New version of Toledo Talk

More evidence that parents are at fault? - For a child's lack of education. "When the state gave Toledo Public Schools $380,000 to prepare high school students for the Ohio Graduation Test, administrators were eager to help the students get ready. They scheduled Saturday sessions, before and after-school workshops, and summer programs. All were free. But just a handful of students turned out for the programs, school administrators said."

"At the East Toledo school, about 15 students are attending a three-week, half-day summer session focusing on all areas of the test. An additional 20 students took advantage of some before and after-school tutoring in March and April, with another 30 students in Saturday sessions during February, said Robin Wheatley, assistant principal of curriculum and instruction. But those 70 students were among hundreds invited."

"I was extremely disappointed," Miss Wheatley said. "I sent letters to the parents saying, 'Your student refused to be tutored.' "

"Teachers called parents at all times of the day to inform them about the free summer session and sent letters explaining the test and the extra help students could get."

"At Scott High School, about 46 of the roughly 180 invited students attended the summer sessions that focused on mathematics and reading, said Jose Hernandez, the summer program coordinator. "We send out a letter to parents. We call parents. We talk to parents at freshman meetings," he said. "We have incentive packages - T-shirts and things like that. Right now, we're getting the kids who really want to improve." "
posted by jr to education at 7:21 P.M. EST     (5 Comments)

Comments ...

What shit. T-shirts and phone calls are certainly much easier things to deliver and tasks to perform, compared to actually supplying education.

Give it a rest with the propaganda, TPS. You've failed all over the range in your moral duty to educate. You get 'em for over 6 hours a day, and that's plenty of time to teach -- get ready for this -- READING, WRITING and ARITHMETIC. And the meta-ability behind all 3 of those is CRITICAL THINKING ... which is sorely lacking in Toledo's heavily-Black school administration.

If the students won't sit still for each class, then perhaps the poor role model -- a virtual "sad sack" just puttin' in time until retirement -- in front of the class is having an unintended effect. If the home life is so allegedly unpleasant from "poor parenting", then school should bring substantial relief ... but it doesn't, and students almost uniformly loathe the so-called educational system.

I wouldn't send a child of mine to your 50%-grad-rate system if you held a gun to my head. Those $2000 bonuses your admins gave themselves were just fiddlings while your system burned. You're in the end times. I'm going to enjoy watching your inept teachers standing in the unemployment line (which, as you may know, won't actually happen since the unemployment agency has been fatally downsizing itself like many other Toledo businesses).
posted by Guest at 01:50 P.M. EST on Sun Jul 04, 2004     #

I feel we should not be figuring out who to blame for the students education, we should be working on how to fix this. What should the teachers and the parents do to make education better in the home as well as in the school. Education is evolved from your environment and the people around you so if we stop fighting about who is to blame and worry more about our students education then our students will follow by example and worry more about school then about fighting and drugs or other things. Lets work together instead of againist each other.
posted by Guest at 10:55 A.M. EST on Thu Jul 08, 2004     #

Work together? Utter bilge. There's no togetherness when one party is playing the card of elitism. I'll "work" with the TPS once they stop paying themselves bonuses for terrible performance. (At last report, 14 of the 17 administrators who promised to pay back their bonuses, hadn't done so. They must believe that we're not watching. I'm afraid that they are probably correct.)

There is no negotiation possible between unequals. The TPS administration clearly holds itself above accountability. Once they are equalized with the population, then we'll see my cooperation. Not before.

How do we fire all the administrators and put the teachers in charge? I don't like them either, but they have to be a better population than the paperwork leeches.
posted by Guest at 10:17 P.M. EST on Sun Jul 11, 2004     #

"I'll "work" with the TPS once they stop paying themselves bonuses for terrible performance."

And work with TPS once they fire the racist teacher Rahwae Shuman who has said:

"It is disrespectful to Lincoln students to not have a single African-American teacher in the building. It's time for us to wake up. No other race in history has turned their children over to the enemy to be educated."

"Our leadership has been bought out by our enemies, white people control the NAACP! You should be concerned; your child is spending eight hours a day with someone who considers them a slave."
posted by jr at 10:40 P.M. EST on Sun Jul 11, 2004     #

Rahwae Shuman should put his intentions where his mouth is. If he wants to see more Black teachers, then he should network to get them in, cultivating relationships and making recommendations. If he finds his administration not responding, he should jump over their heads. Of course, that would place his tenure at risk ... as if I gave a rat's ass. Bold and individual actions can only mean risk.

Besides that, jr, Blacks simply cannot be racist, since the Neo-Liberals have come down firmly upon that conclusion. If people like Shuman say such things, it's to be tolerated since the Neo-Lib agenda requires an oppressed class to make themselves feel good about making sure "justice is served" when some Black is tossed a crumb. Which is essentially what Shuman was saying.

I don't mind Shuman. I am much more concerned that a White teacher would be fired for saying what Bill Cosby has said recently. If we are really a free people who have recognized rights under the US Constitution, any teacher can march in militant NAACP or Klan rallies and then come to work the next day to do their jobs. The real enemy here is intolerance of intolerance. And that suits the Neo-Libs perfectly fine.

{sigh} If only we could find some real Liberals and fiscal Republicans again.
posted by Guest at 01:04 A.M. EST on Tue Jul 13, 2004     #

<< Older Toledo Nerd Dinner Version 1.0    |    The 911 Movie Newer >>

This is an old topic and is no longer allowing comments.