There is so much going on in this country that it is often hard to make sense of it all. From battles over education, to budget debates, to Wall Street bonuses, to banking reform, to assaults on collective bargaining, to corporate propaganda disguised as grass-roots advocacy, to tax cuts for the wealthy, to cuts to the safety net, to multi-billion dollar corporations paying little or no taxes. It just seems to be out of control and beyond belief, as if ignorance, anger, greed, and self-indulgence trump everything that occurs in this land.
Just look around the nation. Vindictive proposals are being peddled as fiscal restraint; fingers of blame are being pointed across the country, from right to left, and back again. And so few people are capable of engaging in honest and fair discussions that it is almost impossible to distinguish the truth from the lies.
The problems are most evident in the Congressional budget debate in Washington. Last year, during the midterm elections, Republicans declared that the Democratic controlled House and Senate should not pass a budget for the current fiscal year because of an anticipated change in power. Senate Republicans in the 111th Congress even blocked any budget deal with filibusters, and Democrats seeking re-election were more than willing to allow them.
Now, we are faced with a possible government shutdown, with the Republicans, who are seeking excessive cuts that cannot and should not pass, claiming it’s the Democrats fault, and vice versa. Meanwhile, the ignorant among us scream that the government should be shut down, as if sending 800,000 government workers home for a week or two will resolve the systemic problems that plague the government.
We know that making major cuts in the budget at this time would further slow the nascent economic recovery. Yet, Republicans and Tea Party operatives seek to slash every program for the sake of slashing. Retrenchment now, when confidence is beginning to build, would set back efforts to pull the nation out of its financial funk. That does not seem to matter to too many people, including those in Congress.
Instead of creating a workable solution to our economic problems, they rage and bellow against liberal policies, greedy unions, Socialism, and high tax rates for companies that actually may not even have to pay taxes because of numerous loopholes.
The same is being played out on local levels across the nation. There is no need to recount the assaults on collective bargaining rights for public employees in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, and Florida. They have been discussed ad nauseam. Nor is it necessary to detail the extensive cuts that various governments have proposed to education and social services programs, while giving tax breaks to businesses and the well-to-do.
There is such a disconnect in this country that honest and sincere debate is almost unheard of. Instead, everything is the fault of liberalism and socialism.
For example, The Detroit News ran two columns recently. One column, by Daniel Howes, tried to make sense of Detroit, asking whether the city is headed for further decline or revival. The second column, by Laura Berman, detailed how home vacancies had increased in the well-to-do communities of Oakland County, MI.
According to some of The News’ readers, at least those that are most vocal, the problem in Detroit and Oakland County were caused by liberals and socialism. It doesn’t matter that the economic meltdown began under President George W. Bush, who can be confused for many things, neither of which is liberal or socialist.
Missing from the debate about Detroit and Oakland County were the words greed, misguided optimism, economic crisis, hysteria, and the relation each has to the other.
It was greed that prompted lenders to provide money to anyone who asked, regardless of whether they could pay it back. Some lenders even went so far as to fudge numbers to make home loans. Who cared if the loans were paid back? The money was made by bundling the loans early, and passing the risk on to someone else.
Then, of course, there was the misguided optimism that the housing bubble would never burst, or if it did it would burst so far down the line that it would not matter to most people. That optimism was shattered by the very real economic crisis that saw a booming Wall Street pressed hard against a struggling Main Street.
As Wall Street struggled the hysteria set in. It’s the fat cats who caused the problems, critics screamed until the lobbyists and public relations firms turned everyone’s attention to other culprits. It’s the government, others said, particularly the public sector unions whose members have fat pensions and health packages. Actually, its teachers. It's all a liberal and socialist plot.
The result is we have become a country of Don Quixotes, lost in our delusions, unable to see the world for what it really is. Peasants are now princesses, buffoons are great thinkers, and the most honored are the most dishonorable.
It’s becoming harder and harder to make sense of it all.
Showing posts with label Detroit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Detroit. Show all posts
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The New Macho
It's easy to be a curmudgeon, a complainer, a whiner, to live in a world where everything is horrible, and niceties are the stuff of wimps. You disagree? Then how does one explain Glenn Beck and Andy Cohen?
Beck, the Fox News darling who spends his time attacking anything progressive, decided to take on Detroit, berating the city as being worse than Hiroshima after the atomic bomb. Cohen, the senior vice president of original programming and development at Bravo, decided to make cultural points by directing smarmy comments at the fifth grade students from Public School 22 on Staten Island.
