” schools, while suckers paying exorbitant taxes are forced to send their kids to Penal Prep.

I’m not seeing the fairness here. At what point do the “rich people” reap benefits commensurate with their contributions?

[swain_forkbeard]

“At what point do the “rich people” reap benefits commensurate with their contributions?”

When they vote in a like-minded schoolboard, I guess.

[SaraJohnson]

If you are correct and that was the orginal purpose of busing - to get better qualifed teachers - race baiting and affirmative action made sure that did not work!

I remember the chants and law suits: “White racism has resulted in unequal race quota outcomes in test scores. Therefore only black teachers can teach black students.” Hiring the “best qualified teachers” was made illegal. White teachers were restricted to working only in majority white areas.

[albie]

This bussing happened in Alexandria, VA in the 70’s. My parents rented in the west end (better schools) just so I go to them. They couldn’t afford to buy there. Then they bussed half of the mostly black kids from downtown to the west end and vice versa.

Result? Race riots on a daily basis. Police there everyday. Newspapers, TV etc. I got shipped to a private military acadamy because I couldn’t walk home without trouble. You were scared to leave the school.

Property values in the west end went down big time.

[ArrogantBustard]

I think the historical premise - and fact - is that schools full of rich kids sullen, angry, arrogant, violent inner-city thugs will be poorly funded and drive away decent teachers.

[ArrogantBustard]

At what point do the “rich people” reap benefits commensurate with their contributions?

Never.

From each according to his ability, to each according to the racist standards imposed by the State.

It's the communist way ...

[NCBraveheart]

Colbert is an ass

[aberaussie]

Because of busing in Charlotte, NC, I went to four schools in six years. I have no use for people who jerk kids lives around like that. We have been very happy home schoolers, not letting the government dictate to us where our kids have to go and who they have to associate with. Funny thing is, I see much more racism in the government schooled kids we know that in the home schoolers we know.

[RJR_fan]

Should I send the following letter to the editor of the Snooze and Disturber?

A few hundred years ago, John Bunyan could get away with giving his fictional characters names that reflected their characters. Would that technique work today? Suppose a novelist created an angry class warrior named Jealous, who rides into the little town Alert to berate parents for -- loving their children. For wanting to be close to them during the day. For wanting to work with their schools to provide the best possible opportunities for their children. In this little fable, Mr. Jealous reviles the parents who love their children and their hoods and the schools in the hoods. No, the cornily-named Mr. Jealous screams, hood and home and school must be divorced, driven asunder on dingy yellow cattle cars, in the same of some perceived superior good. Perhaps in the name of a hypothetical D__e__ity whose name is found by inserting the letters _iv_rs_ _ _. Something more important than family. Something more important than neighborhood. Something far more important than those sacrificial pawns, the children of little town Alert.

Such a novelist would be panned by the critics and hooted off the stage. Especially if, in this fable, the real problem was something else -- perhaps, widespread bastardy in the (complaining) population.

Now, is it "fair" for privileged kids to get so far ahead of those who do not have a daddy who loved their mommy enough to marry her? Probably not, but life isn't fair, and impulsive acts do have life-long consequences.

Should the good people in little town Alert now do something, in the name of equality, to handicap those with such an egregious advantage? Or, should they try to help the underclass build happy, intact, two-parent, families? Let's see -- kneecap the strong? Or help the weak? What would Jesus do? What would Jealous do? Which is the wisest course?

Perhaps, if this imaginary Mr. Jealous, this outsider with a grudge, brought a passion to promote marriage among the people he claims to speak for, little town Alert could take seriously his suggestions on how to improve their schools.

[swain_forkbeard]

Heads and tails are two sides of the same coin, right?

[ArrogantBustard]

When you put a cup of sewage in a barrel of pure water, what do you get?

When you put a cup of pure water in a barrel of sewage, what do you get?

[Tanniker Smith]

Comedian Stephen Colbert, of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central, devoted five minutes to mocking the school board's assignment policies and one of its members.

Don't they teach anything in Journalism classes anymore?

Alleged comedian Stephen Colbert ...