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the public schools in pittsburgh do have a lot of kids that embrace education and learning. the problem is there are those that come from the urban environment and its unavoidable ills that are those that contribute to the 'low graduation rate'. still, there are many more students that DO graduate and actually give a damn!
there is only so much anyone can, or should do for the individual. sorry, but that is what i think.
the advantage some school districts may have, vs. Pgh or Philadelphia, say, is that they are smaller communities population wise, and more homogenous economically, and so have less more potential for a greater graduation rate.
I noticed that suburban children are in a homogeneous environment. Everyone has the same everything. PPS students are more diverse racially and economically. 300K incomes along side 36K. The students are more colorful and diverse and this makes for a interesting mix. I agree that you cannot save then all.
So it turns out diversity is not our strength? In history, it rarely is. The best place to see the results is the Balkans.
Oh, I've been waiting to use this (filmed on location right downwind of the new cracker plant at Spencer's in the Beaver Valley Mall, a literal "Shell" of its former self, I'm sad to say):
When they hit so close to home, deflect to because DeSantis, lol
Knock it off and get over yourself. So you’re obviously miserable night and day. This is the day that the Lord has made. I shall rejoice and be glad in it.
Did you actually read the proof that you posted? Obviously not. Florida and PA have similar crime stats. Violent crime is equal with one link and Florida has more violent crime in the other. If PA is crime infested the same can be said regarding Florida. My community is not monolithic or hopeless. You are the puppet here. You also appear hopeless. Republicans are not > Democrats in anyway shape or form. Look at you guys for God’s sake. You are losing control and your foundation has lost its footing. You keep losing and wondering why. It is the nonsensical BS that you continue to focus on without success. The people have spoken.
You stated this exactly, "Yet Florida is a crime infested state."
I showed you that is isn't any different or in a lot of cases better than PA. Keep in mind Florida is has 900+ people moving there each day. PA? Not so much. That state is a powerhouse for our country's future. PA? Well we do have that new cracker plant and we sure have a lot of air quality issues.
You act as though I am a Trumper or something. Hardly. I'm moderate, but changed to Republican because the Democratic Party is out of their minds with their anti-police, woke garbage. They created the most division in our country that I have ever seen with their going nuts when Trump got elected. Protesting, rioting and looting for 4 1/2 years sometimes daily, but mostly weekly. Calling everyone racist if they voted for republicans. It is so a crock of crap and it created a lot of anger. I couldn't be part of a group that felt it was okay to hold each city hostage for 4 1/2 years because they didn't get their way. I voted Hilary and before that ALL democrats for president. ALL. The party changed into a division machine.
If your community is so proud and wonderful, why are so many kids killing people all over our city, and it isn't just drug crime now!? I have never seen anything like it, but without proactive policing and targeting the people committing crimes hourly, this is how we live now. Not very impressive, but if you live in the hood and have all your life, I suspect it is creating normalcy downtown, so it isn't a big deal. At least the East End (good parts) are doing well enough with not so many bums and shootings/stabbings. Plenty of car jackings and car theft from the usual suspects however.
Does anyone on here watch the local news at all? I suspect those that vote for the same leadership all the time don't. We need a Giuliani or a Bloomberg to run our city and clean it up. Ah, one can only dream! I loved going to NYC when they were running it. It was great!
Knock it off and get over yourself. So you’re obviously miserable night and day. This is the day that the Lord has made. I shall rejoice and be glad in it.
You’re describing yourself, and the states don’t lie. They’re just often unpopular, hence deflection to someone that has zero to do with the area. Voting for soft on crime folks that defend and enable criminals has consequences.
You stated this exactly, "Yet Florida is a crime infested state."
I showed you that is isn't any different or in a lot of cases better than PA. Keep in mind Florida is has 900+ people moving there each day. PA? Not so much. That state is a powerhouse for our country's future. PA? Well we do have that new cracker plant and we sure have a lot of air quality issues.
You act as though I am a Trumper or something. Hardly. I'm moderate, but changed to Republican because the Democratic Party is out of their minds with their anti-police, woke garbage. They created the most division in our country that I have ever seen with their going nuts when Trump got elected. Protesting, rioting and looting for 4 1/2 years sometimes daily, but mostly weekly. Calling everyone racist if they voted for republicans. It is so a crock of crap and it created a lot of anger. I couldn't be part of a group that felt it was okay to hold each city hostage for 4 1/2 years because they didn't get their way. I voted Hilary and before that ALL democrats for president. ALL. The party changed into a division machine.
If your community is so proud and wonderful, why are so many kids killing people all over our city, and it isn't just drug crime now!? I have never seen anything like it, but without proactive policing and targeting the people committing crimes hourly, this is how we live now. Not very impressive, but if you live in the hood and have all your life, I suspect it is creating normalcy downtown, so it isn't a big deal. At least the East End (good parts) are doing well enough with not so many bums and shootings/stabbings. Plenty of car jackings and car theft from the usual suspects however.
