The Chicago Public School (CPS) District is the third largest school district in the nation. The 655 schools educated 408,601 students last year - 84.9% of those students from low-income families and 92% of them minorities.
Recently, Senator James T. Meeks (I), 15th District, called on students from poorer parts of Chicago to protest the discrepancy in per pupil spending (about $10,000/pupil in CPS compared to the roughly $17,000/pupil in neighboring districts) by skipping the first day of school to travel to a more affluent, neighboring school district where they will attempt to enroll. Illinois state rules allow students to transfer to another district if their safety is at risk. Meeks contends that the inferior education children receive in Chicago is "not good for the safety of their futures."
Meeks' plan fails on several levels. First, Illinois funds schools based - in part - on attendance. Pulling children out of school on the first day will actually decrease funding and hurt the per pupil spending.
Second, CPS has a long standing problem getting kids to actually come to school during the first week, let alone on the first day. They run a multi-million dollar campaign, each year, to insure parents know when school starts. This is critical not only for the success of students, but for funding implications of low attendance.
I have my own problems with this protest. Why? Well, you see, I don't think education should be funded equally across the board. I know ... I know ... it's about the kids. Why should the poor not have the same opportunities as the more affluent when it comes to education?
Let's start with we all get what we work for. Husband and I went to college so that we could increase our earning potential and move into an area with better funded schools. Shouldn't that be rewarded in some way? Even if we throw money at CPS and increase per pupil spending, parental support will still be non-existent and the failure rate will not significantly change. What's worse, in the process of throwing money at the CPS problem, you'll have taken money away from my child - money that I have earned and contributed to his education through my property taxes.
Yes, if our education system was perfect, all children would receive an equal education, but our system is not a perfect. Study after study shows that parental involvement - not per pupil spending - is the real key to student success. Maybe Senator Meeks would see better results if he protested the real problem - the parents. How about the parents skip the day of work and show their support for their children - AT SCHOOL - instead.
42 comments:
Is this your clever way of telling me that I'd better be ready to be involved with my son's schooling?
I do plan on sitting down with him when he does his homework and if he's anything like I am I'm going to have to sit on top of him.
Meeks plan doesn't seem to be very popular based on the comments that I read from the article.
I have some serious isues with property taxes funding schools. That's how we do it in Ohio as well. But what the alternatives to that funding mechanism could be I haven't a clue.
In our Public schools kids can transfer to different districts no matter the reason if there is room for them, and I certainly agree with that.
I agree that the problem with the vast majority of the students who do not perform in school is their lack of parental involvement and not money, but somewhere there is a child who wants to learn but is sitting in the worst district, taught by the worst teacher, and there is not a damn thing he or she can do about it.
That's not fair either.
With that being said, if people are going to protest unequal funding or restrictions on district to district matriculation, the more effective way to do that would be for the parents to do what you suggested, not the skipping of classes that Mr. Meeks suggested.
Cheers Dana!!
Yep, first instinct is to say, all schooling should be equal, but then you throw in the property tax wrinkle. Hasn't it always been, with damn near everything in life, if you pay more you get more? Parental involvement is very crucial. I had none. The students efforts and desire will carry them through but if they've not got that and the parent/parents are not guiding the process then it's anyone's guess how they'll turn out. My sister, graduated. My Brother earned his high school diploma in junior college, I chose a G.E.D. We are not stupid, but we were left to our own devices and see how differently it turned out.
Corky, Meeks is yet another politician who hasn't bothered to think past his silly plan to see the real impact of his proposal.
Matt-Man, I have issues with the Department of Education generally. School funding, administrative costs and teacher's unions all play a part in the failing of our public schools.
Lu, not only do you get more when you pay more - you get more when you work harder. I take issue with the "hand outs" that are already in place that encourage those receiving them to do nothing more than what they are currently doing. I see this as a very similar issue.
I moved out of the city to a suburb with a good school system for a reason. My kids, and their future. I paid more for a house, taxes were actually less, and it worked! Both my children went to college and are employed. I graduated from a city school- busing had commenced while a junior. Our class graduated 450+ kids, 10 yrs. later they had doubled the sq. ft. of the school, and graduated about 250...Money is not the answer- higher standards are.
Here, here. I agree 100%. Girl, if you weren't married, and I wasn't married, and you didn't live beyond the Red River, I would marry you. I enjoy, and agree with most all of your poliitcal views, and aspects on life. Keep it up. Also love the HNT pics. Prech on.
