By the Mississippi Delta, A Whole School Left Behind

[rodeodance]

Source: wpost




By the Mississippi Delta, A Whole School Left Behind

By Peter Whoriskey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, October 28, 2007; Page A03

COMO, Miss. -- Of all the nation's elementary schools, the one serving this poor, rural crossroads is at the bottom of the heap.

Its math and reading test scores ranked at the bottom in Mississippi last year, and Mississippi, in turn, ranked last among the states.

..........
Como Elementary is, in other words, just the sort of school that was supposed to benefit from the landmark No Child Left Behind law, which is up for reauthorization by Congress......................

Despite abysmal test scores, Como earned a passing grade under No Child Left Behind, largely because the standards of student proficiency, which are determined individually by the states, have been set so low in Mississippi. Its small size also exempts it from some standards. The resulting passing grade -- it makes "adequate yearly progress" -- has exempted Como Elementary from any of the corrective actions dictated by the law. ...........

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/10/27/ST2007102701375.html?hpid=moreheadlines

[Ian David]

1. I propose a Constitutional Ammendmnet...

Any state that ranks last in Education loses its two Senators for a year.

No, that's not fair.

They should lose ONE senator.

[Sadie4629]

2. Depriving a state of its representation

would do exactly what kind of good? :crazy:

[Ian David]

4. Well, it would make ME feel better. n/t

[sandyd921]

16. Are the kids in that school and their parents

being "represented"? If they are, they are certainly not well represented! :shrug:

[bluerum]

6. How about turning over the board of education to the state that ranks highest.

[UncleSepp]

17. So every year, no matter what, one state would be down a Senator

All the schools could be doing extremely well in all the states, but the last one would still be punished. Conversely, all the schools could be doing horribly in all the states, but only one state would be punished.

[UpInArms]

3. I wonder if Trent Lott's house was rebuilt? eom

:eyes:

[rodeodance]

5. so so sad, it is as if no one cares.

[Flora]

7. Teach For America

My oldest son is a senior this year at college. After Graduation, he will enter the Teach For America project, and his top post choice is the Mississippi Delta, with New Orleans second. Even though he felt New Orleans had more to offer as for as the rich cultural history, he felt he would make a bigger difference in the Delta.

Either way, the school systems in both areas are a complete mess. Once again, our children are going in to help clean up a mess made by greedy politicians. :-(


He will teach for 2 years under this program before going to grad school.
For those not familiar with TFA, here is a link.

http://teachforamerica.org/index.htm

[Doctor Panacea]

9. Report back, please

Flora, please give us a report after he has been there a year. I would be interested to hear whether his experience validates his expectations, after he has seen things and dealt with them personally. Maybe he will be able to give all of us some insight into what the real problem is.

I know both these areas. The people in the Delta are nice, and he will be safe there. As for New Orleans, I thought it was dirty and dangerous when I lived there for a year thirty-five years ago. I do not think it is any better now.

[Rowdyboy]

13. He faces enormous challenges and meager support but the rewards

from the children can be incredible-or so I've been told by a few young people who've done this work in the past. Coming here to the delta of Mississippi is a gutsy move by your son. You should be very proud.

[acmavm]

8. Where is the money earmarked for development in Mississippi?

Governor Haley Barbour signs Senate Bill 3215, which provides economic development incentives for Toyota Motor Corporation.

Toyota needs development incentives? Is that another way of saying bribe? We do that to the tune of 90 million a year here in Nebraska.

[Honeycombe8]

10. Isn't it more the parents' fault?

Not meaning to be harsh on the school - and I think federal and state efforts should intensify for that school - but isn't it really MORE of a parent's fault that a child isn't learning than a government's? They both are involved in the problem, for sure. But if you are a parent, isn't it your job to make sure your child does homework every night, that you review the report card grades, that you meet with her teachers every now and then, that you ask the child about school and learning, and that you become at least somewhat involved in your child's education?

If a parent is involved, the problem of no money for the school or of less than stellar teachers is still there, but it is less of a problem when the parent is involved, right?

[zalinda]

11. You are assuming that the parents are educated

There are still a lot of people in this country who cannot read or write. For the most part, they are poor, even though there are some become "successful", they have learned to have other people read for them. I knew one of them, opened a restaurant, he could "read" basic requirements for the restaurant when ordering the food. I don't think anyone knew he couldn't read. The only way I found out was he asked me to read a legal paper. He asked me to read it, so he "could make sure that he was understanding it correctly". When I silently started to read it, he asked me to read it out loud. This was the first of a few occasions when I "checked his understanding, out loud".

