Understanding the Issues: Education

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by dmek25

ever think some of those parents are working second shift? or working 2 jobs? not everyone that is down, wants to be down. alot of these people are good, decent people. but it is a very hard cycle to break. yes, it can be broken, but it sometimes starts with a helping hand. remember, most of the decisions these people are making, are the same ones they have learned from their parents.

Yea, out of a 1,000 students all but three where working at their second job. Funny thing is the lady that is working so hard to form the PTA and trying to get parents involved is finding the time working THREE jobs. Your kind of thinking and making excuses for these people is part of the problem. I'm not saying your totaly wrong and that maybe some were working at there second job. This lady had notices out one month prior to their first meeting so thats still not a good excuse. By reading your post and others I think we all agree that these children need help because their parents are not doing their job its how they are helped we disagree on.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by firstdown

Yea, out of a 1,000 students all but three where working at their second job. Funny thing is the lady that is working so hard to form the PTA and trying to get parents involved is finding the time working THREE jobs. Your kind of thinking and making excuses for these people is part of the problem. I'm not saying your totaly wrong and that maybe some were working at there second job. This lady had notices out one month prior to their first meeting so thats still not a good excuse. By reading your post and others I think we all agree that these children need help because their parents are not doing their job its how they are helped we disagree on.

Good response.

Second jobs and late night shifts can explain SOME of the absences. But 3 parents out of 1000? That simply shows a lack of involvement and total apathy. Lord knows, the only way to get a school board or administration to make ANY changes at all is to get the parents in an uproar.

Principals and teachers are people. People like and are used to the status quo. If you don't do something to break the inertia, the status quo will remain in effect. No amount of government funding is ever going to change that.

The only way to get schools to change is for the parents to organize and be a pain in the ass so large that it makes change the easier option for the school to deal with. You have to make the school choose between dealing with change, or dealing with the pissed off parents. They'll simply take the path of least resistance. It's human nature, it works in business, in politics, in schools, when you call up your phone company screaming for customer service... everywhere.

And if you have 3 people showing up for a PTA meeting, you're not going to change anything.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Good response.

Second jobs and late night shifts can explain SOME of the absences. But 3 parents out of 1000? That simply shows a lack of involvement and total apathy. Lord knows, the only way to get a school board or administration to make ANY changes at all is to get the parents in an uproar.

Principals and teachers are people. People like and are used to the status quo. If you don't do something to break the inertia, the status quo will remain in effect. No amount of government funding is ever going to change that.

The only way to get schools to change is for the parents to organize and be a pain in the ass so large that it makes change the easier option for the school to deal with. You have to make the school choose between dealing with change, or dealing with the pissed off parents. They'll simply take the path of least resistance. It's human nature, it works in business, in politics, in schools, when you call up your phone company screaming for customer service... everywhere.

And if you have 3 people showing up for a PTA meeting, you're not going to change anything.

You speak of environment not playing or even a minimal roll in a person’s success is absurd. If you are growing up in an environment where education is not regarded you most likely are not going to care about it.

If you had to put your money on who will succeed in life, would it be the child born and raised in McLean or the child born and raised in inner city DC. Not saying the DC kid won’t make it but the odds are stacked against him.

Also you speak of making the right decisions, which is true but explain to me what decision the DC child makes when he is handed (or not even given) a vandalized text book to learn from.

In the end the majority of people become the product of their environment