Thursday, September 10, 2015

An Uneven Playing Field!

An Uneven Playing Field!

It is only the completion of the first week of school and I am already on Defcon 5 with the way things are going! Normally, my blog is about issues others are encountering and the injustice of those that I work with in the fight for public education. Not today! Not this entry! My son, a 8th grade public school student in Newark Public Schools, ready for a year of moving towards the path of higher education and ya know what, DAD IS SCARED OUT OF HIS FREAKING MIND!  I feel like helping and being so involved in what others' families have been going through, I let certain things in my own child's education slip through the cracks! WTF AS I THINKING!

Let's start from the first day of school. As normal the conversation at the dinner table went something like this ...
Mom: "How was your first day of school today?"
Son: " Okay"
Me: " Just Okay? It' was your first day of 8th grade! Nothing exciting going on for the year?"
Son" Nah! Not really."
Mom: " Do you like all your teachers? Did you get any handouts or anything from your teachers?"
Son: " I got my schedule."
Dad: " Go get it and let's see what you will be doing this year."

This is what he pulled out of his newly organized bookbag:
As my eyes scanned the schedule, they widened at the course schedule that my son was embarking on for his last year of elementary school! It did not sit well in my stomach. Now, lets remember, I am just an average dad. I am not a prolific scholar or expert in the area of curriculum by any means. This however, just did not seem to be a schedule of a 8th grader getting ready for high school! I showed my wife. As her eyes widened the same as mine did, I knew we were in a world of trouble! 

Our son, is a honor roll student and has been so pretty much since he started receiving letter grades. I am sure I must have mentioned before, that he took several years of Mandarin Chinese as a second language before the program was abruptly dismantled. That as well we found out at the dinner table! You would be amazed what you find out at the dinner table! Last year we read of 8th graders taking advance STEM courses and winning technology grants for the school. So, we expected to see more! More than what was on the 5"x 7" mustard yellow piece of paper that outlined the course for the 8th grade year my son had in front of him. 

Now, my wife and I are in the educational fight and have been very involved in our child's school. My son actually goes to my alma mater as did many generations of my family have as well. We know the dwindling of arts and music in the district, but when we saw this schedule it was a great disappointment. My heart had sunken into the pit of my stomach. Had, I been looking out for others so much, that I had failed to look out for what was happening to my own? I could not help but feel a sense that I had failed!

After dinner, I immediately took a snap shot of the schedule and dropped it into a group I am part of on Facebook. This group includes parents that I have gotten t o know and work with from all over the state. Parents, I turn to for help, advice and for knowledge that I may lack. We are talking about parents who know their stuff! Most sit on their towns Boards of Education, know curriculum and some even educators as well as parents. The response I got was horrifying! More horrifying than I thought the response would be. I was expecting some reaction , but what I got was almost embarrassing! These are people I respect and I was totally and utterly humiliated! Not by them, but by the lackluster schedule that son's school district felt was suitable for a child who has aspirations of becoming an Architect! Who says "Dad, lets look up Pratt! That's the college I want to go to!" 

As the conversation in this group grew, and parents dropped pictures of their kids schedules some from suburban areas and some from other urban districts, I was like wait a minute. OH HELL NO! We are talking straight up 90210 type of schedules. Ya know...like the ones you see on TV shows about school and wish you went there. Some of these schedules even a hop skip and a jump away from right where we are! The feeling of being dupped intensified as my phone pinged with notifications from our parent group.  I looked at schedules like the one below ( and this is just one example) and I was left with a sincere feeling of shock and dismay!
I would be lying to you if  a bit of jealousy came over me. I wanted for my son what their kids had! Fair and equal opportunity to a great education. Know, don't take me for a complete fool. I know in suburban and better off communities the resources differ from district to district. Hell, Newark, is fighting to keep schools open! Never mind, having courses like Ceramics and Google Hacks. Ceramics, by the way is a course I did have in 8th grade at the very same school my son attends but no longer is available.  The stark differences a child revives in education from district to district is an amazing and stark reality of how different  and uneven the educational playing field is for our children. My friend Julie B even wrote a great blog about it after seeing my son's schedule titled "  This Is 8th Grade In Newark " 

His schedule is packed with ELA, Math & Science. We are very concerned about the amount of time he has in ELA. A family member who is a teacher said that he is sharing his ELA periods with Social Studies. I didn't feel too confident about that. My son, actually took the PARCC last year, he did pretty well on ELA so why this year give him a schedule filled with ELA. Now, I may not know much , but I do know that Common Core standards do focus on ELA & Math. My wife said for me to calm down and see what happens when he actually takes the Social Studies component of the schedule. So I cooled off and waited a day or so for his courses to begin. Today, I followed up with him on what was going on and here is how the conversion went.