And if you leave your husband, find yourself w/o a stellar job and forced to live in a less affluent neighborhood would you be concerned that your child's education might be lacking?
I think it's incredibly unfair that kids in the city near where I live go to schools that are below par while rich kids go to an elementary school that exceeds the others in the same city. So what those parents went to college? Big deal.
My husband didn't go to college but he works his ass off and I feel like that should have nothing to do with the education my daughters eventually receive. Although I am seriously contemplating homeschooling them for just these very reasons.
All those disadvantaged children whose parents did not complete college (or are working jobs that most people wouldn't want to and are therefore paid far less) will someday be the society that your son and my daughters will live in. Personally, I would like to see *all* children better educated not just those whose parents somehow deserve it.
And while I'm on a roll . . . how is a person who works a minimum wage job somehow less than just because they didn't go to college. Those jobs are also necessary. We can't all be college grads. Who would do the grunt work? Why are their children not entitled to a good education?
All that said, I think the idea of skipping that first day of school is ridiculous. I'd rather see more charter schools where parents can choose which school to send their children.
Oh and I totally agree about parental involvement btw.
Buff, and those higher standards start in the home. If parents did more than just talk about how their children *deserve* more and actually ACTED in a manner that insured their children got more, this protest wouldn't have even been considered.
Cowboy, so we both need to divorce and I need to move south and the world will be right? And here I thought I just needed to skip the first day of school *wink*
FF, of course I would be concerned if circumstances changed and my son was "forced" to attend a sub par school, but I'd have to be an INVOLVED parent to even realize that, wouldn't I?
Unlike you, I don't expect life to be fair. I know that in order to have the best for my child (and my family) I need to work hard. I can't expect to cruise through life on idle and expect the best in education, housing, etc. I have to (as Buff said) set the standard higher and ADVOCATE for, not demand, improved education.
You are right, some day all of those "disadvantaged" kids will be part of working society, and they'll likely be doing the same type of minimum wage jobs that their parents find themselves in. Do they "deserve" that? Absolutely! If that is the effort their parents, and they, have put into their education.
We don't (and shouldn't) live in a society where everyone has the same THINGS. We should live in a society where everyone is given the same OPPORTUNITY, and we are a lot closer to that ideal than we ever have been.
The last paragraph in your reply to FF says it all.
We live in a land of vast opportunities. And while these opportunities may not be as equally available to everyone, they are available to anyone who wishes to take advantage of them. There will always be the slacker who would rather brush aside a genuine chance to change his/her lifestyle for the better in favor of getting a guaranteed handout and remaining at status quo. And in today's skewed vision of equality, we are all made to suffer from being measured alongside, as opposed to against those slackers. Morals, and all things derived from morality have been squandered due to the intense lobbying for the "disadvantaged".
That looks like the school bus that was parked at the XXX show in my previosu blog. jeez!
Good Dr., does it break my heart to see kids with a poor education? Absolutely, but throwing money at schools isn't the answer. Personal responsibility for reproduction, parents who actually parent, a system that gives "help ups" rather than "hand outs" - those are the things that will help. I'm am so tired of hearing about the "disadvantaged" and how the government OWES them something better. They owe THEMSELVES something better, and until they step up to the plate, nothing will change.
TMC, maybe they aren't really taking kids to the neighboring school district but rather to the XXX show!
Obviously Meeks didn't think through his plan very well. I don't think there is any problem with the way they are funding based on attendance.
The problem that I have what I think you are saying is that you think each child should only get what the parent worked for and that is in no way fair to a child. I for one, hope that every child has more opportunity and grows to be smarter than their parents. We have the ability to help them with that as the village/society that is helping raise them. We are raising them whether we like it or not. If we don't expect more from our education process we will multiply and become a weaker country. We allow the minimum level of education to continue out of what I would consider selfishness.
I agree with what you just said. It needs to be done in help ups not hand outs. Very well put.
I agree with you Dana. I even want to take things a step further. My sister, my brother and I are all products of private schools. Yet my parents had to contribute to the education of every other child in the town while paying for us separately. There should be a break for those situations.
Further, I am a single homeowner with no children. I am not using the school system and I have absolutely no intention of every using it. Why are my taxes $6000 per year? To subsidize YOUR children? Not fair.