That Beck would attack Detroit is no surprise. Whenever national conservative commentators have nothing of worth to say they trot out Detroit or some other Midwestern city, usually one led by an African-American, for ridicule and scorn. But for Cohen to denigrate a bunch of school children who were invited to sing "Over the Rainbow" at the end of the Oscar telecast is just cheap even for someone who is a master of cheap programming.
Cohen's comments came on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show. The host, Willie Geist, asked Cohen what was his "lowlight of the night" Sunday. Cohen quickly turned to the kids from Staten Island, saying their appearance was inappropriate for the Oscars. Wrong time, wrong place, Cohen lamented.
While the song and the student's performance were schlocky at best, a sentimental tug at the heart, they were what Hollywood is. Criticizing little children for singing at an Oscar's telecast is even low for him. I'm quite sure that other people can pick even greater "lowlights": the virtual Bob Hope; Billy Crystal; the boring speeches; the tacky dance scenes; the contrived music video using clips from the Best Picture nominees; the telecast itself. Any of those could have easily been cited as lowlights.
Not for Cohen, though. Instead, he decided that the performance of 10 and 11 year olds were the lowest lowlight of the evening. Why? What was the point of lambasting the children's appearance? What is gained by doing so?
The same can be said of Beck. Detroit is always the subject of ridicule, so much so that the comments have become old hat. Yes, Chrysler and General Motors were insular and poorly run companies that got bailouts. Yet, neither created the financial meltdown that sent America spiraling into an economic abyss. Many of the people who were at the forefront of that disaster continue to operate on Wall Street after receiving bailouts, and are quickly trying to return to their old habits.
Yet, there is little criticism of those entities. Attacking Detroit allows one to attack unions and the American auto industry, both of which have been convenient whipping boys. Too attack children is to say one is above sentimentality. Neither adds to the dialogue that needs to exist in this country.
Both, of course, are easy to do when you have nothing of worth to say and a lot of time in which to say it. Apparently being nasty and appealing to the worst within us is the most favorable fashion trend, the new macho look for America.
Beck, the Fox News darling who spends his time attacking anything progressive, decided to take on Detroit, berating the city as being worse than Hiroshima after the atomic bomb. Cohen, the senior vice president of original programming and development at Bravo, decided to make cultural points by directing smarmy comments at the fifth grade students from Public School 22 on Staten Island.
That Beck would attack Detroit is no surprise. Whenever national conservative commentators have nothing of worth to say they trot out Detroit or some other Midwestern city, usually one led by an African-American, for ridicule and scorn. But for Cohen to denigrate a bunch of school children who were invited to sing "Over the Rainbow" at the end of the Oscar telecast is just cheap even for someone who is a master of cheap programming.
Cohen's comments came on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show. The host, Willie Geist, asked Cohen what was his "lowlight of the night" Sunday. Cohen quickly turned to the kids from Staten Island, saying their appearance was inappropriate for the Oscars. Wrong time, wrong place, Cohen lamented.
While the song and the student's performance were schlocky at best, a sentimental tug at the heart, they were what Hollywood is. Criticizing little children for singing at an Oscar's telecast is even low for him. I'm quite sure that other people can pick even greater "lowlights": the virtual Bob Hope; Billy Crystal; the boring speeches; the tacky dance scenes; the contrived music video using clips from the Best Picture nominees; the telecast itself. Any of those could have easily been cited as lowlights.
Not for Cohen, though. Instead, he decided that the performance of 10 and 11 year olds were the lowest lowlight of the evening. Why? What was the point of lambasting the children's appearance? What is gained by doing so?
The same can be said of Beck. Detroit is always the subject of ridicule, so much so that the comments have become old hat. Yes, Chrysler and General Motors were insular and poorly run companies that got bailouts. Yet, neither created the financial meltdown that sent America spiraling into an economic abyss. Many of the people who were at the forefront of that disaster continue to operate on Wall Street after receiving bailouts, and are quickly trying to return to their old habits.
Yet, there is little criticism of those entities. Attacking Detroit allows one to attack unions and the American auto industry, both of which have been convenient whipping boys. Too attack children is to say one is above sentimentality. Neither adds to the dialogue that needs to exist in this country.
Both, of course, are easy to do when you have nothing of worth to say and a lot of time in which to say it. Apparently being nasty and appealing to the worst within us is the most favorable fashion trend, the new macho look for America.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
The Not-So-Proficient Graduates
School districts across the country are quick to point out recent increases in the percentage of students graduating high school, a sign of the good work they are doing. Yet, if we look beneath the surface of those statistics we find some startling news: While more students are graduating with high school diplomas, few students are leaving high school with the skills needed to enter college or the job market.
