WBAI – June 1st 7PM.
Listen at http://archive.wbai.org/
Comments
It was good. Carmen Alvarez did a fine job of stating the UFT’s position in support of Mayoral Control as it currently is without any meaningful changes.
Pat Connelly referred to Molly’s comparison of Harlem Charters to Harlem Public Schools.
Also, Mimi R. cited the title of one of our gem leaflets, Fix Our Public Schools, No to charters – don’t privatize.
The call-ins were on target too. (e.g. Sam Anderson).
Grassroots Education Movement 
Thank you! But I also wonder if black and Latino eomllnrent in STEM schools like Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, and Brooklyn Tech have as much to do with poor standards in schools as it does with the increased options prospective high schoolers have about where to attend and what to study. I am also curious as to whether parents have concerns about the size of the specialized high schools. Brooklyn Tech’s population has always been in the 3,000-4,000 range, the size of some of a small college. This could also deter a parent from considering these schools. I am a graduate of Brooklyn Tech. My junior high school in Bed-Stuy, at the time, was a magnet school. We had mandatory test prep for the SHSAT and took freshman-level classes, allowing many of us to advance to sophomore and junior-year classes in math, science, and language. Many of my classmates had already fulfilled a third of the requirements for the Regents diploma, having taken classes at Science Skills. This all occurred before the state increased its emphasis on statewide testing that forced teachers to teach to the test as opposed to cultivating an environment that fosters learning. Today, my junior high school is no longer a magnet school. Why is that? What happened to the standards after my principal retired? What is it that parents need to know to ask the administration about their child(ren)’s education and environment? Who is advocating for parents and children on these issues?
Posted by Ebenezer | February 8, 2014, 9:49 pmThank you! But I also wonder if black and Latino enrollment in STEM schools like Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, and Brooklyn Tech have as much to do with poor standards in schools as it does with the increased options prospective high schoolers have about where to attend and what to study. I am also curious as to whether parents have concerns about the size of the specialized high schools. Brooklyn Tech’s population has always been in the 3,000-4,000 range, the size of some of a small college. This could also deter a parent from considering these schools. I am a graduate of Brooklyn Tech. My junior high school in Bed-Stuy, at the time, was a magnet school. We had mandatory test prep for the SHSAT and took freshman-level classes, allowing many of us to advance to sophomore and junior-year classes in math, science, and language. Many of my classmates had already fulfilled a third of the requirements for the Regents diploma, having taken classes at Science Skills. This all occurred before the state increased its emphasis on statewide testing that forced teachers to teach to the test as opposed to cultivating an environment that fosters learning. Today, my junior high school is no longer a magnet school. Why is that? What happened to the standards after my principal retired? What is it that parents need to know to ask the administration about their child(ren)’s education and environment? Who is advocating for parents and children on these issues?
Posted by naijasportsgists.com | February 10, 2014, 2:19 am