Submitted by javan, Jul 11, 2007 16:08

I've been teaching almost fifteen years, ten of them in NYC (and another ten as a volunteer). Race has nothing to do with achiement, neither does money. Consider the achievements of children who grew up during the Depression and the shortages of WWII. Consider the achievements of blacks who grew up under Jim Crow laws.

The key is: what are students and parents doing to succeed.? in most of our city schools, the answer is nothing. The kkids ton'd reaad outside of school. (I've regularly done a survey of high schoolers to find out what the last book they read was. IF there is any answer, it has almost always been The Three Little Pigs or the Three Bears.) They refuse to read and parents (usually single parents) don't read to them or encourage them to read. So we get them in high school reading at a pre-k level. If we get a student reading above 3rd grade level, we consider ourselves lucky.,

Parents have to be held accountable. We are being taxed to pay for their public housing, food stampls, clothes, etc etf and they are not doing the job we are supportiong them to do. How many immigrants of the late 1800s and early 1900s were iilliterate or unable to speak English, yet produced children who valued education.

Want to end the achievement gap: no welfare, no ssi, not $ unless your kid is in school every day and passing most of his classes.l

I walked to school--a couple miles., a good part of it uphill. No FREE (*taxpayer paid) transportaitiun, no FREE (taxpayer paid) breakfast and lunch. My classmates ALL read, in fact most of us were able to read BEFORE we entered school. The reason for low achievement among lblacks and hispanics is largely illegitimacy,. Children from two parent black families (i.e. MARRIED parents) are actually achieving at higher levels than white students. And the achievements of Asians, whose parents value education has been phenomenal for decades.

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