Me:" So how is Social Studies going?"
Son: " ok"
Me: " So how was it? what did you do?"
Son: " Nothing really."
Me: "Nothing? What do you mean nothing"
Son: " No my teacher didn't have her teacher's manuals and her Power School Program was down."
Me: "What is Power School and what did you do the whole time?"
Son: Power School is how she records our grades. She had no way of recording what we are doing. Plus, she didn't have her books so she really couldn't teach us or give us any homework.Tuesday we  Yesterday we created emojis of ourselves."
Me: "What about today?"
Son" We broke up in our project groups and discussed the whole class what we wanted to do for our project. My group is doing research on the people defecting from Sierra to other European Countries and how they only allow a certain amount of immigrants to cross their boarders."
Me: " How long did it take you to pick your group and discuss what you are going to do? "
Son" About 15 minutes."
Me:" What did you do the rest of the time?
Son: "Just talked in our group." 

After about 15 minutes of trying to understand this " Social Studies" period in his class and the lack of work done over several days, I decided to drop the subject and move on to ELA. I asked for him to show me his ELA workbook and the reading that was attached.  The work book,is about 25-30 pages. A boring, dull and monotonous work book that is tied to a book entitled Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai. The experience of an immigrant's passage to the US and the fall of Saigon. Seems very interesting, but the freaking work book was a total buzzkill. Was this simple workbook as the cover is titled "Paths to College and Career" going to get my boy in to the doors of Pratt as he is so eager to attend? Would it elevate his thinking to a state of mind that would have him contend with the children across the state? Hell I am not even reaching as far as to say across the world anymore. Somehow I don't think this 38 page workbook was going to do the job! At this point after seeing schedules and hearing how my friends across the state in other districts 8th grade kids are having engaging experiences and its not even the end of a full week! I did a little digging and this material is just a product of more Common Core Standard BS material being forced down our throats. Manufactured by PCG a publishing clearinghouse for Common Core educational materials. A business partner of Pearson.



I am totally frustrated at the inequality of education that is running through this state and this country! Ye s and maybe even a bit jealous of some of my parent friends throughout the state.  Don't get me wrong, love my city! Love my Newark Public Schools. I am a product of traditional Newark Public schools, and far from a genius, I am surly no dummy. If you would have asked me as a kid walking through the same halls as my child, if having an enriched education full of academics, art and culture would be enhanced or reduced in the future I would definitely have said enhanced. I could have marched my way down to the central office in our district and complained. Hell, some of those same friends said, " PULL HIM OUT!" These same friends also were simply flabbergasted at the fact that my son, just like me had remained in the same school since he was in kindergarten. So to pull him out in the 8th grade, not a good move and something that we just could not do to him. I could have fired off a gruffy email to his principal. Instead, I think I will just wait until next week...IT'S OPEN HOUSE! BOY DO I SURE HAVE A MOUTH FULL!   Until then, I will continue checking in daily at the dinner table! 







41 comments:

  1. Frankie, you and your wife are in a unique position to speak about what schools were like when you were attending there. State control was supposed to make things "better" right? So, how is lack of arts, music, and humanities making things "better?" Obviously it's not. In your son's case, he wants to be an architect. History, humanities, art, all inform that profession. They give perspective to what happening in current times.

    This has sparked outrage from all corners of New Jersey. This is not what any child's schedule should look like.

    Solidarity from the suburbs!

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    1. Education is often first on the chopping block when it comes to balancing budgets, and here we have the result. It's nauseating.

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    3. Well said, Julie. As an architect who just quit practicing and now consult only, I second your general sentiments regarding a well-rounded architectural education.

      In fact, math, structures, and engineering have less and less of a role in architectural practice (something I deplore) to the point where many programs require no math courses and only three courses total in structures or structural engineering: 1) Statics and Strengths of Materials; 2) Steel 3) Steel Reinforced Concrete.

      Calculus used to be mandatory but is now required at fewer than half of all architecture schools. An engineer's stamp (her lawful approval) is now required in most states on any building design larger than 3,000 square feet (a good sized house). Taking away from the architect the need to document and prove the integrity of his building's structure has caused many schools to treat architecture as glorified set design.

