Linda Picone wrote:
> Both of my daughters also got a good education in the Minneapolis Public
> Schools. They went on to college and have now both graduated Phi Beta Kappa
> from fine schools. The older is in law school, the younger is about to spend
> a year in Thailand as a Luce Scholar, then will go to medical school. (Okay,
> forgive me for bragging; I slip it in when I can.) My point, however, is
> that in the crucial junior high school and high school years, they got what
> they needed academically from the public schools to be well-equipped to
> succeed in college and beyond.
This point simply illustrates that there are a few good schools. It does
not address the problem of individual parents who have limited means
and are unable to send their children to these schools.
> But they got something else as well: An experience of a world that is not
> all white and middle class.
> This was not a "sacrifice" of academics (I cringe when I see people write
> about making a choice to send children to public school as some kind of
> sacrifice), nor was it a noble gesture (the presence of my kids would
> somehow improve the lot of those "poor others"?) It was a rich, satisfying
> way to learn and to live for my children. It has meant challenges at times.
> (Think there are no gangs in Minneapolis schools? Think there is no casual
> racism directed at white kids? Think there are no bad teachers?) But meeting
> those challenges has helped them develop the ability to function in a
> complex, interesting world. Both my daughters can speak more eloquently than
> I can about the value of an education in urban schools.
I think that diversity is highly overrated. Liberals hold up diversity as though
one cannot become a complete, fair, sensitive and honorable individual if they have
have been educated in a homogeneous culture. I think that it's an urban myth.
Diversity in some instances actually fosters prejudice.
> We expect a lot from our public schools. Too much. We expect them to
> overcome behavior problems caused by bad or absent parents, to eliminate
> racism, to give every student--the gifted, the challenged, the
> average--exactly what he or she needs in a cost-effective way. We expect
> them to educate all children--but to keep the disruptive ones out of OUR
> kids' way.
I find this attitude defeatist. I believe that the schools can overcome
behavioral problems caused by bad parents, help to minimize racism,
and provide students with a quality education in a cost-effective way.
To do so we have to change some of assumptions and processes fostered
by current educational philosophy.
> I have been spending one brief hour a week at Lyndale School, tutoring a
> sweet child who is of at least average intelligence, but who, at age 9,
> cannot read. (Spanish is her family's language. The family has moved back
> and forth from Guatemala, disrupting the children's education.) That one
> hour, sitting in the middle of a school I've come to really care about,
> brings home both the strengths and problems in Minneapolis public schools. I
> encourage anyone who can--parents and non-parents--to consider finding a way
> to volunteer at one of the local public schools. Yes, it will do a good
> thing for the school and some students, but it could be an eye-opener for
> you, as well.
Although I think that parents should be commended for volunteering in the
schools, the fact their presence might be necessary for a student to
succeed is reflection of the systems' failure.
> I am no apologist for the Minneapolis Public Schools. It's a big, bulky
> bureaucracy and it's got plenty of problems. There are people making bad
> decisions and there ARE bad teachers in classrooms and it can be, still,
> frustrating to deal with. Every parent--everyone supporting this
> system--should be concerned and vigilant in trying to make the schools
> better.
I guess that I still have a radical bent, because my first response is,
"Change it, or lose it." [Anyone else from the 60's remember that
phrase? :-) ]
> But this school system is also providing a good education for many, many
> students--sometimes against the odds. Labeling the district, or even an
> individual school, as a failure is not useful--and doesn't reflect reality.
Anyone who thinks that the Minneapolis School System is not failing
should take a look at the basic-skills test results in the April 19th
edition of the Star Tribune and then look up the dropout rates for minority
students.
Michael Atherton
Prospect Park
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