tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post2494243161748801122..comments2024-03-28T11:57:21.902-04:00Comments on CURMUDGUCATION: Gerrymandering Charter SuccessPeter Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511193640285760299noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-55727852895809775552016-12-21T07:39:09.822-05:002016-12-21T07:39:09.822-05:00I agree that traditional catchment schools, especi...I agree that traditional catchment schools, especially the way lines are drawn, causes segregation, along with "red-lining" real estate policies. That's why bussing was mandated, and according to the pod cast that you recommended, it was working. Grading schools according to standardized test results to use to influence real estate values reinforces that segregation. But recent studies show that "choice" schools don't help the problem, and often make it worse. Rebecca deCocahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13168718846105012814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-15061250868346250792016-12-19T21:12:55.977-05:002016-12-19T21:12:55.977-05:00I certainly agree that traditional catchment schoo...I certainly agree that traditional catchment schools reinforce SES segregation in the country. I even think that is a reason to think choice schools are a good idea.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-43755388465493553122016-12-19T15:49:31.530-05:002016-12-19T15:49:31.530-05:00There weren't any "bad" or so-called...There weren't any "bad" or so-called failing schools in my North Carolina county until the school board and voters decided to get rid of busing and go with neighborhood schools. Of course, the primary motivation for the neighborhood schools idea was racial, but no one said that publicly, only in private. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07228908566250306699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-26577941224503395942016-12-18T23:56:25.468-05:002016-12-18T23:56:25.468-05:00On top of all the stress, grief and anxiety that e...On top of all the stress, grief and anxiety that especially little children have to navigate in many of our urban school districts, they also lack access to nature. For people who live in areas where nature is not a 45 minute or more drive away, it is hard to explain what existence is like where the calming effects of a breeze in the trees is just not there. Furthermore, how many students, especially boys, would benefit from much more physical activity (not just sport) as part of school. Everything about the life of children in crisis-based urban school districts is unnatural - the fear, the danger, the poverty, the anxiety, the cement everywhere. We shouldn't be surprised that school-setting type learning is not a top priority for people in survival mode.<br /><br /> Rethinking schools is what some charters try to do. I get that. But the constant emphasis to industrialize (replicate anywhere) whatever new idea someone has moves us farther away from the fundamental student needs. Even kids who live in more rural areas could benefit from working outdoors more as a part of school. It is just too tragic that every breath, every minute must be captured in some data management system and assessed by some self-proclaimed body of experts in order to be considered valid. <br /><br /> Rethinking the system? Relationship based learning is the key to helping underachievers. Students are strengthened through positive, communicative relationships with other people and with even nature (Last Child in the Woods). The realities of children living in dangerous urban areas are almost impossible to fathom for people who do not live there. If school is going to help them grow into well grounded adults, school has to mean so much more than a required set of experiences that are supposed to provide a foundation for their entire adult life. School needs to become much more than the industrial model we live with today. Tweaking that model is not working. Technology is not helping. Grants are not working. Teacher accountability measures are not working. I wholeheartedly agree that the cultural expectations and preferences are at the core of the problem. People living in extreme deprivation (not just materially but emotionally, psychologically) need to be nurtured. School will have to "deliver" in those areas if any lasting results are going to be expected. Can public schools do that without it becoming something that is inevitably industrialized and captured with data points? Can we even imagine, let alone create a "model" that will allow for this much ambiguous humanity to be part of the inevitable algorithm?<br /><br /> Trying to cram so many things into the average school day, would this "human component" (for lack of a better term) be too costly in terms of time management? <br /><br />When we can find a public school model that validates the humanity of students and not just their standardized test results, you will have something that can bring the change that children deserve. Everything else, I fear, will be more of the same. Kobishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16778054056084383752noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-78670288492762615682016-12-18T18:44:17.354-05:002016-12-18T18:44:17.354-05:00At some point, we may get our arms around the real...At some point, we may get our arms around the real trouble with "public" education. It is not academics, per se, nor it is, should we turn That Public School into a Charter (for whatever reason). The problem is simply cultural. We have a large segment of our society (many Deplorable, some not) which neither values nor supports education as it is now delivered. Add to that an ever growing sense of student power and entitlement, and what you have is what we got. Good schools (due to lucky demographics, or good lottery choices) will excel. Bad schools (populated by kids who simply don't want to be there, and whose parents can't make them) will not. All the No Child Left Behind in the World won't change that dynamic. Until we decide to stop genuflecting at the altar of "Our Great Public School Systems", we will not be able to improve them. There are private initiatives out there that are attempting to bridge the gap, get kids involved and WANTING to learn, as opposed at forcing them to. But these are small efforts. And they cost money. Our system needs a total rethink. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014509113839295518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-86511686370202199322016-12-18T18:16:39.634-05:002016-12-18T18:16:39.634-05:00Pure associative genius.Pure associative genius.Rebecca deCocahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13168718846105012814noreply@blogger.com