Will the Obama administration improve public education?

[LaylaMonroe]

I thought this was a great article (measured by its ability to keep my attention from the first sentence to the last... lol).

I especially liked this quote from the article:

How much change are schools in for? [Arne] Duncan, who is particularly attuned to the achievement gap between high- and low-income students, has hinted that he does not approve of the way Illinois schools receive the bulk of their funding from local tax revenue. "It's morally inexcusable that children who happen to be born in wealthier communities, white ones, get a better education than those who live in poor communities," Duncan told TIME last August. "Clearly, as a state, we've lacked the political courage to fundamentally challenge the status quo, not just tweak it at its edges." He added, "It doesn't need a tweak. It needs a fundamental change."

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1866783,00.html

What do you think? Can we turn things around in public education?

[themidiroom]

What do you think? Can we turn things around in public education?

Maybe I'm missing something but shouldn't education be best handled at the local level?  The best thing the feds can do is make funds available and have the local folks use the money where it's needed.

[under13]

I think I'm missing something too. I just looked at the spending per pupil amounts for all of the districts on long island, and some of poorer black communities spend more than or roughly the same as some of the richer white communities. So if they spend more per student, why arent they providing a better or equal education?

I think its more of a school district administration and local govt problem, than a Federal governmet problem. And of course, a state problem.

 I also think that part of the problem is illegal immigrants. Many of the poorer Black and Hispaninc communities have high rental rates and there is a dispropotion in the number of student vs the amount of money from property taxes that towns and municipalities are bringing in.

Another problem is the parents. Whites, and parents from middle and upperclass ditricts are more likely to be involved in thier childs education than people in the hood. Often times we blacks dont even know whats going on in our children's schools, until its too late.

[sjonathan02]

Unless parents are made to get involved, there won't be much of a change. 


Everyone talks about teachers being held accountable, what about the parents who send their no-account children to school merely to get them out of THEIR hair and be a pain in our backsides?

What about the parents that allow their child to run the streets and speak to adults any ol' kind of way?


It's tough out here for teachers. No one wants to give us our due respect on EITHER side. 

[Fingers!]

No.

[Loopy]

Unless parents are made to get involved, there won't be much of a change. 


Everyone talks about teachers being held accountable, what about the parents who send their no-account children to school merely to get them out of THEIR hair and be a pain in our backsides?

What about the parents that allow their child to run the streets and speak to adults any ol' kind of way?


It's tough out here for teachers. No one wants to give us our due respect on EITHER side. 

COSIGN.

[B3Wannabe]

Unless parents are made to get involved, there won't be much of a change. 


Everyone talks about teachers being held accountable, what about the parents who send their no-account children to school merely to get them out of THEIR hair and be a pain in our backsides?

What about the parents that allow their child to run the streets and speak to adults any ol' kind of way?


It's tough out here for teachers. No one wants to give us our due respect on EITHER side. 

Well, I wouldn't say NO ONE, but the gist of it is correct.