Posts tagged Education
The Modern Southern Gentleman...
Where tradition meets the 21st century
The State of State Science Standards
from Greg Laden (@gregladen)
The vast majority of American public school students are proficient (sic) [probably meant deficient] in the level of science learning expected for their age group. The Thomas B. Fordham Institute has issued “The State of Science Standards 2012” as part of an effort to assess the causes of this dismal state of affairs.
Seriously, TN? We got a D? Come on, now! The one thing I will say positively about this is that not a single Southern got an F. Gotta find a positive somewhere. But a D being the average for the South is completely unacceptable.
Dorothy Counts was one of first four black students to integrate North Carolina public schools in 1957. Photographers and reporters recorded the harassment and the violence that erupted on her first day of school. After three more days, for safety reasons, she was forced to drop out of Harding High School and move to Pennsylvania.
…most of theses photos were taken by Charlotte Observer photographer Don Strukey
I’ve always wondered…what happened to the other people in these photos? Are they still alive, and if they are, are they ever embarrassed that these photos of them not only landed them in papers around the world at the time, held up as examples of America’s racism, but are still common today, a symbol of racism? Are they ashamed of how they acted, of the things they said? Have any of them ever attempted to apologize? Will they all of them go to their graves thinking they were right to harass a young girl just because she was black? For some, will they say they’re feelings have changed if they’re asked, but on the inside still feel justified?
I think about this a lot. These pictures are shocking, but how much has really changed? Maybe people would be embarrassed to have their photo snapped. Maybe they wouldn’t act like this. But maybe they still think these things, maybe they still wish it could go back to the way it was before.
She is absolutely gorgeous! I love the one of her laughing with the other girls!
When I stop to think how far we’ve come in such a relatively short time, it gives me hope. Not that we don’t still have a long way to go on the fronts of racial prejudice and sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination, but we’ve come so far. And without brave people like Dorothy, I wouldn’t have some of my favorite people in my life. And all because their skin isn’t the same color as mine.
(via adireadire)
(via Where Are They Now?: Dorothy Counts - Charlotte, NC)
And yet, the girl in the photograph is worried that, fifty-three years later, we’re headed backward. In the eleven years since a federal judge ordered an end to race-based busing in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, schools have largely resegregated, and Counts-Scoggins sees evidence of inequality.
At West Charlotte High — a predominantly African American school her granddaughter recently graduated from — she says the lack of resources is disturbing.
“At the beginning of the school year, they would go for weeks without books, for weeks without enough chairs for everyone in the classroom,” she says. “When I heard about that I thought, Lord, this brings back memories.”
(via adireadire)
City Mouse vs. County Mouse…The Saga Continues
U.S. District Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays ruled in favor of the Memphis City Schools dissolving their charter today. This effectively means that after the this school year, that started today, is the last year that Memphis City Schools will operate independently of the Shelby County Schools and every county in the state will now have a unified school district.
There are still some issues to hammer out, like the fact the Shelby County Board of Education is comprised entirely of non-Memphis residents. Judge Mays ruled this, as well as not having an election until current board members’ terms were up, to be unconstitutional. The county charter also has a provision that allows only for a 7 member county board of education. That was written in 1961 when the population was much smaller and the plan, from what I can ascertain is to have a 25 member school board so that all areas of Shelby County can be equally represented on the board.
One issue I haven’t seen mentioned anywhere, although admittedly somewhat premature, is how to resolve conflicting district policies. The best example is the school uniforms that MCS students had to begin wearing for the 2002-2003 school year, my junior year of high school. There are tons of different policies like this that one district has and the other doesn’t and I have my reservations as to how they are going to hammer out the details in one year. And I think that they need to to truly give a sense of change and unity. MCS and SCS students have a long history of not getting along and to allow for 2 separate set of rules under one administration is going to do nothing but make those differences more apparent.
