In a message dated 4/17/2002 5:01:38 PM Central Daylight Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> I suppose I should say at the outset that I think we're being
> intellectually dishonest when we label Folwell as a failed school
> needing "intervention" and send in a team to figure out what this
> school is doing wrong.
>
If you accept the premise that Folwell is not a failed school needing
intervention, any outside review is going to be a waste of time,
idiotic, etc. No es verdad?
According to Lynnell Mickelsen, a majority of Folwell students
are at least 2 grades below in their reading levels. Most Folwell
students are unlikely to pass the Minnesota Basic Standards Test.
Most Folwell students will not finish high school. But hey, these
are not kids from Edina or even SW Minneapolis. They are doing
about as well as one could expect them to do, even at Barton or
Burroughs, Right?
> I mean, this is hardly some school out in Eden Prairie. Or
> even in southwest Minneapolis. Folwell is "failing" with a
> demographic population which, unfortunately, is failing in school
> after school, in the central core of cities all over this country.
>
> So to act as if this must be a internal problem at Folwell
> and subject the teachers and staff to this cumbersome, time-consuming
> and ultimately, totally idiotic review (I'll get to that in a
> minute).......well, it's certainly politically correct. It gets
> parents, students and the larger community off the hook. [...]
I think that LM's argument starts out from a false premise.
Many schools across the US, and even some in the Twin Cities
with a demographic profile comparable to that of Folwell
are getting much better results. A report by the Education Trust
called "Dispelling the Myth" (which can be found at the ET web
site) noted that there are thousands of "high performing schools"
across the US where a majority of students are poor and / or
black and Latino. These exceptions to the rule indicate that
differences in student performance are largely an effect
of differences in school characteristics, such as teacher expertise,
curriculum, etc.
It is also noteworthy that from 1970 to the mid-to-late 1980s
the public schools were making progress in closing the test
score gap in reading and math. For example, the difference
in reading scores on NAEP* tests between black and white
13 year olds decreased by about 50% during that era. Since
then the gap has steadily widened, wiping out most of the
most of the progress made toward closing the gap during the
1970s and 80s. ("Long Division" by Michael Fletcher,
September / October 2001 issue of The New Crisis) *National
Assessment of Educational Progress
> But my conclusion remains this: academic performance is closely tied
> to family income, stability and commitment to education. Everyone
> knows this. So to continue to hold school staffs solely and 100
> percent responsible for student performance is pure bullshit and a
> great political strategy. Certain conservatives love to do this as
> part of their endless attack on public education and as preparation
> for their attempt to replace public schools with a private voucher
> system. And it's also convenient for certain lefties who seem loathe
> to ask for personal responsibility from parents and families and
> would rather blame Entire Systems.
>
Perhaps unwittingly, LM is aiding and abetting the efforts of "certain
conservatives" to replace public schools with a private voucher system.
Many of the parents whose children attend the worst public schools
and / or are excluded from college-preparatory curriculum programs are
looking for an out. That's why so many people in Minneapolis with
school age children move to the suburbs or put their children in private
schools.
The politicians who are trying to replace public schools with a private
voucher system have also dictated educational policy for nearly 20 years.
Their strategy is basically the same strategy that is often used to
win support for privatizing any publicly-owned enterprise: run it into the
ground.
> I prefer to hold both parents AND systems responsible. As far
> as the schools go, darlings, there's ALWAYS room for improvement. But
> our present system of putting all the responsibility on the schools
> is just plain nuts. Families are also responsible. Big time. It's
> time we said it straight out and came up policies that reflect what
> we all know is true.
>
Here I think LM is being rather disingenuous. Sure, as far as the schools go
there is ALWAYS room for improvement, but even at Folwell, it would seem,
there isn't very much room for improvement. LM is really saying that the
public schools in Minneapolis, including Folwell and Banneker are doing
a pretty good job, and a majority of the parents are not. Don't blame the
schools, blame those bad, bad parents.
-Doug Mann
That oh sooo politically correct candidate for School Board
<http://educationright.tripod.com>
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