      In any case, it's never too soon to get the course book from any architecture school a child is interested in attending. Visiting firms is also a good idea. 99% of firms do their work almost exclusively on computer, so a student should have a very solid background in Computer Assisted Drafting (whatever the latest version of that production tool is) and in architectural design software such as Form Z. The profession is very different from what most people believe it to be. There's a mandatory three-year internship after graduation for which the wages are surprisingly low, and the pretext is that it trains new architects. In fact, it serves primarily as a source of cheap, skilled labor (most students graduate with a masters in architecture and in Europe would be able to go directly into their own practice) for existing firms.

      A child had better love architecture for it to be worth his or her while. I've never regretted going into the field, but last I looked something like 90% of graduates from architecture school do NOT become registered, practicing architects. It's a very tough field to be successful in, the registration exam is harder than the bar exam is for would-be attorneys, and no one puts in longer work weeks than architects.

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    4. Thanks Jack for your insight on the field. He is very interested and I will definitely try my hardest to get him what he needs early on! I wish they had young internships for kids so they could get the jump on it sooner.

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  2. My apologies in advanced if this get a bit lengthy...

    For starters, I'm a 29 year old guy that went to a regular school and was a regular student. And by that, I mean I was no honor student. Didn't take a language when I was in 8th grade or younger nor did I take ceramics or any of that jazzy stuff. I'm looking at your sons schedule without reading your post first and thought to myself, "Damn! This is a damn good schedule". Then I read your post and realized that you were not pleased with your son's schedule. And if I'm reading this correctly, that's because he's not taking STEAM, Google Hacks, and other cool sounding shit.

    What the fuck is Google Hacks. STEAM? Are you serious. STEAM is Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. Call me a fool, but drop that A shit. It's STEM, not STEAM. Plus he's already taking an art class on Tuesdays.

    As for the amount of math and science courses, I think that's awesome. Seriously! Load up on those classes and have your son enjoy them. And as for the ELA/SS...I think a writing project on what's happening in Syria (I'm guessing you didn't mean Sierra) is such a great topic. Holy shit! If done right, your son is going to learn so much from this project. Shit that matters to. Real shit. Hell man. I wish I was doing papers like that in 8th grade.

    Now back to this Google Hacks class...A little background about myself. Like I said, I was an okay student. Went to college and got my BS in Electrical Engineering. Now I'm finishing up my Master's in it. Work as an Engineering and blah blah blah. Yeah...I have no idea what a Google Hack class is all about. If anything, it's a joke of a class made to sound cool.

    I hope I'm not coming off as too much of an asshole, but seriously man...This schedule looks respectable. Mind you, it's all about how their taught and how your son engages in these classes too. I'm all about math and science courses. And that SS project sounds amazing for an 8th grade. If anything, I would be concern with how the teachers teach. Not being able to do shit because they don't have their book or whatever grading thing. I would be more upset about that then the kind of classes taken.

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    1. What type of schedule do your kids enjoy? My 7th grader's schedule is more interesting than this. History, Math, Science, Art History, Engineering...and at a public school.

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    2. If the kid is not engaged in his courses because the subject matter is too boring and monotonous, then he will not learn much. You need to stimulate all parts of his brain in order to keep his interested and curious. Too much science, math, and (to a lesser extent) English will kill that curiosity and drive to learn. Like the author of this blog said, his son interested in architecture so he will need more classes in history, art, and like subjects. I would pull my kid out of this school and put him in a charter school although that probably is not an option at this point since the school year started.

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    3. I will reply in general. I as a traditional Public School Dad, who has came through the same public school as my son. Who had in the 8th grade, ceramics, Opera Appreciation, Performance Art, G&T Computers as well as in class learning...that's what I want. NO THAT'S WHAT I EXPECT FROM MY ALMA MATER AND MY SCHOOL DISTRICT. Some may think there is nothing wrong with this schedule. I expect more. I am not pro charter. I am in touch and speak to many other districts and they have enriching curriculum. Not just blocks of ELA and MATH and a sprinkle of science. Are you kidding me, if you think that is a great schedule than I suggest that you fine tune your knowledge of the what makes a young mind excel in today's competitive age. I don't look at school like a sitting service, I don't look at school like an agency for making my child standard through all day test preps! I look to school to prepare my son for a WELL ROUNDED and EQUALLY enriched educational experience. Art , Music, Language, Science /Technology and History taught by teachers!

