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Now former mayor Rahm Emanuel / Chicago is a huge advocate of school choice and charter schools.
He/ his administration recognized the substantial declining enrollments in the worst performing schools in the poorest neighborhoods that are dominated by gangs. There is an exodus of people out of the most violent areas - often times out of state. He closed 50 schools which resulted in the elimination of CPS jobs. The union declared war on Rahm.
He also was pro charter, especially non- unionized charters.
Then there’s the School Choice thing which is now 30 years old. Students can apply to up to 20 schools, in order of preference. Getting to/ from school is the student’s responsibility. Most choose the highly selective, merit- based, schools as their top picks. Most don’t make the cut.
School are ranked 1-4, in terms of the local economic conditions, 1 being the poorest. Neighborhood ranking influences outcomes. Those residing in the poorest areas get a bump over those living in more prosperous communities, all else being equal.
Several CPS CEOs have resigned amid bribery and ethic scandals. Did I mention the war between the teacher’s union and the now former mayor?
How about the kids from your school that were bused into poor neighborhoods?
I had an elementary school 0.7 miles from my house, but was bussed into the inner city. This was late 70's, in Charlotte, NC (second major school system to implement busing). We didn't love it at the time, and it surely made me wake up earlier and all that, but it was not a bad experience, and I got to learn a lot from a lot of different people. Very different from my experience before I moved to Charlotte. Before that (before 3rd grade for me), I was in Pittsburgh, and only had two black students in our whole school, they were related. I was not racist, but I was very curious about these people who I had no interraction with, ever. Growing up in Charlotte exposed me to different people, and helped me to understand that that they were just that, people. We all got a good education, and we all had (more) similar educational opportunities.
All in all, it was a good thing.
To answre your question, I was one of those kids, and I'm 51 years old now, successful, and I don't have any regrets. There were of course pros and cons.
I had an elementary school 0.7 miles from my house, but was bussed into the inner city. This was late 70's, in Charlotte, NC (second major school system to implement busing). We didn't love it at the time, and it surely made me wake up earlier and all that, but it was not a bad experience, and I got to learn a lot from a lot of different people. Very different from my experience before I moved to Charlotte. Before that (before 3rd grade for me), I was in Pittsburgh, and only had two black students in our whole school, they were related. I was not racist, but I was very curious about these people who I had no interraction with, ever. Growing up in Charlotte exposed me to different people, and helped me to understand that that they were just that, people. We all got a good education, and we all had (more) similar educational opportunities.
All in all, it was a good thing.
To answre your question, I was one of those kids, and I'm 51 years old now, successful, and I don't have any regrets. There were of course pros and cons.
It's odd you didn't see your two black classmates as just other kids. Young kids usually don't care about differences. In elementary school there was a handicapped black girl who was adopted by a white family, she had a clunky leg brace but would play all the games with us at the playground, no one cared.
I think parents and school should be teaching more about empathy. We cannot be personally exposed to everything and everyone on this planet so let's teach that we shouldn't have to do that in order to understand they are just people. However, we might grow up in very different cultures which should not be forced on each other. Bad areas need improvement but children from better areas shouldn't have to pay for government waste and incompetence and bad parenting. Some of the inner city schools are war zones and if I work my butt off to live in an area with good schools my kid isn't getting on a bus and going to a terrible inner city school, I don't care what color anyone is.
I had an elementary school 0.7 miles from my house, but was bussed into the inner city. This was late 70's, in Charlotte, NC (second major school system to implement busing). We didn't love it at the time, and it surely made me wake up earlier and all that, but it was not a bad experience, and I got to learn a lot from a lot of different people. Very different from my experience before I moved to Charlotte. Before that (before 3rd grade for me), I was in Pittsburgh, and only had two black students in our whole school, they were related. I was not racist, but I was very curious about these people who I had no interraction with, ever. Growing up in Charlotte exposed me to different people, and helped me to understand that that they were just that, people. We all got a good education, and we all had (more) similar educational opportunities.
All in all, it was a good thing.
To answre your question, I was one of those kids, and I'm 51 years old now, successful, and I don't have any regrets. There were of course pros and cons.
You just demonstrated that there is no reason to add the cost and time to busing, since you got a good education were successful going to the inner city school.
Forced govt schooling is bad enough, now Bernie wants to kidnap your child,put them on a bus and take them to the other side of town.
Parents should be making school/education choices, not politicians.
The worst public school districts in the country are in urban areas where the wealthy instead enroll their kids in private schools are are more likely to be able to test into the magnet schools. (or a combo)
I don't see Bernies idea winning him any richer democratic votes in the areas that need this the most but then again he's getting killed with minority voters because he's racist* and Biden is effectively working the "hey I'm buddies with Obama" meme.
*-Team Hillary poisoned that well really effectively.
Bernie isn't going anywhere. At this point it's Biden's nomination to lose. He's been green-lit.
Forced govt schooling is bad enough, now Bernie wants to kidnap your child,put them on a bus and take them to the other side of town.
Parents should be making school/education choices, not politicians.
Here's a deal. For every middle class kid bussed to an inner city school, we will send one inner city family to live in the neighborhood of a left wing politician.
Here's a deal. For every middle class kid bused to an inner city school, we will send one inner city family to live in the neighborhood of a left wing politician.
Ideas for affordable housing in wealthy areas always brings out howls from the locals. The same about homeless projects.
Racial and income diversity is good. However, it can be burden on the students who have to travel so far everyday. A school I went to had a somewhat similar situation, but the distance made it really difficult for black and Hispanic students to get involved in the community. They had zero ties to the area the school was in, and it was a trek by car, so its not like they could easily participate in after school activities.
I'm not sure busing is the answer here.
Busing isn't very "green".
Plus the urban kids suffer from a lack of sleep from having to wake up extra early than their suburban classmates. And they aren't happy that they have less time to hang out with their neighbor friends, and also less time to do their homework.
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