Illiteracy is a dirty little secret her in the US.

zalinda

[Sadie4629]

14. You don't have to be 'educated' to set high standards

for your children. All the things mentioned in the post you responded to can be done by anyone.

[Honeycombe8]

21. No, a parent doesn't have to be "educated" to be involved. It has nothing...

to do with education or intelligence on the part of the parents. Simply caring, involvement, and discipline. Children, "they" say, live up to parents' expectations. If you expect little from your children, that's what you get. If you expect them to bring home good grades, learn how to read and write and do math and learn the sciences, that's what you get. "They" say.

[NorthernSpy]

18. shutting you out is the first step...

Bringing education to the Mississippi field workers and their children is possible. But the necessary first step is to completely exclude you -- and everyone whose first reaction was similar to yours -- from the process.

Not meaning to be harsh on the school - and I think federal and state efforts should intensify for that school - but isn't it really MORE of a parent's fault that a child isn't learning than a government's? They both are involved in the problem, for sure. But if you are a parent, isn't it your job to make sure your child does homework every night, that you review the report card grades, that you meet with her teachers every now and then, that you ask the child about school and learning, and that you become at least somewhat involved in your child's education?

If a parent is involved, the problem of no money for the school or of less than stellar teachers is still there, but it is less of a problem when the parent is involved, right?

Speaking of bringing enlightenment, maybe there's even a cure for the kind of smarmy malice that induces someone to vomit up tripe of that sort.

But the task of these children, their parents, and their teachers, is to free their minds -- in part by learning to ignore you and your kind. It's not up to them to educate you on what the realities of their lives have been until you finally -- duu-uu-uuuuuhhhh -- get it. They should, and will have more important things to concern themselves with.

[Honeycombe8]

22. This is an example of a thought process that leads to children not learning.

Instead of owning up to the opinion and questions in the leading post, the responder attacks the poster ("malice" "smarmy"), etc., etc.

This is indicative of people who simply don't expect their children to do well, unless someone else does their work for them.

But the facts remain: If parents expect nothing from their children in the way of learning, if they don't care or are not involved in their children's daily learning lives, then the parents will get just that...nothing. No amount of money thrown at the kids, or good schools, or computers, or new textbooks will make up for the lack of discipline and caring parental involvement in a child's education.

All those elements are important: books, computers, good teachers (what is determined to be good, BTW, varies according to whom you speak with), environmentally comfortable schools (heat and a/c), physical education, and parental involvement. Without any one of them, the children are disadvantaged, compared with children who have all these things. But parental involvement is so important that it can make up for the lack of the other things.

Calling me names does not change the fact that parental involvement is crucial to a child's education.

[NorthernSpy]

24. no, it's an example of a thought process that involves thought...

For learning to occur, certain things must be present, and certain other things must not be present.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotype_threat

But the facts remain: If parents expect nothing from their children in the way of learning, if they don't care or are not involved in their children's daily learning lives, then the parents will get just that...nothing. No amount of money thrown at the kids, or good schools, or computers, or new textbooks will make up for the lack of discipline and caring parental involvement in a child's education.

All those elements are important: books, computers, good teachers (what is determined to be good, BTW, varies according to whom you speak with), environmentally comfortable schools (heat and a/c), physical education, and parental involvement. Without any one of them, the children are disadvantaged, compared with children who have all these things. But parental involvement is so important that it can make up for the lack of the other things.

Calling me names does not change the fact that parental involvement is crucial to a child's education.

First, I didn't "call (you) names". I characterized the opinion you expressed.

Second, whether any of what you say is true or false is tangential to my point, which is merely that you can't be part of the solution.

[flashl]

20. How the Federal Government Makes Rich States Richer

Goodwin Liu, Assistant Professor of Law at Boalt Hall School of Law and co-director of the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and Diversity at the University of California at Berkeley, analyzed the distribution of Title I funds and shows that the program’s state allocation formula reinforces rather than reduces funding gaps between wealthy and poor states.

Liu’s analysis finds that the state expenditure factor in the Title I formula results in highly unequal allocations of federal aid per poor child. For example, Maryland has fewer poor children than Arkansas but receives 51 percent more Title I aid per poor child, even though Arkansas dedicates more of its taxable resources to education than wealthier Maryland. Similarly, Massachusetts has fewer poor children and exerts less effort against its tax base to fund education than poorer Oklahoma, but receives more than twice as much Title I aid.

In short, Title I tends to reward wealthy states that can raise funds for education with relatively little effort while shortchanging poorer states, including those that make relatively greater effort to fund education.