      To the gent who said , " Drop the A" obviously, you have now idea that STEM has now moved to STEAM and the schools using STEAM programs are able to cultivate the minds of our future generation. So while some of you may settle for less and than throw your kid an iPad, i demand more!

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    4. I will reply in general. I as a traditional Public School Dad, who has came through the same public school as my son. Who had in the 8th grade, ceramics, Opera Appreciation, Performance Art, G&T Computers as well as in class learning...that's what I want. NO THAT'S WHAT I EXPECT FROM MY ALMA MATER AND MY SCHOOL DISTRICT. Some may think there is nothing wrong with this schedule. I expect more. I am not pro charter. I am in touch and speak to many other districts and they have enriching curriculum. Not just blocks of ELA and MATH and a sprinkle of science. Are you kidding me, if you think that is a great schedule than I suggest that you fine tune your knowledge of the what makes a young mind excel in today's competitive age. I don't look at school like a sitting service, I don't look at school like an agency for making my child standard through all day test preps! I look to school to prepare my son for a WELL ROUNDED and EQUALLY enriched educational experience. Art , Music, Language, Science /Technology and History taught by teachers!

      To the gent who said , " Drop the A" obviously, you have now idea that STEM has now moved to STEAM and the schools using STEAM programs are able to cultivate the minds of our future generation. So while some of you may settle for less and than throw your kid an iPad, i demand more!

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    5. Let us know how you make out with the school board because demanding more on your blog isn't going to get you much. How come you are just now noticing this if you're so involved with your son's academic life? Do you mean to tell me that 6th and 7th grades were woldly different? Some things you need to ask the school board: If the STEM/STEAM course encompasses Arts and Technology, why are there separate Art and Technology courses offered - aren't they redundant? Are there other courses like music, home ec, languages offered? Are the students involved in picking their own courses? What about HS? Will your son have access to alternative courses like Financial readiness, Psychology, Sociology, Google Hacks, Public Speaking? Personally, I feel you've missed your window of opportunity for making changes to your your son's school year unless you want to move him to another school that has the cool courses you're looking for.

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    6. FA...Relying on your child's school to make him a well rounded individual is a mistake. From these classes (Mind you this is 8th grade), how is he at a disadvantage? Lack of programming? Buy him a $30 Arduino board, a $30 book by Jeremy Blum and about $50 or less of parts from Digikey.com. Go through that book and your son will be a head of any other child in not only his class, but I'm sure his school district. Mind you this is more of an embedded programming. But I hope you get the point.

      Lacking the arts? Take him to the museum. Lacking humanities? Listen to NPR. Lacking music? Tell him to start a rock band in the garage. You see what I'm trying to get at? It's not the school's responsibility to provide everything to your son. Get the basics down and build up that foundation. In high school: expand those skills and take more entertaining courses. And if the courses are not available then why not do things on his own time.

      As for the 'A'...As an engineer, I just find it ridiculous that the arts are now grouped with STEM. Don't get me wrong. Art! It's good shit. But why the combining of the five? And again, I'm all for STEM. It's fantastic. I wish that shit was around when I was in school. Instead, I just did things on my own time and learned from doing.

      You want your kid to excel in life. Get into a good college? Good job? I'm assuming this is what you're aiming for considering your original post, then teach him now to take the initiative and to learn on his own. Anyone can do well in school, but let's see how many people do cool and fun shit on their own time.

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    7. Frankie, this is my son's Freshman year high school schedule (though split to A and B days)

      Calculus
      Chemistry
      Biology
      Physics
      English
      History
      Music
      Study Hall (time to do homework--among the most appreciated periods)

      Next year will be
      Calculus
      Biology
      Physics
      Chemistry
      English
      History
      Music
      Computer Programming

      The local "award-winning" Middle School was a joke. Thank goodness he took online courses and we insisted on math courses at the high school.

      A few thoughts. One, on their own, grades are essentially devoid of meaning. In an age of Zimbabweanesque grade inflation, you need need tangible evidence of their levels. Schools have too much at stake and have become masters at using grades to mollify students and bait parents into lowering their standards. Even teachers who wish to be more rigorous in their assessments are attacked by both administrators and parents.

