In order to fix the kids
In order to fix the schools, as is the common parlance, the Bloombergs and Blacks need to fix the kids. First. But this would require a tectonic shift in philosophy, from penal to uplifting, from frenetic to calm, from dictate to reality. For there to be any hope for true achievement, these kids need to feel safe, respected and secure before prepositional phrases and periodic tables can penetrate their bodies and brains. They need social workers and psychologists in every classroom, and teachers who resist screaming at children even when administrators tell them to. They need longer classes and fewer subjects each day. They need physical exercise, even if they can't afford the $10 for the mandatory check-up. The need hugs and cookies, yes, at 13. They need people to listen when they are told, finally, that their father was killed in a drug deal, not a car crash.Then, perhaps, they can learn to write a paragraph. Or dream about a place like Princeton.
Scott this is so True. There are so many black kids who need the Bloombergs to understand that they are just kids! They need someone to stay on their butts just like they would the Bloomberg kids. I have seen so many of these kids talked to in a different tone looked at in different ways and talked about differently in the teachers lounge. I even received tongue lashing in the lounge myself. In most case a kid like me was even looked down on by the black kids who had both parents. But I pulled up my shoe strings and vowed to be a good student. I made it with some Bloomberg help and few positive role models in my life.