“Poor children are concentrated in relatively poorer states. Instead of providing relatively more help to these kids, Title I provides less,” Liu said. “If we are serious about ensuring that every child in America meets high standards, then we must develop a federal school finance policy equal to the task.”

http://www2.edtrust.org/EdTrust/Press+Room/Funding+Gap+2006.htm

[bluestateguy]

12. White politicians in MS don't care because their kids all attend segregat--, er, private academies

As soon as the federal government mandated integrated schools in Mississippi, white parents simply pulled their children out and put them in private "academies". Politically, that made it such that white voters would no longer have a vested stake in the welfare of the public schools.

[Honeycombe8]

23. Come on, now. I'm sure lots did...but are you trying to say that ALL the public schools

in Mississippi have ONLY minority students and NO white students?

That's simply factually incorrect. Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the country and has a lot of poor people who are white. They would be unable to go to private schools. OTOH, there are Af. Americans with money there, and they can afford to send their children to private schools. It's no longer an either-or society in Mississippi (or any state).

This is a matter of poor vs. rich, mainly.

But an involved parent can help overcome many obstacles. Lots of textbooks and computers, though, will not overcome an uninvolved parent.

If Cathy Cashier, a white middleaged woman, wants her daughter to grow up to have a better-paying job, it won't just happen without Cathy's involvement. The school can't do it alone, without Cathy's help. But Cathy can instill the education values and discipline and desires in her daughter even without her daughter going to the better schools.

The playing field should be equalized. The poor schools should get the bulk of federal aid funds. All these things will help Cathy Cashier help her daughter become all that she can be. But Cathy's involvement is a necessary element, too.

[Tzimisce]

15. In the Deep South...

... it's the culture that's the problem, I think. I wasn't born there, but my old man was stationed at Keesler AFB in Biloxi when I was 6, and I went all the way to my high school graduation in one school system. Quite a feat for a military kid, but I digress!

A lot of kids in the South aren't encouraged by their families or their peers to succeed in school. Now, don't get me wrong. Every schoolkid hates being known as a "nerd" or a "geek", but it's possible to get good grades and be reasonably popular. Thing is, most kids pick the latter and eschew the former entirely. The South has a strong bias towards athletics, and so you wind up with the football players who go to class and sleep, and the teachers (who are complicit in the whole affair) give them a C anyway, just so they can keep playing ball and bring glory to the school.

As an example of this kind of mentality (and the best pwnage I ever saw directed at my high school principal), I overheard a discussion between said principal and the AP US history teacher. Until my class took the test, no one had yet passed it. For those who've never taken it, it's rough. Anyway, the principal was giving my teacher a lot of lookout below about the test, how the class would be scrapped if someone didn't pass, because the school wasn't getting a return on its investment. She calmly replied that since the football team hadn't won a game in three years, she fully expected that there wouldn't be a team next year. I thought the principal was gonna have a stroke. It was brilliant. :evilgrin:

On top of that, most parents take a lackadaisical approach to their kid's education, at best. A lot of them just plain don't give a rip if Tommy passes in math or not. My dad, after he retired, taught history at my high school in my junior and senior years, and he constantly ranted about how parents didn't get involved, couldn't be bothered, didn't care. What really torqued him was when parents refused to be parents. As an example, one of his students was just pretty much ignoring the class, and flunking as a result. When my old man talked to her father, he expressed dismay and bewilderment, wondering how in the world he could get his daughter to take school seriously. He'd just bought her a brand new car. My dad suggested taking the keys away. Her dad replied with, "Gosh, that'd make her mad, though!"

I was very fortunate in that my school system did have a lot of wonderful teachers for the advanced/AP classes, and those were the ones I dealt with. They didn't take any crap, they made damn sure we knew what college would be like, and they also made damn sure we were learning. To this day, ten years later, I look back on those years fondly, and I still keep in touch with some of my teachers via email. They still speak glowingly of my graduating class, noting how hyper-competitive we were when it came to grades.

In the end, the best teacher in the world won't get through to a kid if the kid's parents and his culture or peer group are telling him it's uncool or pointless to succeed in school. Most of the kids in my high school had no plans of going on to college, yet they still thought they'd wind up driving a Mercedes and living in the ritziest part of town. But until our youths' culture changes, and until their parents drive home the importance of education, the teachers and the schools can only do so much. You can give a kid a book, but you can't make him read it.

[dsc]

19. I worked for two years in Mississippi

in a program called the Mississippi Teacher Corps. It placed high school and middle school teachers. Sadly, the more things change the more they stay the same.