      Two, I agree with those who place importance on fundamentals. As has been pointed out, American kids are extremely poor at expository writing (the bulk of writing in university). Moreover, most American students are ill-prepared to do battle in the globalized educational arena in areas of math and physics. This partially explains why 75% of grad students at our top engineering schools are foreign-born and come from schools that don't have watered-down curricula and numerous distribution requirements or which house their undergraduates in suites with granite countertops and lazy rivers.

      3. Within these fundamental courses are many opportunities to explore both the conceptual and architectural beauty of this world as found through math and science. Moreover, deeper study of the humanities (English, History, Art) as well as social science is only possible through excellent writing and critical reading skills.

      If you are fabulously wealthy, then of course you have the option to buy your children a bespoke education or to employ them regardless of their ability to contribute. However, for the lower, middle and the lower tier of upper income parents, they need and want sufficient rigor to get their kids to the next year to keep all options open and to help their children get the lives they want in this increasingly difficult global economy. Whether it is school, being a commercial pilot, nursing,working polytechnic jobs in robotics, 3D printing, CAD, etc., the gap between academic and non-academic tracks is no longer so wide.

      I encourage you and your wife (and later include your child) to go through the exercise of mapping out a four year high school plan, taking into account the kid's interests and abilities as you see them. The process is interactive and you will find out a lot about the educational philosophy behind the curricula of schools your children might attend, advantages and limitations, and the bureaucratic barriers that are there for no good reason and for which you may pay a high price. Prerequisites in particular can be odious, particularly in the sciences.

      Finally, with a solid curriculum in place, your child should be free to explore the rest of the world around him, including taking up a part-time job, volunteering, making things, hanging out with friends, doing club stuff, sports, etc. These these are great but present so many parents with tremendous stress knowing their school curricula is watered down. Note that when a kid is in a solidly rigorous program, parents wish to provide balance to the child at home through art, crafts, and fun things. But when the school (and it can be private or public) fails at its duty to educate the child, parents see play time as a huge opportunity cost.

      I have had to fight tooth and nail for this curriculum. My child is doing very well. I have no grand design on his future, but I know he will have far more options with a real education and critical thinking and reading skills across a wide spectrum than were I to give in and make his youth one giant weekend.

      I wish you all the best. Not easy, this parenting thing...

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  3. That kind of schedule seems designed to turn kids into dropouts. With only hard subjects their grade point average will be lower compared to a student at a school with a more diverse set of subjects.

    And where is history class?

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  4. If the the subjects are covered well and at the appropriate level it is a perfectly adequate schedule. Other stuff can be done out of school. If on the other hand you are spending time remediating the basics it would be nice to have some frills at school.

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    1. what do you tell the parent who has to work12-14 hr shifts to support the family and cant afford the "Other Stuff"

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  5. I prefer to communicate via e-mail, Frankie. Please send your e-address to me: allan.reelfathers@gmail.com. And feel free to check out my organizational website @ www.reelfathers.org.
    Like your passionate advocacy!

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  7. Cigarsnob, you come off as willfully obtuse. Do you really not see a difference between having art once a week instead of band and choir everyday? The year round electives may have silly names, but statistics, programming, and creative writing are important expansions on basic subjects. And the amorphous "math" and "ELA SS" are very concerning; I suspect they are code for test prep over a real curriculum.

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  8. Band and choir everyday? Maybe school is different these days, but I had violin classes twice a week. The rest were math, history, English, and PE. And I'm sure some other stuff that I'm not recalling, but electives like these in my opinion should be more available in high school.

    I hope the math and ELA/SS courses are not geared towards just rest preping as that's a waste. Without knowing either way, I'll just leave it at that. It sounds like the kid is getting a great opportunity on created writing by writing a report about what's going on in Syria. I serious world event that's currently going on these days and he's doing a paper on it. How is that not awesome? Informative? Creative?

    Statistics in 8th grade? Considering kids can hardly do pre-algebra, I would focus on pre-algebra, algebra, and pre-calc in preparation for high school. Then in high school take those statistic courses when the math foundation is there.

    I'm not trying to be incentive, I just don't see why the father is complaining when his kid is taking (assuming their taught with quality and depth) courses that will give his son a solid foundation for high school. Then enroll in those fun electives.

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    1. Is this truly a solid foundation? Come on now!

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    2. What's a solid foundation for an 8th grader with explanations, please.

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  9. Their are good charter schools in the area, maybe it would be best to send your children to one of them. http://www.kipp.org/school-content/newark-collegiate-academy-a-kipp-school

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  10. I was and am a consumer of formal education, being enrolled in a class more than 50 years after high school graduation.