Does anyone on here watch the local news at all? I suspect those that vote for the same leadership all the time don't. We need a Giuliani or a Bloomberg to run our city and clean it up. Ah, one can only dream! I loved going to NYC when they were running it. It was great!
I'll take Bloomberg, but you can keep Giuliani. So, GG, what do you think about the War in Ukraine? You on "Team Erieguy" -- never should have happened, and great orange savior would have stopped it, or are you in the real world on this one?
I live in the city and raised a couple of kids here. The city kids have more programs than any suburb. As a child my sisters did ballet at the Carnegie while I did ceramics, youth sports such as tennis, golf, and soccer are very popular. Most of these are free to the public. There are some amazing kids in the city doing great things. I can only focus on those that are salvageable. PPS has headstart and Pre K and these are invaluable programs that republicans like to cut funding for. The city just approved 900k for the summer jobs program.
As with any school there are kids that do okay. PPS isn't competitive and is struggling. It also is losing kids left and right, so I suspect more closures and cutting costs as they spend over $30K per student now with low results.
Then there was the wonderful Anthony Hamlet hiring. Compete with his Rolex and travel. Wow was he an expense and a bust.
It would be great if PPS could entice the wealthier set, but SSA, WT and the like are there for a reason.
You can't get more diverse that Fox Chapel's district. Sharpsburg, Blawnox Aspinwall, Indiana twp., O'Hara and Fox Chapel. Now that is a socioeconomic contrast. Of course if FC didn't have Sharpsburg and Blawnox it would have some of the highest scores in the state. Want proof? Sure. Fairview Elementary is rated 1 in the entire state! 1! A public school. O'Hara Elementary is rated 9th due to Blawnox/Aspinwall. Hardwood has a lot of poorer areas and is rated down to 56 Kerr which is where Sharpsburg goes drops down to 83rd. That is where you see the big drop.
Your best school is Colfax rated at 124th. You don't want to know the others.
Statistics are a drag for some, but they provide valuable information.
What is problematic about this characterization, to me, is that when you frame the bad actors as "psychopaths" (or "animals," which some posters use frequently) -- you're backing yourself into one set of potential solutions, which may not actually solve the problem. Perhaps you can start with the framework that, as a teen in the city, arming yourself might be a very rational, non-psychopathic act -- not saying it doesn't merit punishment and condemnation -- just that a reasonable teen may conclude that they need a weapon for protection. Then add in the fact that teens, and in particular male teens, are known for making "bad choices," and further, that the "menu" of bad choices available to urban teens is going to include some options that aren't likely common for suburban teens, and voila, you've got a (non-psychotic based) recipe for disaster. However, when you accept this fact, you open up other potential solutions -- like reducing the overall supply of guns in society.
Plenty of drugs and poverty in poor country towns and poor suburbs and teens aren’t shooting each other. Black youth is a different game. I assume they all are carrying at this point.
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Originally Posted by wpipkins2
But there are countless poverty stricken folks dying in poor country towns. These country towns are drug infested and is no less a threat. Country towns cannot compare to dense urban communities facing decades of neglect.
Poor white people die of overdoses. Their immediate social circle is at risk from their social choices (opioids, meth, etc). In my own family, my cousin overdosed twice. The first time, she was able to be revived. The second time, it was too late.
Poor black people endanger their geographical circle because of their violent tendencies. You dont have to socialize with them to be endangered by them. Shootings at Kennywood, shootings at Ross Park Mall, shootings at Monroeville Mall, shootings downtown.. and of course the recent shooting near the Sunoco on the North Side. In those cases, innocent bystanders were harmed (including being killed!) by the poor choices of poor black people.
A poor white person is going to break into your basement and cut your copper pipes out to sell for scrap to fund their meth habit.
A poor black person is going to start a gunfight in public and kill you with a stray bullet since they dont know how to shoot accurately.
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Originally Posted by wpipkins2
That will do absolutely nothing. The parents behaviors often times are not removed from their children. The apple does not fall far from tree.
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Originally Posted by wpipkins2
Yes but this concern must be initiated early on. Many of these children are not in the care of their parents anyway. Many of them are wards of the state. The most egregious crimes are committed by children that are or were in the care of CYF. Should we jail the caseworkers responsible for the child? Waiting until the monster is created helps little. Many people fail at parenting. This is why my workload is jammed packed with no end in sight.
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Originally Posted by wpipkins2
I never said I was against anything. Parents should be held accountable. If the child is not in the custody of the parent which is often the case…..who do you hold responsible? The guardian? Caseworker? Allegheny County CYF? Or the state? To your own admission….you continue doing the same thing over and over again and it’s not working right? What are you going to do next?