The results are most striking in Michigan, where a recent study found that the statewide high school graduation rate was 76 percent for the class of 2010. It would seem that such an increase would be worth lauding, except the same study found that statewide only 49 percent of students who graduated in 2010 were proficient in math; 60 percent were proficient in reading; and 56 percent were proficient in science.
In Detroit, for example, one high school had an 89 percent graduation rate in 2010, but a year earlier only 6.4 percent of those students were considered proficient in math and just 10.5 percent were proficient in science based on state administered tests. It was the same in suburban schools. At one suburban high school, 93.2 percent of students graduated in 2010: Only 26.9 percent were proficient in math though. It was not much different for another suburban school where 94.1 percent of students graduated, and only 19.6 percent were proficient in science.
The study by the Michigan Education Department raises serious questions about the quality of education in that state. More important, it raises startling questions about education across the nation. Michigan is not alone in its dismal results. Other states have discovered that their high school graduates often lack the basic skills needed to enter college or the job market.
The result is that in 2008 graduation rates for students who took six years to complete their studies at four year colleges ran from a high of 69.1 percent in Massachusetts to a low of 22.1 percent in Alaska, according to a ranking by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems. The results were more horrendous for students who completed associates degrees in three years: The high was 60 percent in Wyoming, and the low was 9 percent in Delaware.
It doesn’t stop there.
In Washington, for example, 56 percent of students who entered community or technical colleges in that state in 2006 needed remediation. The need for remediation crossed racial lines: 56 percent of Asians; 59 percent of African-Americans; 61 percent of Latinos; 52 percent of Native Americans; and 50 percent of whites.
The nationwide results lead one to ask: What exactly are we teaching our high school students, and have we decided that when it comes to high school graduates quantity is more important that quality?
Both questions are important. As the political winds shift in this country, we find ourselves reinventing the wheel and looking for excuses or someone to blame for the failures of our educational system. In Michigan, some school leaders blamed what amounted to student apathy for the dismal results. Others pointed the finger at teachers and their unions. Still more cited the standardized testing wave washing across the nation.
Regardless of who or what is to blame, students are leaving our nation’s schools without the critical thinking and problem solving skills needed for successful lives. Students with strong critical thinking and problem solving skills have the best chance of performing well on any standardized tests and in completing tasks on the job. In addition, the lack of proficiency suggests that we are not attacking the problem from all angles. While all students should indeed have the right to attend college, not all students should.
For years, school districts have made vocational education the unwanted step child of the academic process. Yet, statistics show that vocational education students are often better prepared for the job market, and those who later attend college graduate at a higher rate than students who enter college right after high school or who go to community colleges. In addition, while students do balk at learning things if they cannot see a direct link to their daily lives, it should not stop teachers from pushing concepts, processes and ideas that enhance student skill sets. (Recently, one of my GED students questioned why he needed to learn math concepts -- until I showed him how triangulation could be used to pinpoint from where a cell phone call was made or how the Pythagorean Theory might be used to determine the path of a projectile.)
So what are we to do?
Increasing funding to schools and paying teachers better is not the sole answer. We have been putting money into poor performing schools for decades, and the results are pretty much the same. Rewriting standardized tests also is not the solution. Each new test only seems to create a bonanza for test-taking tutors. Criticizing teachers and unions does not change the culture of the classroom. In too many districts, principals concerned with standardized test results so micro-manage classrooms that teachers are left with little flexibility to adjust lessons and curriculum to students’ needs.
Michigan in general and Detroit in particular offer good examples of the problems we face. The emergency financial manager in Detroit announced recently that the 2010 graduation rate increased to 62.27 percent, up from 59.65 percent in 2009. (The rate was 58.22 percent in 2008 and 58.42 percent in 2007.)
But few of those students can read, write or even complete basic mathematical problems. And that means they will not be able to help themselves or society in the future.
The results are most striking in Michigan, where a recent study found that the statewide high school graduation rate was 76 percent for the class of 2010. It would seem that such an increase would be worth lauding, except the same study found that statewide only 49 percent of students who graduated in 2010 were proficient in math; 60 percent were proficient in reading; and 56 percent were proficient in science.
In Detroit, for example, one high school had an 89 percent graduation rate in 2010, but a year earlier only 6.4 percent of those students were considered proficient in math and just 10.5 percent were proficient in science based on state administered tests. It was the same in suburban schools. At one suburban high school, 93.2 percent of students graduated in 2010: Only 26.9 percent were proficient in math though. It was not much different for another suburban school where 94.1 percent of students graduated, and only 19.6 percent were proficient in science.
