The Proof of MisEducation

Benny Warr Video
http://blip.tv/indy-tv/corrected-higher-res-video-of-benny-warr-being-attacked-6587434

Some may say, “What does the case of Benny Warr have to do with education?”

EVERYTHING!

The police in the video were White males in an urban Black neighborhood. Had they received an excellent, child centered education, they would have recognized, immediately, that this situation must be handled delicately.

Understanding that the person they were there to speak to was a human being, they would have approached Mr. Warr with respect, asking him if they can assist him in any way since they received a call about a person in a wheel chair having trouble.

If, at that point, Mr. Warr did become resistant to their help, the common sense derived from a child centered education would have told them that blocking the wheels of the mobile chair and surrounding Mr. Warr while waiting for a chair lift bus to take him to jail would have been a much more appropriate way to handle the circumstances they were forced to address.

Arresting an individual does not have to involve the disrespect of that individual.

Our current system of education teaches and enforces a socio-economic system of justice that allows middle income White males, the bar to which we are told all should aspire, to believe that they are somehow better than any other “sub-group” which gives them the privilege of treating others disrespectfully.

Unfortunately this attitude is not exclusive to the middle income White male but is generally held by many who breach or exceed the achievement gap.

The idea that anyone is better than anyone else is non-existent in the child centered system of education. Focusing on discovering, developing, and directing the talents of all children means providing the opportunity to all children to see the gifts within themselves as well as in others. Respecting the individuality of the human and their experiences is the basis for the instruction of the curriculum, not graduation from an institution.

Public, private, or charter, until we change the system of education so that it focuses on the child, we will continue to suffer the inhumanities of capitalism.

Join the Movement to Save Our Children!

Day Care vs Child Care

On May 13, Rachael Barnhart posted a blog titled, “Is Daycare a Right?”

As stated in the article, most other countries have asked and answered “YES” to this while, “the United States doesn’t provide institutional care the way that other countries do.”

In the “so called” “Greatest Country in the World” our children do not have the basic Constitutional right to an excellent education.

The public is convinced that education is a States’ responsibility yet the Federal government is handing down more and more mandates, with less and less accountability, to States that must receive federal funding in order to support their LEA’s.

Because the Federal government must provide States with federal funding to support their educational costs, the responsibility of educating our nation’s children should fall upon our nation and therefore should be a Constitutional Right of every child in America.

Now that that question is answered, the bigger question is, should we settle for “Daycare” or should we fight for “Childcare”.

Day care providers are largely unregulated and unconnected to the system of education their clients will be entering very soon. Unfortunately, the system of education these children will enter is also largely unregulated and disconnected from educating children.

Child care providers prepare children for the transition to school by giving them opportunities to socialize and discover their gifts and talents. They offer tutoring services to older siblings in their programs. They involve the arts and experiential learning opportunities.

These are the children whose parents seek out private and charter schools to continue the “child” centered education their children received in “child” care.

Day care providers pass their children along to public schools to become cogs in the wheel of capitalism. Any child that does not conform to the shape of the wheel is cast aside.

Make no mistake, this is not every day care or every public school in Rochester.

However, in Rochester we have “cast aside” 51% of our children many of whom were in “day care”.

“Daycare” is not a right, providing ALL children with an excellent education must become one.

Join the Movement to Save Our Children!

What’s Cultural – What’s Learned

Hoebel describes culture as an integrated system of learned behavior patterns which are characteristic of the members of a society and which are not a result of biological inheritance.

“Public education is a worthy investment for state government, with immense social and economic benefits. Research shows that individuals who graduate and have access to quality education throughout primary and secondary school are more likely to find gainful employment, have stable families, and be active and productive citizens. They are also less likely to commit serious crimes, less likely to place high demands on the public health care system, and less likely to be enrolled in welfare assistance programs. A good education provides substantial benefits to individuals and, as individual benefits are aggregated throughout a community, creates broad social and economic benefits. Investing in public education is thus far more cost-effective for the state than paying for the social and economic consequences of under-funded, low quality schools.”

