Don't blame Bush or bias: Just teach kids [FL liberal blames parents -- and, defends Jeb!]

The Orlando Sentinel ^ | June 3, 2003 | Mike Thomas

[summer]

Mike Thomas

Don't blame Bush or bias: Just teach kids

Published June 3, 2003

...Black communities destroy black schools. Too many parents don't get involved in their children's education. So the kids don't care. The good teachers burn out trying to get them to care. And so they leave. That attitude goes right up the system.

"This ain't a black thing," said Bishop Victor T. Curry, former president of the Miami-Dade NAACP. "This is our children's thing."

I'd suggest he use proper grammar, but Ernest Page might accuse me of being culturally biased.

...The people who did not prepare the families are the parents. And the punitive measure they inflict on their children is a lifetime of poverty.

The kids who failed the FCAT may be victims, but they aren't Jeb Bush's victims. Their fate was sealed when they entered first grade not knowing their letters and numbers, which was long before Bush got to Tallahassee....

...At what point do we tell black kids that being 60 percent or 70 percent as good as white kids isn't good enough? The only racists I see in this debate are the ones who think black kids are too stupid to pass the test....

As for Bush's FCAT critics, they need to come up with better solutions than promoting inferiority and blaming the nearest Republican for it.

Mike Thomas can be reached at 407-420-5525 or mthomas@orlandosentinel.com.

[mafree]

Hi summer it is a good read.

GO JEB!!

[windchime]

"I recently saw the following bumper sticker on a car: "TEACHERS FOR JEB!" No kidding. :)"

LOL. They are the smart ones who care about their students! I'll keep an eye out when I'm on the road.

[summer]

Hi mafree, Nice to hear from you! Thanks for your post. :)