The study by the Michigan Education Department raises serious questions about the quality of education in that state. More important, it raises startling questions about education across the nation. Michigan is not alone in its dismal results. Other states have discovered that their high school graduates often lack the basic skills needed to enter college or the job market.
The result is that in 2008 graduation rates for students who took six years to complete their studies at four year colleges ran from a high of 69.1 percent in Massachusetts to a low of 22.1 percent in Alaska, according to a ranking by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems. The results were more horrendous for students who completed associates degrees in three years: The high was 60 percent in Wyoming, and the low was 9 percent in Delaware.
It doesn’t stop there.
In Washington, for example, 56 percent of students who entered community or technical colleges in that state in 2006 needed remediation. The need for remediation crossed racial lines: 56 percent of Asians; 59 percent of African-Americans; 61 percent of Latinos; 52 percent of Native Americans; and 50 percent of whites.
The nationwide results lead one to ask: What exactly are we teaching our high school students, and have we decided that when it comes to high school graduates quantity is more important that quality?
Both questions are important. As the political winds shift in this country, we find ourselves reinventing the wheel and looking for excuses or someone to blame for the failures of our educational system. In Michigan, some school leaders blamed what amounted to student apathy for the dismal results. Others pointed the finger at teachers and their unions. Still more cited the standardized testing wave washing across the nation.
Regardless of who or what is to blame, students are leaving our nation’s schools without the critical thinking and problem solving skills needed for successful lives. Students with strong critical thinking and problem solving skills have the best chance of performing well on any standardized tests and in completing tasks on the job. In addition, the lack of proficiency suggests that we are not attacking the problem from all angles. While all students should indeed have the right to attend college, not all students should.
For years, school districts have made vocational education the unwanted step child of the academic process. Yet, statistics show that vocational education students are often better prepared for the job market, and those who later attend college graduate at a higher rate than students who enter college right after high school or who go to community colleges. In addition, while students do balk at learning things if they cannot see a direct link to their daily lives, it should not stop teachers from pushing concepts, processes and ideas that enhance student skill sets. (Recently, one of my GED students questioned why he needed to learn math concepts -- until I showed him how triangulation could be used to pinpoint from where a cell phone call was made or how the Pythagorean Theory might be used to determine the path of a projectile.)
So what are we to do?
Increasing funding to schools and paying teachers better is not the sole answer. We have been putting money into poor performing schools for decades, and the results are pretty much the same. Rewriting standardized tests also is not the solution. Each new test only seems to create a bonanza for test-taking tutors. Criticizing teachers and unions does not change the culture of the classroom. In too many districts, principals concerned with standardized test results so micro-manage classrooms that teachers are left with little flexibility to adjust lessons and curriculum to students’ needs.
Michigan in general and Detroit in particular offer good examples of the problems we face. The emergency financial manager in Detroit announced recently that the 2010 graduation rate increased to 62.27 percent, up from 59.65 percent in 2009. (The rate was 58.22 percent in 2008 and 58.42 percent in 2007.)
But few of those students can read, write or even complete basic mathematical problems. And that means they will not be able to help themselves or society in the future.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
An Open Letter to the Rev. Jesse Jackson
Dear Rev. Jesse Jackson:
I recently read in the Detroit News that you described urban farming in Detroit as a “cute, but foolish” idea. Instead of urban farming, you said, Detroit should add a battery plant. The city, you said, should obtain more industry because the Motor City should not become Moo-City. Also, you said, the city should allow urban squatting so people can take over vacant land and develop it. After all, you said, we are not urging farming in Baghdad.
Indeed.
Mr. Jackson, putting farms on uninhabited land is better than allowing weeds and garbage to grow from it. Growing food on urban farms could provide low-income residents with easier access to fresh produce and fruit. And if those farms use new technology, such as aeroponics, then a new green industry that uses less land and water could be developed. That can lead to new jobs producing not only food, but developing the technology used in such farming. There can even be an educational component to urban farming. Students could be exposed to other areas of agriculture, from creating plant hybrids to new food packaging methods to better storage facilities. Who knows, a Detroit high school student exposed to the possibilities of soy beans might decide to pursue a career that leads to finding other uses for soy. Simply, urban farming could be about more than just growing corn and selling it. It could be about developing technology so that food could be grown in the heart of Baghdad or even in drought stricken Ethiopia.
