Educators and psychologists yesterday said the increase in disruptive students being removed reflects several factors, ranging from schools not meeting students' needs to a breakdown in classroom respect, to lingering effects from the fatal Columbine High School shootings.***
Boston Globe: Cuba's lessons on caring for children ***But the notion that children and education are of primary concern to Cuba was said often enough by enough people within and outside the government that it made us think that Boston, and indeed the United States, could learn much from this island of scarce resources. If Cuba, where per capita GDP hovers at $1,700, has universal preschool, isn't that something the wealthiest country in the world could do for its children and families?
……Our relations with Cuba will inevitably be normalized in due course, and we, too, will find economic opportunities in this well-educated, healthy society of 11 million. Yet the question is, will Cuba be able to maintain its commitment to children, their education, and their health as this economic activity builds and a growing dollar economy, existing side by side with a peso economy, creates disparities in wealth?
Let's hope it can and that as more Americans visit Cuba's shores, we can learn something from the Cubans - about how to raise our kids here, how to instill in them self-respect and cultural pride, and how to give all of them a chance to be happy, creative, and productive adults.***