I get the whole "it takes a village" crap, but seriously, when are we going to be responsible for our decisions in this world?
Knight, in theory, I agree with what you are saying, but there is one major problem. Money is finite. In order to give $$ to one we must take from another.
I went back to school at 40 to finish my bachelor's degree so that I could contribute more financially to my family. Now you are going to tell me that I must work hard to take care of someone else's children too? But they get to work part-time at McDonald's, collect food stamps and get a housing subsidy AND their children get the SAME educational benefit as mine does even though I'm working 40-50 hours/week so that I can pay off my student loans and live in a more affluent area with better schools? How is that fair to all parties? Sounds like they are getting over and I am getting screwed.
Karen, I've thought for a very long time that the only reason the government hasn't approved a school vouchering program (where money spent/pupil in public school would be applied towards private school tuition) is because then the Department of Education would have to go far, FAR away!
I'm with you on the property taxes for childless people too! Why shouldn't you get a rebate of some sort (maybe a tax break) for the portion of your property taxes that funded schools you don't use?
Ahhh ... but that is selfish and not for the betterment of society - that part of society that you are not a part of *wink*
I see where you are coming from. I really respect you for all that you have accomplished. You didn't have to do it but you are admirable because you did. That doesn't mean everyone else has the option.
As a person without a child and no intention of breeding I too wonder why I am paying taxes for other people's children. I have tried to better myself to take care of my family and friends but still I'm stuck paying the taxes for useless kids. I figure if I'm contributing it should go out evenly and not benefit the children lucky enough to have families that care more than children that might need more help. That doesn't make sense to me.
Karen, $6K taxes, holy crap!
I absolutely agree with you! Similarly, when I worked as a speech pathologist, I had so many parents who were completely uninterested in doing the work in between sessions. Guess what? Their kids made no progress, and their conclusion was "therapy isn't working." Dorks.
Knight, see, I think everyone *does* have the option - in fact, I would even go so far as to say that most of the programs that encourage people to go back to school (scholarships, grants, etc.) are actually geared toward those in the lower income brackets. They have the opportunity, they choose not to take it.
Lu, we paid just under $7K in taxes this year!
Biscuit, I am so involved in my son's middle school that most of the administration knows EXACTLY who I am. I expect them to do their job - and I expect that I will parent in a way that helps them do their job - but it really is about accountability.
I have chosen not to have children yet I pay taxes that support schools--it's a societal good when they work.
This Meeks guy needs some serious help in generating options---telling kids to skip school is just foolish.
You really want to know what the problem with public schools is? Their existence.
Publicly funded education is crap, because there is no way to make it "fair", nor is there a way to quantify and qualify "deserving" children.
Parents should be responsible for their children's basic education in the home, and then sent to a secondary school for higher learning when they are old enough to take a direction in life. I utilize public schooling because it is there, but it's making this country even more intellectually lazy than we already have the proclivity to be.
Children only deserve the education their parents are willing to provide. Private schools are just fine, that's a privilege afforded to those who can afford it.
Community schools are great, because they are built and run by an involved community.
I can't fully explain my position in a comment, but suffice it to say the whole damn system is broken. It's like a tumor, you can treat it and hope for the best, or you can go in there and excise the whole thing.
Turnbaby, I would agree - it is a societal good when they work - the problem is they aren't working very well in most parts of the country and no matter how much money we throw at them, we're not addressing the real problem.
Boo, what happened to the (duh)? Anyway, I agree wholeheartedly - the public school system isn't much other than a place to put our kids for 6 hours/day. I've been an advocate of abolishing the board of education and seriously revamping our public school system for quite some time.
You know what, Dana, I'm sure I didn't say life is fair or that it should be. I said that children, ALL children, deserve a good education.
If I understand correctly, you went to school to be a paralegal. I wouldn't exactly call that "college educated". I'd call that a vocation.
Perhaps you didn't intend to come off they way you did at least to my eyes, but I think it's a bit wrong to think your child deserves better simply b/c you live in a rich neighborhood and the factory worker's kid doesn't deserve that same opportunity.
No, life isn't fair, but children are (not to sound corny) our future! ALL of them.