    50 years ago, we had an incoming new principal. He announced that classes and majors in areas like home economics, auto repair, woodshop and art were being eliminated. Everyone was going to college!!

    50 years later, an examination of my class found the usual number of hairdressers, cooks, plumbers, auto mechanics and so forth.

    50 years ago, you were told if you wanted to make a fortune, you became a medical doctor and established a solo practice. Didn't turn out to be a good piece of advice.

    The art majors - today the major is recast as graphics designer.

    If you can get your children to have a love of learning, a curiosity about the world, and to become a self starter, he is way ahead of being college bound. UCLA has over 3000 undergraduate majors in psychology. Is there a demand for 3000 new marriage and family counselors in this area? Just "going to college" can be warehousing for another 4 years.

    Oh - the "enriched classes" of 50 years ago? I saw them as meaningless as presented. You got a lot more homework and colleges were dubious about "enriched classes".

    Yes, the best earners are communicators. Get your kids into speech classes, debate societies. Have a local manufacturer's representative take your child along with him on sales calls. Ask the local sales manager for the car dealership to let your child watch him sell.Take your son to the rotary meetings. Have your child join toastmasters.

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  11. I share your frustration. As an education entrepreneur, I have been involved in this battle for 20+ years. With property taxes as the basis for funding public schools, strong union and political structures, discussion never, and I mean, never lead to meaningful financial reform. Wealthy districts have no reason to allow for funds to cross to lower income districts. The federal government through Title I redistributes in excess of $50B annually but it is aimed exclusively at the poorest neighborhoods, which will not help the middle class.

    At the end, the only real solution centers around some form of choice - be they public school, charters, or vouchers. There is no reason that the only choice for your child's public school is based on where you live. You can go to any college, go to any hospital, or to any supermarket. Why are you forced to only go to your district's schools.

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  12. This is affecting all races of lower income groups. We live in a rural community in Maine and our HS has a bare bones course offering. There are no electives beyond art and music. The district is robbing Peter to pay Paul just to keep the doors open. All public schools should be equal but as the income gaps continue to grow in favor of the rich so will education.

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  13. Good luck in your fight against the school district. At first glance, the schedule doesn't look bad. Statistically, students in poorer areas need more help with Math and English, so spending more time there makes sense for the district to emphasize. If your child is not an average student, and doesn't need extra Math and English, then of course you should fight to get him in more advanced classes.

    I also predict you'll be in a different school district within two years.

    You're dealing with a collective action problem, and those are always tough to tackle. Let's say you are a parent that cares about education. If you stay and fight, at best, you can improve your school district by some amount, with no guarantees of victory and probably too late for your own child to benefit. If you move, you are guaranteed a better education for your child. Most people, if they can afford to, will move. This adds an active, participating parent to the good school system, and removes one from the bad school system. The good system has just gotten better, and the bad system has just gotten worse. The good system adds a good student, and can allocate the income for that student to better classes. The bad district has lost a good student, so on average, spends a bigger percentage of it's budget on discipline and remedial issues. The next parent that comes along now has even more incentive to move, and over time, this becomes a self-selecting filter.

    At some point, there aren't enough good students in the bad district to justify special classes for them. Hopefully Newark hasn't reached that point. I also hope you'll stay and fight to improve Newark schools. That would improve things a small amount for a large number of people, but you will see less personal benefit. However, I wouldn't think less of you for leaving, if that turns out to be your final choice.

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  14. I will fight for the best and I demand more. As a Dad if I didn't I would be an epic fail!

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  16. There's nothing you can do. The schools are controlled by elected school boards members who are funded by the teacher's unions. You could have them raise local school taxes, but the school board may just raise teacher salaries. However, if your child is scoring in the 90th+ percentile of standardized tests, you could probably get a scholarship to a private school. You can also use Khanacademy.org for all your students learning. My daughter used it during the summer to skip a grade. Teachers are slowly starting to embrace it. My daughter now has it for homework in middle school. It's free and offers many AP classes. The school district will accommodate AP testing at another school. You may need to escalate to the superintendent level or elected local officials. You can make it happen. But the most important thing is to understand what your student should be learning and make sure he/she is. Doing this is now possible with Khanacademy.org. Your son should be learning algebra in the 8th grade. If he isn't, have him catch up on Khan. There's no excuse anymore. Your school may not offer public speaking, but without the ability to write, read and do math, it's useless.