Monday evening Councilwoman Lovely Warren, Police Chief Sheppard, and Dr. Marvin McMickle of Colgate Rochester Divinity School met with members of the 14621 Neighborhood Association to discuss possible strategies and solutions to the excessive violent crimes in Rochester which occur primarily in their neighborhood.

If we are to agree with Hoebel, the culture of violence in Rochester is not inherent in our youth, but is a learned behavior.

Where is this violent behavior learned?

There is no question that violent behavior is experienced in the home. However, what most will not admit to is, violent behavior is experienced at home and reinforced in school.

Our current system of education belittles and bullies our children to such an extent that by the tender age of seven, too many Second grade students have already realized that school does not provide an alternative to the violence they experience at home but an opportunity to engage it, test it, refine it, and use it as a coping mechanism for solving problems.

We must stop blaming our children for trying to survive in a culture we created in which they are forced to live.

Join the Movement to Save Our Children!

Their Decision – Our Children’s Fate

The district has released several documents to staff, parents, and students concerning student discipline procedures and parental responsibilities.

These notices were sent out to parents with students in Grades 7-12 and are in answer to the recent violence occurring in the K-8 setting.

The notices warn students against the decision to bring weapons to school and bullying others.

The letter to families states there are five specific actions that students can expect will result in immediate placement in PM school: Participation in group violence; Bullying other students; Carrying weapons; Assault; and Trespassing.

The letter continues to say, “Students also should be aware that actions that take place outside school can result in suspension.”

While violence to amend a situation is absolutely no answer to any problem, it must be understood that these children were forced to accept conditions to which they were vehemently opposed. The same conditions were forced upon staff and parents of schools who did not want to restructure.

The restructuring process was implemented without due diligence, data collection, school, parent, student, or community support.

Now our young people are pushing back against a system that has bullied them for years and they are being punished for not accepting a fate that they neither agreed with nor understand.

Parents are also being made to suffer the consequences of the School Board’s decision to ignore the voices of the school community and enact their policies and procedures while holding others accountable for the results.

Will the School Board be remanded to Long Term Suspension for bullying school communities into accepting the K-8 model?

Will the School Board be made to attend “PM” school because they participated in “group” violence by voting to implement the K-8 model, causing our youngest students to witness acts of unmitigated hatred?

As the letter states, there is nothing new about the “Code of Conduct” or long term suspensions. This is the district’s way of mis-handling their system of mis-education.

Our children deserve to be understood and listened to, not put out of school and silenced.

Join the Movement to Save Our Children!

A Story of Abuse

Fights, shooting threats, police searching students and lockers, all this happening within the purview of our youngest and most impressionable 3, 4, and 5 year old children.

This is the educational environment of just one Pre-K-8 district school.

Parents are afraid to bring their babies to school but they are more afraid of leaving them behind to endure the chaos of their educational environment.

Superintendent Brizard, convinced the School Board that moving to a K-8 model would be “cost effective” and would “reduce the footprint” of the district on the environment.

Superintendent Vargas reported that the K-8 model was an inefficient and ineffective move at this time. Commissioners Adams and Powell asked for a moratorium until more evidence could be collected. Commissioner Elliott expressed apprehension citing the district’s inability to properly implement programs.

Parents, students, teachers, and community members were against rolling out the model. However, the School Board, following the plan of a superintendent who was no longer in our district, decided to disregard the concerns and preference of those who actually have to learn and work in the newly imposed structure.

Our First, Second, and Third grade students are now learning that there are few, if any, relevant consequences to abhorrent behavior.

Our Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth grade students are learning how to use the system to intimidate teachers and school staff so that they can be in charge when they move up.

And, all of our children are being disrespected and institutionalized from the moment they enter our current system of education.

To say this system is working and therefore should be supported by budgeted district dollars, begs the question,

“Is the realistic goal of this School Board to support the failure that is created by an inefficient and ineffective system of education?”

What our youngest students witness during their earliest years of school is crucial to their perception of and attitude toward their entire educational career.

Is there any wonder why our drop-out and truancy rate is so high.

