Innovation is present, to an extent. It's all a matter of degree. There is certainly room for improvement, there always will be. But if you start from the perspective of the G&T community (for instance, at a meeting last year I listened to a presentation from the author of "Survival Guide for G&T" or something like that); there is a realistic attitude that within public schools there won't be a whole curriculum devoted solely to the needs of G&T kids. If you want that, there are particular schools for that. I don't want that. What the public schools can do is provide options/flexibility within the classrooms. I have experienced situations growing up where that was not the case. Moving to the East Coast from here in 8th grade: here I had been working on 9th grade algebra, when I got there it was: "Sorry, we work in unison here. You'll just have to go through the 8th grade material again with us." It was horrible. That isn't the case here. Different groups of kids at different points of various spectrums are pulled out and coalesced and mixed back in again. Individual learning opportunities are provided. That's what is doable, and that is what is being done. I'm sure we can all make a contribution - one friend of mine is leading a six-week session on the great books in her daughter's school, she does it every year. The more volunteers the better. I completely support the initiative's announced recently to make sure noone remains behind - that will help all participants by raising the level of all the activities. Mpls Public Schools are facing significant financial challenges due to education funding inequities at both the state and federal level, and a great many people choose to do the best they can despite that, and the results are often pretty great. Everyone's welcome to come in and make it better, but I can't passively listen while people put forth the idea that nothing is being done, or that the status quo is terrible. There's room for improvement and it is what you make it and there's a lot of great stuff taking place every day. P.S. As far as funding goes - the idea of studying costs is a strenuous one, previous efforts have bogged down over the question of what does a basic education consist of. That very question bogs down my psyche - because my child received a lot of great stuff right now that would never be included in anyone's basic education definition. One idea is to study what the cost is of what is being done right now - again, being done at which site? Even the community schools have unique aspects, and the magnets/alternatives/charters are very different from each other. So I wanted to acknowledge that complexity even though I have no answer to end with. Except that to me, none of this equals basis for the Governor's current budget. Claire Stokes SW Area Parent's Council (meeting tomorrow nite, if anyone's been thinking about checking to see if your school has both rep slots filled). Citizen's Budget Advisory Council (meeting next Thursday) 62B, Ward 12 Michael Atherton responded: > It is not necessarily "...always going to be a competition for school resources." > It may just be a problem inherent to the 'grade' structure of the current > school establishment. If you change the structure you may be able to > accommodate both groups for the same or fewer monetary resources. I believe > that what is lacking is innovative management. > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > In a way he is right: it is simply electrons on a chatode ray tude. But > > there is always going to be a competition for school resources. Advocates for > > gifted and talented kids always have disproportionate financial and political > > resources. The challenge to school people, like Catherine, is to balance > > it...to make sure parents of G& T students are (with justification) happy > > with their children’s experience while protecting kids who have little > > advocacy going for them. > _______________________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
