Dan McGuire wrote: > I'm in the camp that thinks there's a link between poverty and > academic failure. I missed the evidence to the contrary if it was > posted. I don't think there is one easy way to fix the > problem; I think it's a constellation of problems that requires a > multi-faceted solution.
I'm probably one of the few people that believes that link is not between poverty (as low income) and academic failure. I believe that is link is between culture and academic failure. This implies that simply raising income levels will not solve the problem and that special programs that acknowledge the cultural relationship need to be developed. Most educators are too "correct" to admit that the problem is dominated by culture, which in turn just perpetuates the problem. If my assumption is true, then trying to solve academic failure by eliminating poverty is doomed to fail. I believe that the solution is to reduce poverty through education. > I think the biggest discrepancy in dollars is in the > money that is available to support the needs of children when > they are not in school. It is not realistic to compare the > amount per pupil spent by the Edina school district to the > amount per pupil spent by the Minneapolis Public > Schools. We need to compare total resources available for > the care and education of each child before we can say that > money doesn't make a difference. As I understand it, more dollars are already spent on the education of lower income students than middle income students. I don't think that money is the major problem: it is how the system approaches the problem and spends the dollars. Putting two more computers in your class room is not going to have any effect on the dropout rate, even for your own students (given your assumption that the problem is poverty). > When I saw on the news tonight that there is x hundred million > available for playing pro football and some number of > billions available to build another retail monstrosity in Bloomington, > I lost some of the spark that I needed to write that letter I wanted > to get out soliciting another couple of computers for my classroom > even though I know I should be taking the opposite attitude - there > is obviously enough money available right here in this county, if not > city. I don't think that people understand this problem from a mathematically perspective. The billions used to expand the MOA are fixed costs at one installation. Education costs are accumulated at hundred of thousands of cites and reoccur annually; they are an enormous expenditure. Just consider what it would cost to add a year or two of preschool nationally. A program that I actually support, but don't believe that the American public is willing to pay for (just imagine the sticker shock). Michael Atherton Prospect Park REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact 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 Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