Adding a battery plant could further encumber the city to the auto industry, which has cyclical declines that often pull down the rest of the region’s economy. Part of the reason Detroit is in such financial trouble today is because of its dependency on the auto industry and the insulated nature of that industry. The city cannot abandon the auto industry, which is too much a part of its history and future, but Detroit must look to non auto-related ways to bring in revenue during an economic downturn. New farm technology could be developed and built in Detroit then shipped elsewhere.
In addition, urban areas have continuously been too dependent on manufacturing, particularly those enterprises that employ unskilled or low-skilled workers. We have seen manufacturing jobs dry up year after year, decade after decade, leaving most of urban America pot marked with abandoned factories and warehouses. Detroit doesn't need more of the same. The city is in desperate shape, so why not take a chance on something different? Why not break the mold and experiment with ideas that are not within the usual context of urban thinking? According to you, instead of using empty land for farming, the city should give it away to squatters for development. What a marvelous idea. Give away city land with the hope that someone will someday build on it. Such a plan could lead to land speculation and greater corruption in a city already reeling from corruption.
If you believe so much in the development potential of Detroit then how about you and some of your rich friends – the ones that received Coca-Cola franchises after your protests several decades ago – build a bottling plant in the city or some other business. And if you decide to do so, Mr. Jackson, please do it on land purchased from the city, not obtained through squatting. People like you have been squatting over Detroit for far too long, dropping all the wrong things on the city.
I recently read in the Detroit News that you described urban farming in Detroit as a “cute, but foolish” idea. Instead of urban farming, you said, Detroit should add a battery plant. The city, you said, should obtain more industry because the Motor City should not become Moo-City. Also, you said, the city should allow urban squatting so people can take over vacant land and develop it. After all, you said, we are not urging farming in Baghdad.
Indeed.
Mr. Jackson, putting farms on uninhabited land is better than allowing weeds and garbage to grow from it. Growing food on urban farms could provide low-income residents with easier access to fresh produce and fruit. And if those farms use new technology, such as aeroponics, then a new green industry that uses less land and water could be developed. That can lead to new jobs producing not only food, but developing the technology used in such farming. There can even be an educational component to urban farming. Students could be exposed to other areas of agriculture, from creating plant hybrids to new food packaging methods to better storage facilities. Who knows, a Detroit high school student exposed to the possibilities of soy beans might decide to pursue a career that leads to finding other uses for soy. Simply, urban farming could be about more than just growing corn and selling it. It could be about developing technology so that food could be grown in the heart of Baghdad or even in drought stricken Ethiopia.
Adding a battery plant could further encumber the city to the auto industry, which has cyclical declines that often pull down the rest of the region’s economy. Part of the reason Detroit is in such financial trouble today is because of its dependency on the auto industry and the insulated nature of that industry. The city cannot abandon the auto industry, which is too much a part of its history and future, but Detroit must look to non auto-related ways to bring in revenue during an economic downturn. New farm technology could be developed and built in Detroit then shipped elsewhere.
In addition, urban areas have continuously been too dependent on manufacturing, particularly those enterprises that employ unskilled or low-skilled workers. We have seen manufacturing jobs dry up year after year, decade after decade, leaving most of urban America pot marked with abandoned factories and warehouses. Detroit doesn't need more of the same. The city is in desperate shape, so why not take a chance on something different? Why not break the mold and experiment with ideas that are not within the usual context of urban thinking? According to you, instead of using empty land for farming, the city should give it away to squatters for development. What a marvelous idea. Give away city land with the hope that someone will someday build on it. Such a plan could lead to land speculation and greater corruption in a city already reeling from corruption.
If you believe so much in the development potential of Detroit then how about you and some of your rich friends – the ones that received Coca-Cola franchises after your protests several decades ago – build a bottling plant in the city or some other business. And if you decide to do so, Mr. Jackson, please do it on land purchased from the city, not obtained through squatting. People like you have been squatting over Detroit for far too long, dropping all the wrong things on the city.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
When Death Is a Reminder
They were lazy days, those summers in Detroit, sitting with Big Daddy on the porch on Humphrey, his pipe, filled with Prince Albert tabacco, dangling between his lips. Big Daddy was my grandfather, a large man, more than six feet, four inches tall. Even when he sat on the porch swing he looked larger than life, his brawny right hand grasping the bowl of his pipe as white smoke haloed his head. Prince Albert had a wonderful smell, soft and fruity. Whenever I remember Big Daddy, I remember that tobacco, the way its aroma permeated the area around him. It was as if he and the Prince were one, sharing the same aura.
