kitchen table math, the sequel: Obama!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Obama!

Wow!

First black president. Amazing.

Of course, I wouldn't have minded having the first woman in the White House, either. I say that as a person without a Party.

I wonder what this means in terms of the country's "identity?" I was asking Ed the other night whether other countries have to stop calling us "racist," and he said yes. (Really?)

I'm not crazy about the idea of "transformational" leaders, but will the fact of the country's having elected Obama affect how Americans see themselves?

And if so, will that be transformational?

I have no idea!

This is amazing -----


update 11:55 am

change
Posted by at

6 comments:

SteveH said...

"And if so, will that be transformational?"

Yes, but not necessarily in the way his supporters expect. I think the country is entering new territory that could never have been reached with McCain. This is good, but Obama has more to fear from his friends than his adversaries. I was thinking about some of these things last night when I heard an African American congressman refer to "his people". What happens to affirmative action now?

I also think Obama can reap the benefits of being a "good cop" after Bush's "bad cop" routine. It's hard to imagine Obama winning if Saddam Hussein was still around with unknown amounts of WMD.


In terms of education, I can only hope that urban parents will now feel empowered to kick some butt. I've always thought that real change will come from Green Dot or KIPP schools, not charter schools in the leafy suburbs. I just hope they don't wait for Congress to fix the problem now that the Democrats have the majority.

November 5, 2008 at 9:57 AM
Catherine Johnson said...

What happens to affirmative action now?

I'm wondering the same thing?!

I'm completely riveted by the whole situation, I must say.

I saw a great line on a blog somewhere...I think one person must have been saying that it was going to be time to call it a day on affirmative action. The person I was reading said, "Actually, Barack Obama's presidency could be an excellent argument for affirmative action." (I don't think Obama has put himself forward as a beneficiary of affirmative action, has he? Nevertheless, I take the point.)

I've always thought that real change will come from Green Dot or KIPP schools, not charter schools in the leafy suburbs.

We desperately need KIPP and Green Dot here in the leafy suburbs.

November 5, 2008 at 1:29 PM
Catherine Johnson said...

Why do you say real change will come from KIPP and Green Dot?

Do you mean real change for urban schools or for all schools?

If you mean real change for urban schools, I agree. As to suburban schools, unless urban students start to do visibly better than suburban kids - which could happen if they start them young enough - I don't think they'll have an impact.

November 5, 2008 at 1:31 PM
Catherine Johnson said...

Speaking of the leafy suburbs, I have good news.

The school board tabled the Strategic Plan last night, mostly because they felt math was given short shrift, which it was.

It was amazing. Two board members, both of whom have undergraduate degrees in math or engineering, took strong stands in favor of beefing up the section on math, pushed the administration strongly on the possibility of adopting Singapore Math, and characterized the Tri-State Consortium report as weak and lacking peer review.

Fantastic.

The assistant superintendent talked about the National Mathematics Advisory Panel Report -- I assume this is the first time the Report has been discussed at length in public by a member of the administration -- and said that many districts here in Westchester are now keenly interested in the Singapore curriculum, thanks to Scarsdale's lead.

If I had to bet, I'd say Irvington will be adopting (or piloting) Singapore Math in the next couple of years.

November 5, 2008 at 1:38 PM
SteveH said...

"Do you mean real change for urban schools or for all schools?"

Urban schools. Maybe other schools eventually. I don't see it working in the other direction.

November 5, 2008 at 6:30 PM
Catherine Johnson said...

oh, right

I agree

And, no, I don't see it working in the other direction unless KIPP-type schools radically pull ahead of suburban schools.

I've endlessly pointed out to the folks here that the Bronx KIPP has far more kids taking the Regents A exam and passing, and it has no effect whatsoever.

Schools in the Leafy Suburbs are far superior to schools in the non-leafy cities by definition.

November 6, 2008 at 6:35 PM

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