[Steve_Seattle]

"Instead of fixing struggling schools"

Is it the schools that are struggling, or is it that the students and parents are not doing their part? When I go to the local library, I see a lot of Asian students there, but few if any blacks or Hispanics. It's a question of priorities, and blacks and Hispanics apparently have other priorities. They think an education is something that is GIVEN to a passive recipient, whereas an education is something that requires work and discipline.

[mhking]

Is it the schools that are struggling, or is it that the students and parents are not doing their part? When I go to the local library, I see a lot of Asian students there, but few if any blacks or Hispanics. It's a question of priorities, and blacks and Hispanics apparently have other priorities. They think an education is something that is GIVEN to a passive recipient, whereas an education is something that requires work and discipline.

It's a two-fold problem. Not only is it a matter of parents who are not emphasizing education and excellence, it is also an issue of educators who see their collective jobs as more of baby-sitters, passing the time from paycheck to paycheck. Many of these educators are so wrapped up in trying to use "alternative" methods to teach "self-esteem" and "cultural diversity" that they have forgotten the basics.

The whining and crying that these folks are doing over the exam is bogus. They know - and have known for literally years what is on the exam, yet they refuse to teach it!

Rather than getting wrapped up in other things, they need to start early and teach the students what is on the exam, i.e., what they need to pass the exam and to move on and succeed in life.

I'm sorry, but many of these feel-good classes that students in urban public schools are saddled with are not doing a damned thing to help them move forward. They don't help those kids get ready for college; they don't help those kids get ready for life.

In many cases, the parents of those kids don't know enough to hold the educators' collective feet to the fire. In many cases, the parents don't care. The teachers don't care either, and they can't be held accountable. Why? Because the unions protect them.

Competition would force this accountability, simply because the schools would be forced to compete for funds, both public and private. Accountability would be forced on the instructors, because without it, the schools would cease to function. The local and state governments need to make vouchers available for parents (the ones who give a damn, at least) to be able to send their children to schools where they can get a quality education. Where they can learn what is on the standardized examinations. Where they can be prepared for life beyond grade school.

With the present system, and with the hand-wringing going on by ill-minded individuals who want to stop the testing and hamstring the students, we are going to be left with yet another generation of men and women who don't have the skills to achieve even a living wage in the America of tomorrow.