Equity in Education

I was sitting and listening to parts of DeBlasio's speech on the benefits of Renewal Schools and how well students are doing in them.  He ended the speech by pushing AP classes in all schools.  He wants all kids to have computer science

I've taught AP and I teach in college.  While these initiatives are great, he needs to address the basics.  Students are graduating without basic skills in math, reading and writing.  Studying is non existent.  I'm not just referring to low income schools.  I've seen students from Francis Lewis HS, Cardozo HS, Bayside HS and more, all top level schools who lack basics.  They have gone through 12 years of school doing nothing and expect the same in the future.  DeBlasio sounds good but he still has no idea of what is going on in today's schools.  Nothing changes.

DeBlasio is ending by saying he wants kids to have hope and to believe in themselves.  He needs to start doing this with a work ethic and a solid foundation of math, reading and writing.  He wants to raise the graduation rate from 68,4% to 80% but this will only work if the diploma received is a real diploma, not a diploma like the ones given out today.

Joke



Bayside H.S. is on the list of schools who got A's.  I couldn't believe my eyes and read the article twice, to make sure I was seeing it  right.

Bayside is an A school if you consider a school that does away with a "Smart Program" without parent consultation a good school.  The parents and many several staff members believe this was done on purpose.  Perhaps the powers that be are looking to close Bayside down and are just building up ammunition.  Most of the money Bayside has to spend is being spent on the lower 1/3 of the school and the kids in the middle and top are being left to their own devices. Kids, with holes in their program (why should there be holes?) are shoved into any available class, sometimes even given two gym classes to fill the day. How can  Bayside HS be an A school when the school has no regards for the needs of its middle students?

These ratings are a joke.  Just ask the kids or their parents.  Who needs comedies in the movies and on television when we have these progress reports to keep us entertained?

I'll end here with a quote from someone with first hand information about that school.

Now, these youngsters [new teachers], who seem competent and idealistic, are stuck with this horrible fake system and still have real kids like mine to educate. I’m glad my son has only 2 more years. I feel his academic opportunities are lessened because of Bayside HS and the cuts and where they were made. The A is so fake because the intent is to make this school eventually fail by budget starvation. .. Please do a post/expose of all this diminishing of opportunities for middle class kids. I’m all for it….this A is just so much bullshit.