I appreciate your sentiments about my work and my financial contribution to my own job.
As for moving on, I'm all for it, but the bottom line is the very middle-class of which you speak were primarily, (but not all), white. When they went the resources went with them. When they begin to return resources start to come back, but the same problem exists in that they left because they did not want their children to attend school with children of color. Not just poor children of color either; research has shown the first Black families who moved and began to integrate White neighborhoods are usually of the same economic class or even higher than those who begin to flee. As more Whites flee and either rent out properties to those who wouldn't normally be able to buy, the beleaguered middle-class Black homeowner does not have the money or power to stem the tide of those who move in. One sees it everywhere; a homeowner gamely trying to hold on and keep their property presentable and clean who is surrounded by blight, from neighbors who could afford the upkeep of their homes, people who just don't care because it's not theirs. Whites who left that are now returning to city areas do not herald a desire to increase tax revenue so poor kids may have a better education in my opinion. That would be lovely but it is not very realistic. Therefore, those from which they fled, will have to leave when they return in full force. Therein lies the rub of the gentrification issue and there's no getting away from that, unfortunately. Anyhow, my main argument is for people to actually understand what goes on in public school by doing a civic duty to cover a classroom when a teacher is out sick, getting an MRI, Endoscopy, what have you. In the meantime, think of me and others like me gamely trying our best to stick out and "save our neighborhood" even if have to pay for what already should have been provided for us to complete the task successfully, as it is done in other districts 15 mins. across City Av.. On 4/13/08 6:31 PM, "Anthony West" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > So what's happening in Philadelphia's public schools today is > conscientious teachers like Wilma are reaching into their own pocket to > fund that gap -- that $1500 or so -- between the Philadelphia per-pupil > expenditure and even a moderate suburban per-pupil expenditure. > > Wilma's story is not unique. All Philadelphians should be ashamed this > is so. > > The only cure -- run the math! -- is that Philadelphia rebuild the > middle-class and prosperous tax base that once supported good public > education in the city, and now supports good public education in the > suburbs. What can we do to get more middle-class taxpayers inside city > limits? That's the $64 question facing Philadelphians who want to see > their working-class kids uplifted. Poor city kids need new non-poor city > kids, ASAP. > > It's time we, as a city, quit cannibalizing our Wilmas. It's time we > confronted the challenge of regional and global competition. It's time > we quit yakking about 40-year-old New-Left ideological shibboleths like > "gentrification". > > Let's move on. Can UC-list move on? Can we start talking about the > reality of urban life in 2008 and forget all this nostalgic homage to > the people who opposed the construction of of the high-rises in the > 1960s ... for reasons that were very cogent at the time, but are no > longer? Can we move beyond the causes of our youth, to pay attention to > the needs of today's youth? > > -- Tony West > > > > Wilma de Soto wrote: >> "Take the wheel of your automobile, and sing on down to..." Upper Moreland, >> Lower Merion or wherever you will. Then take a walk over to Wilson, >> McMichael, Martha Washington, Cramp, Clymer and see the difference >> first-hand. >> >> >>> Outrageous! Yet I know you're not alone. >>> >>> Do you think teachers in, say, Upper Moreland Twp. are tempted to do the >>> same as you, or do they get more of what they need from their school >>> budget in the first place? You probably know more teachers than most of us. >>> >>> -- Tony West >>> >>> >>> Wilma de Soto wrote: >>> >>>> why as I do my taxes this weekend, do I have receipts totaling >>>> nearly $1500 for out-of-pocket classroom expenses for 2007, so I can have >>>> the means to do my job. >>>> >>>> The School District gives us $100, (up from $50 from the last contract). >>>> For most of my career it was a $25 allotment. >>>> >>>> The Feds will let me deduct up to $250 I believe. >>>> >>>> Let me add I was more prudent this year in my out-of-pocket spending that I >>>> have been before. Many teachers do not bother to fork over the extra >>>> expense and I don't judge them. I just do what I must to try to provide an >>>> effective, competitive education for my students. >>>> >>>> > > ---- > You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the > list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see > <http://www.purple.com/list.html>. ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