Our children are simply refusing to be mentally and emotionally abused any longer.

Join the Movement to Save Our Children!

A Unanimous Passing

With the exception of Commissioner Willa Powell, who was absent, all School Board Commissioners voted “yes” to approve the 2013-14 Rochester City School budget with the caveat that it can be “worked on” throughout the coming year.

Commissioner White passionately championed offering the Freedom School model at School #17, his amendment to add three support positions along with $120,000 to start the program was voted down, 4-2, White and Adams voting yes.

Commissioner Adams championed an amendment that would shift Title 1 funds from providing eleven technical assistants to teach teachers how to use white boards, which the district has been doing at Hart Street since the late nineties, to supporting our children with the counseling services they may need to transition from a community based support system to a district support system. Also voted down.

The rationale, the community organizations were there to train our staff which has been done. Unfortunately, in too many cases, there was no staff to train and the community organizations became the only counseling services our children received.

If there was any question whether the budget was going to pass or not, there shouldn’t have been. With the same individuals in the same positions, the decisions will be the same.

For too many years we have waited for our elected officials to actually speak with our voice, the voice of the community.

It is evident that the only voice of the School Board is that of corporate interests. Making sure that the grant money continues to flow at the cost of our children’s educational success should not be the vision of this district or its leaders.

It is time for the Rochester community to become active in making sure that the people we elect to represent our voice, to provide an excellent education to our children, have the educational success of our children, as their goal.

Our children deserve educational leaders who are willing to stand against the intimidation of corporate funding and vote to provide them with an excellent education.

Money is not the problem, what our leaders do with the money is.

Join the Movement to Save Our Children!

Budget Hearing Results

Tuesday night Commissioners Adams, Powell, and White urged the other members of the Board present, Campos, Cruz, and Evans, not to vote on the budget Thursday due to the lack of data concerning certain programs.

While everyone would agree that data is necessary in deciding the outcome of a program, data becomes irrelevant if the system being assessed is inherently flawed.

Commissioner White touted the success of the Young Mother’s Program and, according to it’s beliefs and goals, they very well may be successful, however they are still focused on teaching young girls, not parents, how to deal with the “problems of pregnancy” instead of the “joys of parenting”.

The precious life these young parents are blessed to bring forth are seen as a “mistake” made by uninformed youths instead of the choice of unloved youths to experience love in an uncaring environment.

Until we change the perspective of the “teaching” the outcome will be the same, our children will fail to realize their true potential as loving, caring, human beings.

Commissioner Cruz questioned Superintendent Vargas about School #19. Dr. Vargas was very proud to announce that due to the receipt of the Extended Day grant, every child at School #19 will be able to receive an additional 120 minutes (2 hours) of extended learning.

The regular 61/2 hour school day, plus an additional 2 hours, add to that a minimal 15 minutes for transportation, multiply all of that by 5 days a week, and the children at School #19 will be putting in a 45 hour school week, five hours more than adults are expected to work each week.

Instead of extending the school day, extending the school year may prove more efficient and effective. Remove vacations and only maintain National holidays. Children have the opportunity to attend school year round. No summer vacation unless parents decide, according to their schedule, when the family takes a vacation. Observing religious holidays also becomes the parent’s decision.

Changing our system of education is not about who is right or wrong, it is about what is best for our children!

Join the Movement to Save Our Children!

If You Think We’re Having No Effect – Think Again

Recently there have been certain changes to the language being usedconcerning our children.

For example, when you read the face of the district web page, you will see, “Common Core Curriculum and Assessments Resources for parents and educators to learn about the new standards designed to prepare students for success in the 21st century economy.”

There is a subtle difference in the language. Now, instead of preparing our children for the 21st century workforce, which we found objectionable and anti-humanistic, we are designing standards to, “prepare students for success in the 21st century economy.”

The goal is the same since in order to be successful in the 21st century economy, which is based on a system of socioeconomic classism that values the ownership of property over the integrity of the human being, you must work for someone else.

Said simply, the focus of education for this district is on money, not the students and certainly not the child.

