I agree that senator Day used bad judgement when using the word "suck" to describe Minneapolis Schools.
What concrens me about Doug Grows article and several posts about this article is the explanation I hear for lower test scores and graduation rates in Minneapolis than in Owatonna. The main explanation I hear is that Minneapolis Schools have more people of color, and more students with limited English skills. As if this was a reason or even a good excuse. The truth is that Minneapolis schools seem to have about the same success than Owatonna schools with white students. So Minneapolis schools are good schools educating white students. But what would be the right term for the way Minneapolis schools are educating students of color, or students with limited English skills? Maybe Senator Day should have said that Minneapolis Schools Rock! at educating white students and suck! at educating students of color. No, maybe not. Adolecent language. Minnneapolis schools do a great job at educating white students, but are culturally challenged at educating students of color? Frankly I don't care what you call it. The truth is that over 60% African American and Latino Kids in Minneapolis fail standardized tests, and don't graduate from High School in four years. This has continued to happen year after year, regarless of school boards, superindendents, and program after program to change this. This is not for lack of caring. Most people in Minneapolis passionately believe that students of color should get an equal education. At the same time schools like Kipp academy in Houston and the South Bronx, Noble Street Charter School in Chicago or Twin Cities Academy and Harvest Prep/Seed Academy in Minnesota are teaching minority kids with great results. Students of color or with limited English skills don't cause bad scores. Student of color have proven time after time that they can do as well as white students regardless of whether they are inmigrants, poor, or come from broken families. Ineffective ways of educating them cause bad scores. So please don't use a kids race, income status or language proficiency as a reason or excuse for lower test scores. Minneapolis doesn't need good schools. It already aparently has them. It doesn't need good teachers. They're already teaching in Minneapolis. What Minneapolis has is an ineffective way of teaching lower income students of color. It also needs a school board, teachers and teachers unions willing to open their minds to learning how to educate all of our kids. They already care, they already have good intentions, they just need to open their minds. No more excuses please. We need equal opportunity now, for ALL our children. Replicate schools that are teaching students of color adequately. Adequately fund these schools. Pay these teachers what you would pay a corporate executive. Keep replicating. Then stop funding and close schools that are not doing what they should. Do we really need to make things more complicated than that? Alberto Monserrate President CEO Latino Communications Network (LCN Media) 2019 E Lake Street #7 Publishers of the weekly Spanish Newspaper Gente de Minnesota the bi-weekly Latino Entertainment Guide Vida y Sabor and the yearly Minnesota-Iowa Yellow Pages Hispanic Directory Office: 612-729-5900 Office: 612-243-1283 Fax: 612-729-5999 Web: www.lcnmedia.com REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