At the time, I was a young child, looking up into the pecan-colored face of my mother's father. Sitting next to Big Daddy was my favorite way to spend summer days. He wouldn't say much, except to occasionally warn me when Big Mama, my grandmother, was stalking around the house, looking for someone to blame for treading through her flower bed or leaving popsicle sticks in the grass. In that way he was my protector. Big Daddy, a son of the late 19th Century, died decades ago, and I still miss him, particularly on those days when a death reminds me of the times he and I spent together.
That happened Wednesday when I read the news that Ernie Harwell, the longtime radio voice of the Detroit Tigers, died the night before. Ernie Harwell was a big part of those summer days with Big Daddy. Harwell's voice carried us through those moments on the porch swing, when the Tigers were battling through 1968 and we were on Humphrey. I am not alone in such feelings. Harwell's voice carried many a person through the season, first introducing them to baseball, then solidifying their love of the game.
For me, he will always be the silky voice that came through my grandfather's black transistor radio as we sat in the shade of the awning, on a porch on Humphrey, on the west side of Detroit.
At the time, I was a young child, looking up into the pecan-colored face of my mother's father. Sitting next to Big Daddy was my favorite way to spend summer days. He wouldn't say much, except to occasionally warn me when Big Mama, my grandmother, was stalking around the house, looking for someone to blame for treading through her flower bed or leaving popsicle sticks in the grass. In that way he was my protector. Big Daddy, a son of the late 19th Century, died decades ago, and I still miss him, particularly on those days when a death reminds me of the times he and I spent together.
That happened Wednesday when I read the news that Ernie Harwell, the longtime radio voice of the Detroit Tigers, died the night before. Ernie Harwell was a big part of those summer days with Big Daddy. Harwell's voice carried us through those moments on the porch swing, when the Tigers were battling through 1968 and we were on Humphrey. I am not alone in such feelings. Harwell's voice carried many a person through the season, first introducing them to baseball, then solidifying their love of the game.
For me, he will always be the silky voice that came through my grandfather's black transistor radio as we sat in the shade of the awning, on a porch on Humphrey, on the west side of Detroit.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Calling All Educators
They are the kinds of things that should send every educator screaming through their state capitols whacking every politician with a pointer or a yardstick. Day after day, school boards in this country take action on something -- anything, it doesn't matter to board members -- that has little to do with what is in the best interest of educating children. Whether it is right-wing or left-wing ideologues trying to put their stamps on the curriculum or politicians fighting for control of the out-of-control, the kids and education keep getting lost.
Two examples:
In Texas, that state's school board voted to change the social studies curriculum because some members felt the current one portrayed conservatives in too negative a light. The board members want a curriculum "stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light," according to an article in The New York Times.
In Detroit, a judge recently upheld an injunction blocking that city's emergency financial manager, Robert Bobb, from initiating a downsizing that would have closed 29 schools by the summer as part of a new academic plan. The Detroit Public School board, led by a president who cannot write a coherent sentence, is battling Bobb over control of the system. Bobb, the board says, does not have the authority to create an academic plan. The governor of Michigan appointed Bobb in the hope that he could fix Detroit's troubled school system, which faces major financial and educational issues.
The Detroit school board may be right in battling Bobb, who may have overstepped his bounds by acting unilateral of the board. But while the board and Bobb battle over who can create an academic plan, the students slide further into the educational abyss.
The same with Texas. While politicians impose their philosophies on the curriculum, students fall further and further behind. Textbooks should present the facts and educators should be allowed to teach students the skills they need to engage in critical thinking and problem solving. Rewriting a textbook to make conservatives, and in particular Ronald Reagan, look better does not accomplish those goals.
Children who suffer a poor academic year or have one bad teacher have a chance to rebound later in their academic careers. But children who have several poor academic years or two bad teachers in a row are far less likely to rebound.
That is lost on the politicians. They fight over things that have little to do with learning and teaching. What make matters worse is the teachers and true educators often sit on the sidelines.
Texas and Detroit are not the only examples. Years ago in New York City, the then schools chancellor, Joe Fernandez, battled a fractured school board over efforts to strengthen the curriculum. The battle became so intense that Fernandez called one of the board members a "political whore."
Seems too many of those are on school boards around the country.
Two examples:
In Texas, that state's school board voted to change the social studies curriculum because some members felt the current one portrayed conservatives in too negative a light. The board members want a curriculum "stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light," according to an article in The New York Times.