The use of the term success in the language is to make us feel assured that they want our children to be successful, however, if that success depends on the acquisition of a skill or skill set that neither inspires nor motivates the child, how can the child be successful.

We must recognize the accomplishments of our voice in creating the necessity for them to adopt language that is more aligned with our goals even though their goal remains the same. It is crucial we understand the power our collective voice is gathering.

Every group, working to evolve our system of education into one that focuses on discovering, developing, and directing the gifts and talents of all children, must continue to push back against the corporate agenda and not be fooled by the revolution of rhetoric being used to keep us separated, maintain confusion, and promote failure.

We’re on the move towards a better education and a better life for our children. The stronger we get, the faster we’ll move, the faster we move, the quicker we will achieve our goal.

Join the Movement to Save Our Children!

More Recently In The News

One of the headlines on the Rochester City School District’s web page states, “RCSD AWARDED $4.5 MILLION MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCY GRANT: Gov. Cuomo Recognizes District for $9.5 Million in Cost Savings”

In reading the article you come to understand that the grant will be awarded over a three year period.

Superintendent Vargas expects $l.5 million a year “to support a new pre-kindergarten program for three-year-old children at Audubon School No. 33; expanded-day learning for more students in 2013-14; a new textbook management system and other measures to continue improving the efficiency of District operations” and that is only if Governor Cuomo actually renders the funds to Rochester.

Reading into the article further, Dr. Vargas also expects “the state grant will allow the District to hire a staff member who can focus on continuing to improve the efficiency of administration and operations.”

This is a lot to expect from money not yet received.

Dr. Vargas is also expecting to apply to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for additional grant dollars.

Will the terms and conditions of this grant be released to the public? Will the Rochester community be able to weigh in on whether or not those terms and conditions are acceptable to the community’s vision for the district?

It is important to be cost efficient when operating a large oganization however, if the district is saving money by denying children the right to receive an excellent, child centered education, then we may be saving money while we are losing children.

It is laudable that our district leader is concerned about district expenditures and he has proven that there is a great deal that can be done to insure a more efficient working organization.

With this Dr. Vargas must realize that when the district works more efficiently we become more independent of the reliance on private funding sources whose vision for our children is very different then theirs.

When we put the educational success of children at the forefront of all decision making, we will see a successful system of education for all of our children.

Join the Movement to Save Our Children!

Policy Questions

As previously stated, the budget is too large a document to review page by page so only those sections that inspired or incited question are to be highlighted.

In keeping with that, under “BOARD BUDGET POLICIES’, BUDGET POLICY (6110), states, “The Superintendent’s proposed budget must include the most recent program evaluation results, which should determine continued funding for existing programs.”

What does the Board consider “recent program evaluation” since there are two programs that have offered no evaluative information, one being in its second year of operation?

Why does the language of the policy say that program evaluation results “should” determine funding for existing programs? Shouldn’t the language read, which “will” determine continued funding?

If that were the case, ArtPeace would still be a successful RCSD program and I’m Ready would have been cancelled years ago.

“The Superintendent, in conjunction with the Chief Financial Officer, will develop a multiyear long-range plan, including plans for budget presentation in both a program-based and school unit format. It will be reviewed annually with the Board of Education as part of the budget process beginning with the 2006-2007 budget process.”

This clause of Policy 6110 alone makes the proposed budget unacceptable for the reasons cited above.

Policy 6110 continues with the Budget Time frame which states, “Budget Adoption by the Board of Education”

Shouldn’t this at least say, “Budget Adoption pending approval of the Board”?

Is it a given that the Board will adopt the budget whether or not parent and community concerns are satisfied?

Unfortunately, this is a given with our current sitting Board.

During budget season, it is never clear how community input affects the budget or the process of preparing the budget. The community is never told what questions or concerns Board members have with the budget in order to determine whether the concerns of the Board are aligned with the concerns of the community.

As well, the community is not informed of the concerns and questions the school community has with the proposed budget.

True transparency would open the process and the results to everyone concerned.

Join the Movement to Save Our Children!