I cannot deal with active criminals child or adult. I do not come from or was saved from criminality. I don’t understand it. I do work with children that are worth the time and effort of saving. It’s called intervention prior to succumbing to the streets. I grew up in the city and graduated city schools but never ever got involved in anything criminal. I can’t relate and will not try.
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Originally Posted by erieguy
Unfortunately, the child doesn’t barely get held accountable, and folks are left to pay the bills for the damages and crimes they commit. Schuman is closed and the poor entitled criminals get dumped back on the streets to become repeat offenders.
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Originally Posted by wpipkins2
There are some amazing kids in the city doing great things. I can only focus on those that are salvageable.
pipkins presents more interesting points. If many of these kids are already not under the care of their parents, threatening negligent parents with consequences will do very little to nothing. I know how under-resourced County employees are, so I am also not in favor of passing liability on to individual case workers or even probation officers.
However, the current situation clearly is not working.
I disagree with pipkins on a lot, but I recognize that he seems to be a good father and an upstanding member of his community and I respect that about him. Some of the language that he used is very telling though. There are kids that can be saved - but there are other kids who are simply too damaged and too dysfunctional to be able to be steered into productive lives.
I dont think that society/government coddling those kids because theyre black and blaming all of their shortcomings on the victimizing effects of 'structural racism' is the answer.
We talk about 'safe spaces'. PPS should be a safe place to teach consequences for their actions and to instill the virtue of 'personal responsibility' into the next generation. Instead, PPS wont suspend students anymore because doing so is 'racist'. Shuman is closed - so juveniles who commit gun crimes are released onto house arrest with ankle monitors. Even if they take those ankle monitors off, there are no consequences for their action. Even if gunpowder residue is found on them, judges toss out the charges.
These children are being taught, literally from the time that theyre born, that they can do whatever they please without ever facing any serious consequences because theyre black and poor, and the wealthy white liberals who set policy in this region (while safely ensconced in their bastions of privilege such as Squirrel Hill, Shadyside, Point Breeze, and Highland Park) are petrified of being labelled as being 'racist' by ever advocating adverse consequences for the misbehavior of impoverished urban black youth.
These children are being conditioned to believe that there will never be any consequences for their actions - is it any wonder theyre killing people? We've given them a sense of impunity, and now our overlords wring their hands and launch 'listening sessions' and launch 'studies' from academics to try to figure out why bodies are being stacked up in the streets like cordwood.
What I'm saying is politically taboo - but anyone who can put ideology aside and look at the facts and logic knows that what I'm saying has some merit.
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Originally Posted by wpipkins2
I noticed that suburban children are in a homogeneous environment. Everyone has the same everything. PPS students are more diverse racially and economically. 300K incomes along side 36K. The students are more colorful and diverse and this makes for a interesting mix. I agree that you cannot save then all.
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Originally Posted by gg
You can't get more diverse that Fox Chapel's district. Sharpsburg, Blawnox Aspinwall, Indiana twp., O'Hara and Fox Chapel. Now that is a socioeconomic contrast. Of course if FC didn't have Sharpsburg and Blawnox it would have some of the highest scores in the state. Want proof? Sure. Fairview Elementary is rated 1 in the entire state! 1! A public school. O'Hara Elementary is rated 9th due to Blawnox/Aspinwall. Hardwood has a lot of poorer areas and is rated down to 56 Kerr which is where Sharpsburg goes drops down to 83rd. That is where you see the big drop.
Your best school is Colfax rated at 124th. You don't want to know the others.
Statistics are a drag for some, but they provide valuable information.
Enjoy.
Interesting points. gg is correct in pointing out the economic diversity of FCSD. Next door in Shaler School District, we have similar situations. My son goes to Shaler, his mom is making close to $300k per year - and hes in classes with kids from Millvale, Reserve, Etna, etc. English is not the language spoken at home at his mom's house either.
Economic diversity does exist in the suburbs, and within suburban school districts.
I do think of Allderdice when I read pipkins post - youve got the kids from Squirrel Hill mixing with the kids from Glen Hazel. I have friends who went to Allderdice - they told of metal detectors and a daycare within the school for students' children. Those dont exist at Shaler, and I imagine they also dont exist in FCSD.
The issues do come down to culture. FCSD and SASD have issues in their communities, they have economic diversity, they have underprivileged areas, and they both have drugs. But the violence doesn't occur in FCSD and SASD like it does in PPS. We cant blame poverty, and we cant blame drugs exclusively - as the suburbs have those ingredients. What the suburbs dont have, and what the city does, is a culture of group violence: gangs operating from (primarily) black neighborhoods. Culture is a factor in these social problems, whether its taboo to admit it or not.
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Originally Posted by burghophilia-03
So, GG, what do you think about the War in Ukraine? You on "Team Erieguy" -- never should have happened, and great orange savior would have stopped it, or are you in the real world on this one?
These obsessions are not normal or healthy. You truly need some help with overcoming your fixations on Ukraine and Trump.
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