In Detroit, a judge recently upheld an injunction blocking that city's emergency financial manager, Robert Bobb, from initiating a downsizing that would have closed 29 schools by the summer as part of a new academic plan. The Detroit Public School board, led by a president who cannot write a coherent sentence, is battling Bobb over control of the system. Bobb, the board says, does not have the authority to create an academic plan. The governor of Michigan appointed Bobb in the hope that he could fix Detroit's troubled school system, which faces major financial and educational issues.
The Detroit school board may be right in battling Bobb, who may have overstepped his bounds by acting unilateral of the board. But while the board and Bobb battle over who can create an academic plan, the students slide further into the educational abyss.
The same with Texas. While politicians impose their philosophies on the curriculum, students fall further and further behind. Textbooks should present the facts and educators should be allowed to teach students the skills they need to engage in critical thinking and problem solving. Rewriting a textbook to make conservatives, and in particular Ronald Reagan, look better does not accomplish those goals.
Children who suffer a poor academic year or have one bad teacher have a chance to rebound later in their academic careers. But children who have several poor academic years or two bad teachers in a row are far less likely to rebound.
That is lost on the politicians. They fight over things that have little to do with learning and teaching. What make matters worse is the teachers and true educators often sit on the sidelines.
Texas and Detroit are not the only examples. Years ago in New York City, the then schools chancellor, Joe Fernandez, battled a fractured school board over efforts to strengthen the curriculum. The battle became so intense that Fernandez called one of the board members a "political whore."
Seems too many of those are on school boards around the country.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Who is educating the educators?
I wrote this some time ago on my Facebook page, and I decided to repost it here. I was struck by the story of the Detroit school board president who can't write a sentence.
It is amazing the lengths to which people will go in protecting or justifying the inadequacies of those they admire. I could not help but think that as I read about Otis Mathis, the president of the Detroit Public Schools Board.
I recognize that one does not have to be the most learned person in a room to be the most successful. I even realize that my reaction is visceral, based solely on the limited information I read in the March 4, 2010, Detroit News. However, as a former newspaper reporter and editor, and a current adult basic education teacher, I cannot help but view Mr. Mathis’s poor writing skills as a travesty unleashed on the children of Detroit.
According to the Detroit News article, Mr. Mathis is currently leading a fight to wrest control of the Detroit Public Schools system from Robert Bobb, the emergency financial manager. Mr. Bobb was appointed because of numerous problems within DPS, which runs one of the lowest achieving, big city school districts in the nation.
Now, Mr. Mathis might be the nicest guy in the world. Reading the Detroit News article, one does get the impression that he is a well-liked and influential member of the board and community, someone many people find effective. Mr. Mathis readily admits his literary limitations, and he does give the impression that he recognizes the issue, which is indeed admirable – just not admirable enough. DPS is already reeling from reports of its lowest scores ever on national standardized tests; an inability to get text books into classes in a timely manner; a general erosion of standards, and a decimation of its student body.
Does it also have to suffer this?
“If you saw Sunday's Free Press that shown Robert Bobb the emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools, move Mark Twain to Boynton which have three times the number seats then students and was one of the reason's he gave for closing school to many empty seats.”
I think, and pray, not.
Interestingly, few people seem bothered that the man who is seeking control of the school system lacks many of the skills demanded of the city’s students. Apparently some people sight Mr. Mathis’ likeableness and professional success as a sign of his importance to city students. Seeing such a successful person as Mr. Mathis, with all of his educational limitations, they say, gives students hope for their own futures.
I beg to differ.
“Your lack of skills is not a hindrance to success if you know the right people, can schmooze and maintain calm among buffoonery,” is not the message Detroit’s educators should be sending to students.
At what point will the people rise up and shout out: “Enough!”
Mr. Mathis might be right in his battle for control of DPS. He might even preface every discussion with students by urging them to steer clear of the educational pitfalls he suffered, pitfalls that led to his posting a 1.8 grade point average in high school (it was once reported as 0.98) and taking 15 years to get his degree from Wayne State University. (He finally got his degree when Wayne State dropped the requirement that all graduates pass an English proficiency test.)
But even if he does, it is not enough. Too many students in this nation are moved from grade to grade without the necessary skills. They are led to believe that professionalism and diligence are unnecessary. And each time Mr. Mathis sends out a poorly edited email, he further erodes what little bit of confidence people may have in the city’s schools system.
It is amazing the lengths to which people will go in protecting or justifying the inadequacies of those they admire. I could not help but think that as I read about Otis Mathis, the president of the Detroit Public Schools Board.