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    1. I intend to fight and raise a voice for the parent that cant!

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  18. You are talking to a father who has written grants for this school for outside art and education programs, volunteers at the school and teaches hip hop. We put on show cases and have a house band at the school. I have just received a 6k grant from the National Archery in the Schools Program ( in which I am a certified instructor) to bring indoor Archery into the school. I was an Arts & Education Coordinator for a performing arts center and my son is very much exposed to arts. We recently spent a weekend in Philadelphia last month where we went at his request to the Franklin Institute to see the Art of the Brick Exhibit! He is on a well known traveling soccer academy. He joins me as a speaker at the NJ State House and speaks on his own free will about the inequality that he and his peers face in the urban society. Not all families in my community or in urban communities have the means to do these "EXTRA" activities or able to bring an outside culture to their homes to supplement the school experience. Why do we do we do these things? BECAUSE THEY WERE EXPERIENCES WE LEARNED WHILE IN THE CLASS IN TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Why don't I just remove my kid? Get a better Job? Move from the area? Unlike most, I dont run while the going gets tough! I'd like to swap just for one day...some of these negative commentators would be running for the hills!

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  19. Welcome to the politics of school BS.

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  20. Mr.Adao, thanks for your blog. You have reached a mom in Savannah, GA who is equally worried and horrified about public education in her town. Most people with any money at all transfer their kids to private school or charters in 6th grade because the middle schools are so abysmal. This usually means a large racial divide-up of kids that had gone to school together for all of elementary school. It also means gigantic waiting lists for potential students who must enter an academic "lottery" for charters and the "better" public and private schools. Everyone knows that the child that can't escape the usual middle school route in their zone is "Doomed" to a poor education and an unsafe environment. Your article made me want to throw up all over again because I am so worried about where I can send my child for her 6th grade year. Thanks for sharing and good luck.You are not alone.

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  21. Mr.Adao, thanks for your blog. You have reached a mom in Savannah, GA who is equally worried and horrified about public education in her town. Most people with any money at all transfer their kids to private school or charters in 6th grade because the middle schools are so abysmal. This usually means a large racial divide-up of kids that had gone to school together for all of elementary school. It also means gigantic waiting lists for potential students who must enter an academic "lottery" for charters and the "better" public and private schools. Everyone knows that the child that can't escape the usual middle school route in their zone is "Doomed" to a poor education and an unsafe environment. Your article made me want to throw up all over again because I am so worried about where I can send my child for her 6th grade year. Thanks for sharing and good luck.You are not alone.

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  22. For the Eighth Grade, I attended Omaha Public Schools during the 1983-84 school year.
    At the time, we had a successful desegregation busing program, and the district covered the entire socio-economic spectrum. (3rd and 9th grades were spent downtown, 7-12 were spent further west. My neighborhood was middle-class.)

    What I wonder, having read about your son, is this:
    Is there an honor's or college prep program within your school? Are talented students discovered and placed into more rigorous classes? (I believe the District used the California Achievement Test, but this was decades before they became mandatory.)

    Not only does this help the students, it helps the school boost test scores. Teachers usually fight to teach these courses, because the students are less problematic.
    For me, Math, and the three CORE classes (history, literature, social studies) were honor's level Eighth Grade. Everything else on my schedule was "normal".

    Because of that, I was also tracked into the honors and AP classes in high school. (Again, the basic classes: English, History, Calculus, Chemistry, Physics)

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  23. I would be far more concerned about what is being taught and how than the name of the classes. I also had Math, LA, SS, and Science as my core classes in middle school, though I know we also had more electives than your son - music, PE, and a language were all mixed in well. Those classes served quite well because the teachers really helped me learn - I was well prepared for high school and one of the best colleges in the country. A group project on Syrian refugees is great - a teacher who lets the class waste 35 minutes not so much. Reading real books in Language Arts class on the immigrant life - excellent (also a good reason to combine LA and SS and teach integratively); a boring workbook sounds like a recipe for disaster. It's all about how it's taught. Don't be conned by gimmicks like a class in google hacks - those things should be part of LA and SS. Sports stats should be part of math. Ceramics should be part of art. I do believe your son's school is probably deficient in great teachers, supplies, infrastucture, and many other things, but don't go by just the words on the page that fancy school use to sell parents that their kids education is so great.

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  24. lol, a class on google hacks taught by someone who learned google in their 20's (presumably) to students who have used google their entire lives. It seems like a total waste of time imho.

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