[Mpls] Doug Grow's Mythology

[Michael Atherton]

Steve Cross wrote:

> If it is a societal problem, then expecting the schools to 
> solve the problem is going to be impossible for them.  Society 
> has to fix the problem.  Once it does, then the dropout rate 
> will go down even if nothing in the schools have changed.

There are a number of problems with this argument.

1) Even if it is a societal problem, if we place 
responsibility for the solution on the society, 
we might as well resign ourselves to accepting a 
graduation rate of 51%, because we won't see any 
reform in our lifetimes (we will not be
eliminating poverty in the foreseeable future).

2) There's no need to attribute responsibility
to society as long as the public schools fail to
make reforms that we know to be effective.  Just to
cite a few:
a) Nothing has been done about the problem of there
being a disproportionate number of inexperienced teachers
in minority schools. A problem that everyone acknowledges
is a contributing factor to the poor performance of 
minority students.
b) The MPS still practice social promotion; an educational
policy that is now being reconsidered all over the country.
c) The MPS lack a comprehensive parent involvement
program.  A factor that has been shown to significantly
improve student acheivement.
d) The MPS whole lacks adequate comprehensive vocational 
programs.

> I think that most people could make a rational conclusion 
> once they consider what the makeup of those dropouts are and what
> else is going on in our society that might cause them to 
> think that it is pointless to get a good basic education.  

I assume that you are implying that if the dropouts are 
mostly poor Blacks then that absolves the schools of 
responsibility.  I would argue that it simply implies that 
the schools have not provided programs that are effective 
for minority youth.  Which of our arguments is more accurate could 
be determined by actually implementing the reforms I've cited 
above and observing their effects. Failure to implement 
them places responsibility for the dropout rate on the schools 
themselves, not on the society.

Keep in mind that the MPS have one of the largest achievement
gaps in the country and this isn't due solely to the proportion of
poor minority students.  There are other places in the country
that are doing better.  In fact, there's one just down the river.
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/100_largest/Table16_2.asp
If you access this webpage, try comparing Cincinnati (which is 
57% Black) to Minneapolis (which is 31% Black). Not that these are 
definitive statistics, but they do indicate a need to analyze the 
reason for the differences.

> We have a lot to do.  But it may still be a lot to do with 
> transforming our society and not just transforming its educational
> system.

Or it may not.  The problem is that transforming the educational
system may not be in the best selfish interests of the majority
of White residents in Minneapolis.  Assigning responsibility to 
the society allows liberals to rationalize away their responsibility 
for educational equality and allows them to avoid making reforms 
that are known to be effective.

Dorie Rae Gallagher wrote:

>Subject: RALLY FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS -- 5 p.m. Mon. 2/28 at the Capitol 

If you haven't figured it out yet: money is not the problem.  It's
yet another rationalization for public school failure.

Michael Atherton
Prospect Park