And as for no hispanic children passing exams, there is no reason to even be talking about that issue. It has NOTHING to do with you.
Here is what the state of New York tells citizens on the subject of whether whether white parents should concern themselves with the achievement of black and Hispanic students:
Analysis of Student Subgroup Performance
Historically, on State assessments the average performance of Black, Hispanic, and Native American students has been lower than that of White and Asian students. Similarly, students from low income families have not performed as well as those from higher income families. A high priority of the Board of Regents is to eliminate these gaps in student performance. In addition, Title I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act includes explicit requirements “to ensure that students served by Title I are given the same opportunity to achieve to high standards and are held to the same high expectations as all students in each State.”
This section of the school report card provides performance data for two years by racial/ethnic group, disability status, gender, English proficiency status, income level, and migrant status. The purpose of the student subgroup analyses is to determine if students who perform below the standards in any school tend to fall into particular groups, such as minority students, limited English proficient students, or economically disadvantaged students. If these analyses provide evidence that students in one of the groups achieve at a lower level than other students, the school and community should examine the reasons for this lower performance and make necessary changes in curriculum, instruction, and student support services to remedy these performance gaps. If your school did not report data for the 2002-03 school year for a subject and grade, a table showing data for subgroups in that subject and grade will not be included in the Analysis.
source:
Overview of School Performance
English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science and Analysis of Student Subgroup Performance for Dows Lane (4-5) School in Irvington Union Free School District February 2004
March 19, 2004
Main Street School 4-5
page 8
John Donne: "Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind...."
ReplyDeleteMartin Luther King, Jr.: "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."
It is unconscionable that a child could arrive in high school, much less depart from high school, without a fundamental understanding of these truths. The attitude expressed in the referenced comment bespeaks a terrible failure of the school system, the church (if any) that this student is a member of, the parents of this student, and this student him- or herself.
King, again: "Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom."
Doug and Catherine--once again, thank you for your articulate and cogent responses to this young Commenter.
ReplyDeleteIn as much as the taxes of the public are used, the public has the right to stick their noses in it. Don't like that response? Quit insisting on using other people's money for your projects, and they will quit insisting on accountability. It's that simple.
ReplyDeleteThere is the more humanitarian response of if it's not okay for whites to fail, why should it be okay for any other race?
And more anecdotally, I have found that many social ills which "only" affect minorities eventually make their way into the white population. So even if someone wanted to be selfish and only care about their race they do have a reason to pay attention to the canary in the mine. We ignore the social problems of our neighbors at our own peril.
Myrtle--Well said!
ReplyDeleteHispanic children failing to pass exams is part of what makes many KTMers so passionate about education.
ReplyDeleteMany of us started out recognizing that our own children were suffering the ill effects of flawed educational innovations and illogic administrative policies. We have hustled, with Catherine being our numero uno example, to do as much afterschooling and paid tutoring as possible to counteract the poor education our children were receiving in school. Then, at some point, most of us realized, what about the rest of the children? The children whose parents may not see that it’s often the school that is the problem, not their own child. The children whose parents may not have the language skills, the time, the money, the education or the energy to teach what the schools are failing to teach.
I don’t think we know exactly how to ensure that every child gets the best possible chance to pass exams. However, it is wrong to say it has nothing to do with Catherine, or with the rest of us.
I have at least three Hispanic children that I am personally concerned about. You see, I should because they are my own. However, that doesn't mean I don't care about what happens to other children. In fact, it concerns me greatly because I'm learning just how difficult it is to get results when schools have competing agendas.
ReplyDeleteWhat happens to our weakest happens to all of us. It should matter to everyone. I am thankful to Catherine for speaking out for something that really matters, and for really getting out there and trying to do something about it.
Someone in another post has shown that hispanic and black children have in fact passed exams.
ReplyDeleteSomeone in another post has shown that hispanic and black children have in fact passed exams.
ReplyDeleteYes -- that's great!
The question is the ELA and math exams.
The administration has posted a Student Performance Review on edline that says 0 black/Hispanic students passed math & ELA 8th grade state assessments last year.
I'll add, though, that it's not just a question of passing some tests.
All black and Hispanic students who do not have severe disabilities should be passing all state assessments, as should all white/Asian students who do not have severe disabilities.
And as for no hispanic children passing exams, there is no reason to even be talking about that issue. It has NOTHING to do with you.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I read this and I think of the doctor who most likely saved my brother from severe mental retardation by keeping his airways open until the ambulance came.
I think of the lovely woman who got my Gran to hospital when Gran fell over while shopping.
I think of the military guys who turned up when my Dad fell off a bridge and did everything helpful they could think of, including first aid.
I have benefited so much from the kindness of strangers throughout my life. I am so glad that so many people do not share the Commentator's selfishness.