Bushlock once more
So we had “Bushlock” again. Barbara Walters reported on the View this morning that she couldn’t get down her street due to the “blockade”. Well, I for one am happy that the rich and famous are inconvenienced by our fearless dictator….oops leader. Said Barbara “He’s not a king!” King George indeed!
But, now here’s the rub: Dubya was in town to garner support for the next installment of his brainchild “No Child Left Behind”. So he goes to Harlem to visit a school — a charter school. Thanks for a whole lotta nuthin’ George! Why dontcha set foot in the school I used to teach in, in East Harlem? Why not visit a public school and see the kids who are really “left behind”? Were you afraid to meet secondary students who can’t put a sentence together because they were “left behind” in a second-grade time warp? Or the kids falling asleep in class because they haven’t had a proper breakfast? Or would it bother you too much to see kids sharing textbooks because there wasn’t enough iin the budget to get enough? Not a good photo-op, I guess……
Fern, I am glad too. I live across the street from the school he visited and my neighbors had their cars towed because there was nowhere to park within a 20 block radius and event though Bush wasn’t scheduled to arrive until 1 p.m. they had already towed cars by 8 A.M.
I am also an educator at a school in the Bronx (on an extended sabbatical). Our school was pretty good considering but I agree that why look to charter schools as the measure of success for NCLB (initiated by Clinton) instead of the Public Schools who are still struggling to find their footing. The only reason the charters schools are doing better is because they can maintain a level of control not given to public schools and the children are hand picked compared to public schools that must take everyone.
I also find the hours in Charters excessive. For adults and children to have to “work” from 7:30-5:45 six days a week is a bit much. I don’t see kids in the suburbs having to do that. And two hours of homework! When do the parents spend QT with their kids?