When I was doing my student teaching, I witnessed the public school system fail children who are in low income areas. These children are mostly victims of the system because their parents are not involved. The children learn their "don't give a damn" attitudes from their parents who are waiting for the free stuff to be handed out. And these parents are too busy waiting for the free stuff and bitching about not getting enough free stuff that they miss an opportunity to improve the lives of their children through education.
I plan to home school my kids because the current state of our public school system is horrible, and private schools around here are too religious for me. I do not plan to be their sole source of education, I am not so vain to believe I have all the answers, and I am in the process of finding a few families who home school to share the duties of educating our collective group of children. It is a shame that there is not a tax rebate for all people who choose not to use the public school system, and it is a shame that more parents are not involved in the education and advancement of their children.
I agree that some people do move to better neighborhoods because they want their children to have better schools. These children deserve a safe environment and good educators who are supported through parental involvement. But I have a hard time ‘punishing’ the children who are not in the better schools just because their parents are too lazy to get involved. And there are children whose parents work diligently to improve their lifestyle, yet manage to fall short of moving up the ladder in order to make it to the better schools. I guess I agree with most of your post, but it is hard for me to believe that the children who are not old enough to get out of the situation should be getting the short end of the stick just because their parents don’t care. I agree with the “safety of their futures” concept, but I also agree with you in that parental involvement is the answer to this, not skipping school.
Ambergail, I worked hard to be able to live in an area with a decent public education system, but even so, as a parent I have an obligation to supplement my son's public education with material that I feel he might not be getting. I too, ran in to the issues with private school that you have - those in my area have a very strong religious affiliation - something I wasn't comfortable with.
I will say again that throwing money at the schools isn't going to fix the problem - responsible parenting will go much further.
FF, got a little snarky there did you?
First of all, I have a BACHELORS degree in Paralegal Studies. I graduated from ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY (with honors, for the record), a "private" university, not a vocational school. If you're going to get snarky you've got to have your facts straight.
Second, I believe that my child deserved no LESS than what I am currently able to provide for him living where I do and in the school he currently attends. As I said to Knight, $$ is finite and as such it would need to be taken AWAY from someone to GIVE to someone else. It's no fairer to take away from my child – especially when I put far more tax dollars into the pot.
The bottom line is we've moved too far away from survival of the fittest in this country. Not everyone can get their PhD in chemistry - not everyone can get through vocational school - not everyone can graduate from high school. Like it or not, this country will always need burger flippers and retail clerks. I'm no "better" than anyone else, but I (and my family) deserve to benefit from my hard work. Everyone in this country has opportunity - it all boils down to choices.
I don't think I got snarky. I thought you once said you went to community college for your paralegal degree. How does that equal a bachelors?
You're the one who is snarky. And there's really no freakin' need to IM me about how you aren't going to play nice when I "belittle" you on your blog.
I was only stating what I thought to be fact. Good for you if you have a bachelors! LOL
Don't IM me w/ threats, Dana. I don't appreciate it and I'm not one bit scared of you. Feel free to play any which way you like. :)
I have to say I disagree with you. I do think that "we get what we work for" however, children don't work. They are a victim of biological circumstance and shouldn't be put at an educational deficit just because they were born to a crack whore who fucked 10 different guys and doesn't get any child support because Maury can't find her baby daddy. Children deserve equal access to equal education so they don't have to work twice as hard for the same education as their "rich" counterparts.
FF, I did attend a community college right out of HS and did receive an associates degree in accounting, but when I went back as a 40th birthday gift to myself, it was to a bona fide University where I did - indeed - receive my bachelors degree!
Do you, by chance, have that entire IM handy? If you do, would you please post it in the comments? You have this annoying habit of posting only partial information in what appears to be an attempt to paint me (and others) in a certain light. I believe the IM started out by saying something to the effect of (I'm paraphrasing - I didn't save it) You shouldn't take differences of opinions as personal attacks - my opinion is only "right" for me. It then went on to say (paraphrasing again), If you continue to attempt to belittle me on my blog, I won't play nice Should I be embarrassed that I "threatened" you? *shrugs* Maybe ... if it was a threat.
Can we be done with the public cat fight now? I'll even let you scratch my eyes out if you want. I've got to go support my son's public school education!
Tali, I will say the same thing to you that I did to Knight - in theory I agree. It sounds great, but tell me how we make it happen. Tell me how we force parents to participate in their children's education. That is what makes kids successful in school, not throwing more money at the schools. Unless and until parents of ALL children make education a priority, there will continue to be "victims of biological circumstance."
