Bill Kahn wrote: > The bias suggested by Michael Atherton is ridiculous. I > simply responded to his request for good Mexican restaurants > in S. Minneapolis with Mariachi music on weekends.
Mr. Kahn said, "...the underlying themes in most Mariachi music are not very suitable or interesting for kids--better stick to the dance music." This statement is a little more than just a restaurant recommendation. The fact is that Mr. Kahn's opinion of Mexican cultural traditions is either outdated or simply myopic. > Mariachi music typically is played by males recounting some > romantic adventure gone very wrong, but is probably a step > above the most violent and sexually themed rap music; neither > is appropriate for young children, I believe. I think that Mr. Kahn and others who share his perspective should take the time to educate themselves: http://www.elmariachi.com/ [Please note the number of women who are now involved in this art form.] > I'll assume that he meant Minneapolis Public Schools teach > violence and racial prejudice, since otherwise his last two > posts could be considered violations of list rules (not > my call); I believe that he is very wrong in this supposition > about MPS. What I said was, "Racial prejudice and violence are other things that children learn in the public schools..." There is a difference between what children learn through socialization and what the schools explicitly teach. I never said that the MPS "teach" violence and racial prejudice. Mr. Kahn can do his own research to realize that racial prejudice and violence are prevalent in many American middle and high schools. He might want to start with the school shootings here in Minnesota and then move on to more scholarly research. > Now this new direction to home schooling brings me back to a > question I asked some time ago about how home schooled > Minneapolis kids are socialized to deal with others of > different backgrounds. Atherton has not responded, except in > this thread to suggest that I have some prejudice against > homeschooling in general and that kids listening to songs > of heartache in a language they don't understand will do > the trick (but Atherton's kids may be at the perfect age to > start learning another language). Just how do Minneapolis > home schoolers do it? I rarely take the time to reply to Mr. Kahn's *opinions*, but just in case there are others who are equally misinformed I will this time. First, I challenge Mr. Kahn to come up with ONE, as in single, valid empirical study to show that homeschoolers lack adequate socialization. All of the evidence that I have seen indicates that homeschooled children are on par with publicly schooled children or have higher self-esteem and are as socially skilled. Here are some references you can start off with if you know nothing about this topic: http://reading.indiana.edu/ieo/digests/d94.html http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000000/00000068.asp http://www.geocities.com/nelstomlinson/research.bibliography.html#shyers Mr. Kahn's perspective seems to be based on two false assumptions: 1) Socialization in the public schools is a positive experience for all students. [There are voluminous numbers of studies to show the exact opposite and don't forget the 47% dropout rate in the MPS: that's great socialization for you. :-| ] 2) Homeschooled children lack opportunities for socialization. [Research fails to validate this assumption]. I will not be continuing this exchange with Mr. Kahn. The return is not worth the investment. If anyone else wants to argue his perspective I will add a few additional comments and additional references. 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
