88% of D.C.'s 8th Graders Can't Read

[San Goku]

Video - Breaking News Videos from CNN.com

Just watched the link and I love that Rhee girl, shes all about fast change. Change doesn't have to be a long process just because problems were going on for years. I understand ppl concerns it is a radical step for change, but fuck no one else was doing shit until she took it in her own hands. Some ppl just live to have their voices heard and disagree with things, props to this girl. I loved how she fired a bunch of worthless teachers too, clean up this fucking system. Think i'm a call her the asian Obama.

[Cane_The9lives]

Are you kidding me?

Thats pathetic.

Ill check the video later, but does the title of this thread quite literally mean what it says?
How could you let an educational system degenerate to such a degree?

[Azn]

She's giving middle schools up to 100$ a month for attending school and doing well. I hope I heard that wrong, but to pay students to do well in school is nuts. Still, she did fire all those useless principles and teachers. Not sure if this will end up good, or just backfire on her with "everything in chaos" as the woman said. But when a school is ranked last in the U.S., I see where this need for change comes from. Hope it at least ends well.


@Cane. It's being serious. These students are practically retarded, with just a few percentage doing okay.

edit: okay the kids aren't retarded, but uneducated.

[art.rock]

Title might be misleading. I saw the video and the asian lady stated that only 12% of the students are at proficient level. Which means that only 12% are well above the standards, but that necessarily doesn't mean the other 88% can't read.

[Hanukkah Harry]

88% of Memphis can't read, or think.
Yeah, it's as bad as it sound.

On a side-note, now that Kilpatrick stepped down as mayor of Detroit, Mayor Herenton of Memphis is officially the worst mayor in the country.
Don't complain, unless you live here with me.

[Kigga]

Originally Posted by art.rock

Title might be misleading. I saw the video and the asian lady stated that only 12% of the students are at proficient level. Which means that only 12% are well above the standards, but that necessarily doesn't mean the other 88% can't read.

12% are proficient in reading while 8% is proficient in math.

The paying the kids to do well in school is ridiculous. Its a very strong incentive but this will come to bite Rhee in the ass. What happens when there's no more money to hand out?

The raidcal changes, I approve since the satistics are so low. Parents and teachers who complain should ask themseleves why they didn't try to improve their own classrooms or child's education instead of sitting on their hands and playing with their thumbs.

[krozar]

Poverty is a cycle. This is an example of that. Hell, if money gets more of these kids out of the cycle or poverty and crime, then by all means--do it. I am for radical measures to solve such a serious issue. In the 60s it looked as though the ghettos were going to go through a renaissance of education and economic success because of the many civil rights laws pushed through by fellow Texan, LBJ.

However, the cream of the neighborhoods moved away as opportunity came and then crack happened.

It's complicated at so many levels. Being academically successful has become a cultural taboo in some places. It's all a cycle. Good teachers don't want to teach in such schools because the kids don't care at all, they don't care because of neighborhood cultural values, lack of parental involvement caused single-mother homes and/or drugs, and lack of role models in the community.

If it takes bribery and it works. Do it.

Be progressive about this. Traditional thinking fails miserably in this arena.

Throw away your values here. Kids escaping destitution of the crime, drugs, and the cycle of passing that on to future generations takes precedence over your meager internal feelings.

[/win]

kids are being payed to go to school? kids should go to school according to their own will to have a bright and successful future. all this money thats going out to little shitheads like these 8th graders need to be going towards the school system.

[Keerua]

America, fuck yeah


Please stop this poverty excuse, my parents are probably among the poorest in Norway, although we used to be rich (damn you taliban, stealing our shit). I never did bad in school, in fact I am among the top students. Last time I checked schools in the US were free, no?
They should hit their head on a wall and wake the fuck up and start doing something in school, teachers teach you, I am sure about that, so if they put in minimum effort they should be able to read. Unless they of course are dropping out of 8th grade to get a minimum wage job to support their family which I HIGHLY doubt they do.

And I agree totally with you on the second part Krozar, my nephiew keeps asking me if I am a nerd because I go to uni, unfortuantly he is too young to know shit about the world and will only realize that he can't skate or wear bandanas for a living when it is too late.

Give them money for getting good grades instead, depending on the relative improvement they should give alot or little money, I know a couple of friends who got 100+$ when they aced tests (and I got a 'oh that is nice').

Edit: Wow it has been ages since a real thread in this section.

[Marlie]

Another reason why I hate anything that spawns from the D.C/Maryland/Virginia area. I wish I could have got paid for being dumb as shit when I was a kid.

[likoftw!]