Dana, you do come across as quite the holier than thou IMO. You may not *mean* it that way but it sure comes across.
I wasn't trying to paint you in any such light. I only got a portion of your IM and I did not save it. Sorry.
All I got was something to the effect of "and another thing if you continue to belittle me on my blog I will not play nice."
I'm not making this up. I just closed the window when I saw it and I don't save IM convos ever. I didn't intend for you to be embarrassed for the threat all I said was that I'm not scared of you. You do not intimidate me in the slightest. I also didn't intend to belittle you as you so voraciously enjoy belittling me.
I guess you see things differently and I do not take this as a personal attack at all. I grew up as one of the low-income children in a poor area with a struggling and depressed single mother. Your post just hit a chord with me.
And I am *very* done w/ this convo. I wasn't going to come back and even respond but something about what you wrote got under my skin a bit and I couldn't help but defend my statements.
With total school integration, both racial and socio-economic, here in Louisville and a 30 year history of court ordered busing to enforce it, there is no significant difference in the quality of education or the per student expenditure of the schools in the system, which has close to 100,000 students.
Well now.
It seems I have stepped into a disagreement.
But alas I will give my uneducated take.
I think that all public school kids should get equal funding. I think a kid in alaska should be educated like a kid in beverly hills.
Its surely not the kids fault that their parents suck.
On the far other side.
I also think that I shouldn't have to fund it.
Hell would become an ice manufacturer before I sent my kids to public school.
I can see that the government has never done anything outside defense worth having.If I couldnt afford to send my kids to private school the bride would home school them. (which she did in the past, and my kids scored in the 98%)
or I would
but I know that that is just me.
Im definately not trying to come down on people that see it differently than I do. But with the difficulty in the world today, the teachers unions and the poor assed quality of government education I can't see how i (or anyone else) is making out with the taxation we pay for school.
If they privatized it (even if the g'ment has to hold up some schools) it would be much better. We seem to allow the simplest among us (the teachers unions) to run education.
and of course when the insane run the asylum everyone loses.
Be careful how you vote, or more kids will be short bussers in the coming years.
I have no idea how to replace the system where property taxes pay for the schools. But, there are lots of ways that the school systems can cut back on spending, starting with the bloated bureaucracies and outrageous personal expense budgets top school administrators have. Not to mention coaches.
I know that isn't the total answer, but if they would trim the fat in so many of these school districts first then people would be more receptive to the idea of dealing with funding shortfalls. But, when the superintendent of a school district shows up at a meeting with parents and teachers and he/she is driving a $40,000 vehicle provided by the school district and he/she has a staff the governor would be jealous of people just aren't gonna listen to the "we need more money" line.
See there, you thought I was gonna be all disagreein with you and shit, didn't you? ;-)
You can spend more money on "evidence based best practices" when the poor kids (black, Hispanic, other minorities)are in school or you can spend much more to keep them in prison when they get older. The prison costs of a single repeat offender frequently exceed $1 million in today's money.
This is not the place to practice social Darwinism. That said, the current public school systems were designed for the late 19th century and early 20th century student populations to inculcate them into the industrial revolution. They need to be completely overhauled so that they can teach children of the 21st century.
Nick, I'd be interested to see how Louisville schools perform - do you have any links to decent research?
Sage, I'm not trying to come down on those who see it differently than I do either. I appreciate all opinions!
Jay, the public education system is definitely broken. It's funny, I often hear how there is no money in education, but the average teacher salary in my district is $46K and the average administrator salary is $96K - there IS money in education!
Neil, "evidence based best practices"? Help me out here - I'm not familiar with the term. And how do we implement "evidence based best practices" on parents? I just don't see school failure as only a problem of the schools - I see it as more of a problem with parenting.
Dana, you can find the most recent data on the school system at http://www.jefferson.k12.ky.us/AboutUs/About.html
Very well said and I couldn't agree more. I even have "had?" a friend whose daughter failed 11th grade, got held back, because she missed over 30 days of school. Whose fault was that? THE MOTHER'S! Because if her kid didn't want to go to school, my friend would call and say her daughter was sick. Her "just turned 17 year old" is going in to 10th grade this year cause he has failed so much because the mom says, "I just can't get him to do his homework". Really? Oh, I could go on and on.
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