Wish I Was This Articulate

Here's another writer more articulate than I am on the subject of the achievement gap and issues with the schools... this time, my colleague & friend John Cook, writing in the StarTribune today:

His major point: "We have to admit that the achievement gap is not just an educational problem. Rather, it is a byproduct of America's socio-economic, cultural, family and racial crises."

He goes on to illustrate:

"If all kids could attend the school of their choice, there'd still be an achievement gap; pulling some students out of low-performing schools and placing them into so-called "good schools" never addresses the core reasons so many African-American students struggle in the first place. If all schools had unlimited financial resources, there'd still be an achievement gap due to America's unresolved issues of race and class. These factors contribute to poor academic performance, crime, generational poverty and societal prejudice that, in turn, perpetuate the achievement gap.

If all educators had access to world-class staff development and taught the most effective curricula, there'd still be an achievement gap; the breakdown of the black family has reaped economic, social and academic consequences that impede academic progress. If every black child began first grade prepared to learn, there'd still be an achievement gap because not all educators believe black students are capable of learning on par with their white counterparts. Surely, low societal and academic expectations harm student learning."

Thank you! This doesn't let us off the hook - it's still true that the government has ways of holding schools accountable, but not of holding families accountable - but it puts it all in perspective. Yes, we need to have the best curriculum & instruction, the best teachers, and we need to believe in each one of our kids.

Spring Lake Park's school district has a motto: "High Standards for All. High Achievement for All. No excuses." I think that's critical - pointing the finger at the societal and cultural factors that hold our kids back is NOT going to help us progress. But engaging with those factors WILL help us progress, and that's what I call on Dan Samuels and our other critics to do.