Its sad. Money isn't necessarily needed to motivate. I blame parents in a way. For me i go to school mainly for what i see my parents go through i don't want to work as hard as them i rather educate myself make them feel that they actually were a great role model to me and succeeding in school. Its not only the parents but i know its a big part how people aren't well educated.

[Righteous Judgment]

"It need to be a long drawn out process" is that guy for real? how owuld that help the current highschoolers?

[ACCUNE]

I totally agree Krozar with the whole "not cool" thing.Some of these people that live in this area are negative towards certain dreams of others and instill fear within these children.Like certain phrases like "Your Black a&& ain't gonna make it" or "Black people don't do that".That's why many are reluctant to come back to give information because they don't want to be taken advantaged.

[krozar]

Originally Posted by San Gohan

America, fuck yeah


Please stop this poverty excuse, my parents are probably among the poorest in Norway, although we used to be rich (damn you taliban, stealing our shit). I never did bad in school, in fact I am among the top students. Last time I checked schools in the US were free, no?
They should hit their head on a wall and wake the fuck up and start doing something in school, teachers teach you, I am sure about that, so if they put in minimum effort they should be able to read. Unless they of course are dropping out of 8th grade to get a minimum wage job to support their family which I HIGHLY doubt they do.

And I agree totally with you on the second part Krozar, my nephiew keeps asking me if I am a nerd because I go to uni, unfortuantly he is too young to know shit about the world and will only realize that he can't skate or wear bandanas for a living when it is too late.

Give them money for getting good grades instead, depending on the relative improvement they should give alot or little money, I know a couple of friends who got 100+$ when they aced tests (and I got a 'oh that is nice').

Edit: Wow it has been ages since a real thread in this section.

Appears that like you have involved parents. Plus it sounds like you have parent"s".

That's the main key right there. The poor neighborhoods in Norway and America seem a lot different culturally so that's comparing apples to oranges.

Even families that are involved may not have respect for education. This is pretty common in many Mexican-American neighborhoods. You either work with your mind or with your back. In some places the latter is what is expected and not much encouragement for education. Problem is that manufacturing plants are disappearing. That's the problem in rural Texas and causing a lot of problems in small towns.

My hometown is having some plants come in that are building windmill-related stuff because of the wind energy boom there because it's the hometown of T. Boone Pickens. (farm going up outside of town with over 3k windmills.)

To get people into the academic system and out of the manual labor market is a good thing.

BTW yes, many do raise families there with just-over-minimum wage jobs.

[Mika-kun]

Originally Posted by Azn

She's giving middle schools up to 100$ a month for attending school and doing well. I hope I heard that wrong, but to pay students to do well in school is nuts. .

In Canada, Montreal, and also near the reserve...

The Natives are paid to go to school. If they successfully complete their school, they get paid.

How jacked is that?

[x.Cloud]

shit, i need some money. Start this nationwide

[Bara]

Krozar, I disagree that just because it is a single parent household the kids will do poorly. I have been a single mother since my children were 3 and 4 years old. Both do quite well in school. My parents were below poverty level and I went on to college-with children in tow.
It was not easy, but it was done. I'm sick of the excuses. The fact is, the states pay people for doing poorly and not advancing. Medicaid is a "job" around here. A sit at home on your ass doing nothing but playing video games or hanging out job. When that way of life pays as good or better than having to get up and get to work on time-then the education system is not a viable part of a persons life.

[San Goku]

^

Bara the fact is, DC is the worst in America, and i'm sure parent(s) or guardians been doing the traditional send your child to school and hope they do well, my parents did that and luckily I did well. Think of this as like an epademic, with such a large number. It calls for alternative measures to start getting results. Start motivating these kids at a young age, using money as the drive is pretty good I think, and then when their older, you hope that they will want to go to colleges and universities and off their own motivation. Of course money is not gonna solve all the problems, and i'm sure Rhee is smart enough to see that. But how do you or anyone here propose to bring down that retarded number of kids that can't read.

[Keerua]

Smack the shit out of them


No joke

[Bara]

The fact is there is no incentive in the states to do well. In fact it is the opposite. They are taught at a young age that it doesn't matter if you do well or not, you can always go on aide and live "alright"-a lot of times better than the parents/people working 1 or 2 jobs to get ahead. What she is offering to these kids is not that big and hopefully will encourage them to do well. But what I see happening is parents that now push the kids to excel so they can have the money to spend themselves-I truely don't believe these kids will actually see any of the profit here.
I took offense at the constant reference to single(mother) headed households being the problem. In reality, I believe a lot of kids would be better off without one or the other parent in attendance-break the cycle. If a child lives with the "don't bother to work for it you can get it free" attitude, more likely than not that is how they will be later.