Labeling someone a Marxist would be a badge of honor in some circles, wouldn't it? Weingarten is most definitely a Socialist at the minimum. She has put herself out there as a champion of school reform while steadfastly blocking any creative attempts to reform the schools. She has also used the children as a shield to further the causes of her union. I don't fault her for trying to further the causes of her union, after all that is her fiduciary responsibility. What does irritate me is that she, and she's not alone in this, paints all benefits she gains for her constituents as "for the children." And that is a serious falsehood. Very little that any teachers union does is "for the children." I can only hope that one day the politicians, and most importantly the public, wake up to that fact.
Addressing the 500 lb. gorilla in the room, that being the serious problem with the black and latino community. It is no secret that they are doing poorly in the public school system, most especially the boys. The girls seem to muddle through and go on to become productive members of society saving they don't get tied up with the 'bad boys.' Given that there is no IQ difference between men and women of any given group this disparity can only be blamed on culture. A glaring example of this is the fact that Cuban-Americans have thrived in the US. They, like the Asians, are sticklers for education. They are also very much family oriented with low single parent family numbers (read that as out of wedlock children). Racially they are essentially Latins with a high degree of mixed race blood (African). They, also like the Asians, arrived here dirt poor. So having dispensed with the racial differences, and the financial differences, we are left to consider cultural differences. And this speaks of the reference that Comshaw made concerning the parents and he is entirely correct on that point. But the parents are also steeped in the culture in which they live so the generational short comings cascade through the years. Neither the schools nor any laws passed by man can fix this problem, the communities themselves have to fix them. Catering to, and providing excuses for, those communities does nothing to move towards a solution. I will submit that that is actually doing great harm. And that IS an area where the schools might be able to provide some element of change. Not by providing excuses, but by demanding exceptional effort. Bad behavior, by anyone at anytime, must be criticized, not excused.
Addressing the 500 lb. gorilla in the room, that being the serious problem with the black and latino community. It is no secret that they are doing poorly in the public school system, most especially the boys. The girls seem to muddle through and go on to become productive members of society saving they don't get tied up with the 'bad boys.' Given that there is no IQ difference between men and women of any given group this disparity can only be blamed on culture. A glaring example of this is the fact that Cuban-Americans have thrived in the US. They, like the Asians, are sticklers for education. They are also very much family oriented with low single parent family numbers (read that as out of wedlock children). Racially they are essentially Latins with a high degree of mixed race blood (African). They, also like the Asians, arrived here dirt poor. So having dispensed with the racial differences, and the financial differences, we are left to consider cultural differences. And this speaks of the reference that Comshaw made concerning the parents and he is entirely correct on that point. But the parents are also steeped in the culture in which they live so the generational short comings cascade through the years. Neither the schools nor any laws passed by man can fix this problem, the communities themselves have to fix them. Catering to, and providing excuses for, those communities does nothing to move towards a solution. I will submit that that is actually doing great harm. And that IS an area where the schools might be able to provide some element of change. Not by providing excuses, but by demanding exceptional effort. Bad behavior, by anyone at anytime, must be criticized, not excused.