But before any of this can be hashed out, we have to wait to see if the unanimously opposed Shelby County Board of Education pursues any further legal action. As of this writing, it has yet to be determined. They are, however, refusing to begin any talks with MCS board members on how to begin the consolidation process.
(Source: themodernsoutherngentleman)
City Mouse vs. County Mouse
My hometown of Memphis, TN is making headlines again, but still not for something I would like it be. This time, it’s in the realm of education.
For those of you outside of the state of Tennessee, the Memphis City School systems is a unique animal in that it is the only city-specific school district left in the state. All other 94 counties have a unified school district, but not Shelby County. Oh, no. Unlike other districts in the state, the city of Memphis began paying for the Memphis City Schools (MCS) in the 1960’s, I believe (I can’t seem to find the exact date on that), effectively leaving Shelby County only responsible for the Shelby County Schools (SCS) system. When MCS got into a pinch a few years ago, and after years of attempts to merge the two systems, the city decided that it just wasn’t going to pay for the MCS schools anymore and force the county to do so, thus creating a merger. The plan failed.
The MCS and SCS have a history of not getting along. Every 10-15 years, the city experiences what is known as a “Great White Flight” where a large portion of the white residents of the city move into out into the county or into the surrounding counties. Over the years, this has created some racial division in an already often racially tense city. The predominantly black parents of the MCS students want to transfer their children to the typically higher performing SCS, but the predominantly white parents of the SCS don’t want what they perceive as “hood rats” going to school with their kids. It’s kind of a vicious cycle that we were so often caught in the middle of as children.
But that brings us to the current problem. The city of Memphis owes the MCS about $148 million at the time of this writing. The city claims it doesn’t have the money. But where could it have gone? Surely they don’t believe that the general public can be convinced that they’ve misplaced it? I think it’s possibly a ploy to again force a merger of the two school systems. MCS already laid off English and History teachers for the upcoming school year. They can’t really make too many more cuts, minus the pay raise that the superintendent, Kriner Cash, got this year. Now they’re debating “delaying” the school year. I have yet to understand how exactly that helps. They can’t just not have school. Memphis City School, even being a divided system, is by far the largest in the state and the 21st largest in the country. And what about the teachers? If the teachers can’t work, many of them are likely to move to other nearby districts that are always in need of teachers or move out of the area completely. It’s a no win situation. And as the typical start date for the school year rapidly approaches, it’s a conundrum that urgently needs to be answered.
You Can’t Say That Here
Today is a sad day in my home state of Tennessee. The Senate Education Committee approved SB49 with a vote of 6-3, banning any teacher in grades K-8 from saying the word “gay” or “homosexual” in the classroom.
Your first thought may be, “why would an elementary school teacher need to discuss these topics in the classroom?” But it’s not just about discussing the topic. The supposed reason for the bill, sponsored by Sen. Stacey Campfield (R - Knoxville), was to prevent homosexuality being discussed in a sex ed setting for young students. I don’t necessarily agree with that thought, but I can see someone’s point. One problem: no curriculum in the state has sex ed that mentions homosexuality. The spokesman for the State Board of Education and the State Department of Education both say that they have no knowledge of anything like this going on. But the language of the bill prohibits the words from being used at all.
What about all the kids who need to speak to a guidance counselor and can’t, but need someone to talk to about their thoughts on sexuality. Kids today seem to become aware of their sexual orientation at earlier and earlier ages. Even in the late 90’s and coming from a militantly conservative Christian family, I knew at 12 years old that I was gay, although I was too afraid to even admit it to myself. This can do nothing but exacerbate the issues that LGBTQ teens face today and further stigmatize and already stigmatized group. I attempted suicide three times from 1998 until 2002 and I never felt I had anyone to talk to about it. But if a child is told that they’re not even allowed to use the word, what does that do to their self-esteem to not be allowed to use a word to describe themselves.
No good can come from this. And, unfortunately, in our currently Republican controlled house, it likely to pass when it comes in front of the full floor. I only pray that something can be done to stop it.