I recognize that one does not have to be the most learned person in a room to be the most successful. I even realize that my reaction is visceral, based solely on the limited information I read in the March 4, 2010, Detroit News. However, as a former newspaper reporter and editor, and a current adult basic education teacher, I cannot help but view Mr. Mathis’s poor writing skills as a travesty unleashed on the children of Detroit.
According to the Detroit News article, Mr. Mathis is currently leading a fight to wrest control of the Detroit Public Schools system from Robert Bobb, the emergency financial manager. Mr. Bobb was appointed because of numerous problems within DPS, which runs one of the lowest achieving, big city school districts in the nation.
Now, Mr. Mathis might be the nicest guy in the world. Reading the Detroit News article, one does get the impression that he is a well-liked and influential member of the board and community, someone many people find effective. Mr. Mathis readily admits his literary limitations, and he does give the impression that he recognizes the issue, which is indeed admirable – just not admirable enough. DPS is already reeling from reports of its lowest scores ever on national standardized tests; an inability to get text books into classes in a timely manner; a general erosion of standards, and a decimation of its student body.
Does it also have to suffer this?
“If you saw Sunday's Free Press that shown Robert Bobb the emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools, move Mark Twain to Boynton which have three times the number seats then students and was one of the reason's he gave for closing school to many empty seats.”
I think, and pray, not.
Interestingly, few people seem bothered that the man who is seeking control of the school system lacks many of the skills demanded of the city’s students. Apparently some people sight Mr. Mathis’ likeableness and professional success as a sign of his importance to city students. Seeing such a successful person as Mr. Mathis, with all of his educational limitations, they say, gives students hope for their own futures.
I beg to differ.
“Your lack of skills is not a hindrance to success if you know the right people, can schmooze and maintain calm among buffoonery,” is not the message Detroit’s educators should be sending to students.
At what point will the people rise up and shout out: “Enough!”
Mr. Mathis might be right in his battle for control of DPS. He might even preface every discussion with students by urging them to steer clear of the educational pitfalls he suffered, pitfalls that led to his posting a 1.8 grade point average in high school (it was once reported as 0.98) and taking 15 years to get his degree from Wayne State University. (He finally got his degree when Wayne State dropped the requirement that all graduates pass an English proficiency test.)
But even if he does, it is not enough. Too many students in this nation are moved from grade to grade without the necessary skills. They are led to believe that professionalism and diligence are unnecessary. And each time Mr. Mathis sends out a poorly edited email, he further erodes what little bit of confidence people may have in the city’s schools system.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Requiem for Farmer Floyd
When I was growing up in Detroit, there was a little boy on our block whom we called Farmer Floyd because he liked to wear overalls. It was our little joke: The urban farmer.
A few years ago, when visiting Detroit and driving by my former high school, I noticed that one of the two other schools that shared the complex with Central had been razed. I wondered: What if Central took that land and turned it into a greenhouse, allowing its science students to experiment with growing flowers, vegetables and other plants in different environments? Or maybe creating hybrids? Depending on what was grown, the school could market the products to help pay for books, computers and other classroom equipment. And Farmer Floyd wouldn't be a joke from the 1960s.
My friends thought I had consumed way too many shots of Jameson Irish Whiskey.
That's because at the time they, nor I, had heard of John Hantz, a former executive at American Express Financial Services. Hantz is trying to take over 40 acres at the Michigan State Fairgrounds in Detroit to create an urban farm. Under Hantz's plan, the farm would not resemble the agriculutral behemoths of the Midwest, although he does someday invision a 1,000 acre tract. Instead, it would be a technological wonder, experimenting with such growing techniques as areoponics -- growing things in air.
According to an April 6 article by Laura Berman in The Detroit News, Hantz would start by growing a variety of lettuce and apples, and possibly Christmas trees. Using areoponics, he would be able to grow crops year round. To some people, particularly those who view argiculture as counter to the urban experience, Hantz's plan might sound absurd. But is it really?
Michigan has a wonderful agricultural tradition. The state is in the top three -- behind Washington and New York -- in growing apples. Bing cherries are a major crop. MSU experimented with Christmas trees in hopes of developing one with a longer shelf life after being cut. So why not experiment with growing food products on vacant land in Detroit? It would be a much nicer sight than empty, weed filled lots.
Working with other cities in the area with large swaths of vacant land, as well as the states numerous universities, Detroit could create the agricultural equivalent of the research triangle. An entire generation of miniority students could be turned on to agricultural research. The city could even go further and develop early-stage programs introducing students to animal husbandry and veterinarian medicine.
Doing so would mean taking "vocational" training to a new level. It also might make Farmer Floyd proud.
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