This appeared in The Washington Post.
High Achievers Leaving Schools Behind
Transfers in Fairfax and Elsewhere Were Meant for Struggling Students
By Maria Glod
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 10, 2004; Page A01
Eight-year-old Umaid Qureshi does math problems for fun and reads most nights before bed. His mother thinks her son might become a doctor, like her. Or maybe he will follow his father's lead and become a software consultant.
So when Fairfax County sent Shafaq Qureshi a letter in August explaining that Umaid's school -- McNair Elementary in Herndon -- fell short on standardized test scores and that any McNair student could transfer to a better-performing school, she decided there was no reason for him to stay.
"I thought, this is an opportunity, why shouldn't I try it out?" said Qureshi. "I just felt like maybe something was lacking there."
Well, why wouldn't you expect that the parents that care would remove their kids, leaving the rest behind?
A parent's first and foremost obligation is to their children and their ultimate success in all areas of life. There is nothing wrong with believing your child deserves the best of everything including schools. Who can suggest that I should put anyone's child ahead of mine?
It doesn't mean that we shouldn't still work to improve public schools. I believe in holding these schools accountable and using the power of our votes to do it. However, no good parent can suggest that it's right to sacrifice your own child's future so the education industry doesn't have to deal with their inadequacies.
Posted by: Angela Winters at November 12, 2004 02:34 PMMaybe that's about like me calling myself True_Liberal. I see myself
as Don
Quixote, tilting against the appropriation of "Liberal" to
describe their intolerant, inflexible, illiberal stances. Words have
meanings, and the root of "liberal" is liberty.
The more we allow the opposition to define the lexicon, the more we
lose.
I'm not ready to concede.
...."why wouldn't you expect that the parents that care would remove their kids, leaving the rest behind?"
It's not that simple, EBrown. Here in my city, few parents have taken advantage of the right of transfer. Why? Because the burden of finding alternative transportation and childcare is on them...the school district does not provide busing to the transfer school. Many parents do not have the flexible work schedules necessary to make other arrangements. It's not a matter of not caring. For most parents here, it's a matter of logistics. In other cities, there are far more students on the transfer list than there are openings available. Transfers are handled through a lottery system. Explain to me how these parents "don't care".
Why not provide struggling schools with the resources needed to bring them up to par?
Posted by: La Lubu at November 13, 2004 05:24 PMMy point was that the parents that cared, would be among the first to take their kids out of a failed school.
You are correct about parents not being able to take their kids out for other reasons. In D.C., many parents took advantage of the private voucher system. It was always more takers than available vouchers.
For the government scheme, it appears that parents aren't taking advantage of the vouchers. One reason suspected is because of transportation issues.
"...Many parents do not have the flexible work schedules necessary to make other arrangements..."
I have found the Left fond of seeking out "root causes" of societal problems, and this appears to me to be fertile ground for such a witchhunt.
Could it be that these parents were raised in a welfare state where they were paid to have babies they could not otherwise afford, in an environment that did not highly value education and achievement and personal responsibility? Is this why they and their kids are in such a predicament?
Recognizing the root cause may indeed be a first step to a solution.
Posted by: True_Liberal at November 25, 2004 08:16 AM
What would Cos say?
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/TV/11/11/cosby/
Posted by: True_Liberal at November 12, 2004 08:26 AM