Phyllis Kahn wrote: > Thanks to Chuck Holtman for making the point about the > Community Ed use of Pratt classrooms. On a personal note at > various times I have taken Weight Training, Chinese, Conversational > French, Beginning and Conversational Spanish and even Dog Obedience > Training and Fencing (a very long time ago). The question of how this > shared use is financed is appropriate and may need to be adjusted.
I think that the cost vs. benefit analysis of the Pratt Elementary School should ultimately be assessed on whether the District spends more per child at Pratt than other Elementary schools. I am certainly willing to consider the evidence that the Save Pratt Group and the District come up with, but in the end the decision should be based on fairness and equality, not the popularity of life-style courses for the middle class. What has made the strongest impression on me, when attending meetings about the future of Pratt, is the lack of perspective, understanding, and empathy that White residents have in regards to the problems faced by minority students. In particular, I remember one White parent explaining that when they had attended South High they had had their "racial" problems, but they had worked them out. I wonder what her perspective would have been if she had attended schools in North Minneapolis where the majority of students are minorities rather than Caucasian. While it is true that most of the community ed classes at Pratt serve minority residents, it is not clear whether or not these classes' primary function is to provide an excuse to save Pratt as a community center for Hill residents. To me, one of the dividing lines between liberal and conservative positions is the types of solutions they propose for poverty and discrimination. From my perspective liberals seems to be much more willing to be satisfied with token solutions that allow activists to feel good about their contributions, but have little long term positive impact. Although Pratt is only a small skirmish in the struggle for equality of effect, I think that the cultural challenges are the same as they have been throughout the history of the civil rights movement. Michael Atherton Prospect Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
