vision2020
Re: Levy Comments
Dear Shahab, My Brother in Arms:
Stay with us, Shahab... your voice is valued, if not always agreed with. I
should certainly know about that!
All the best,
Linda Pall
----- Original Message -----
From: Shahab Mesbah <meteor2@moscow.com>
To: <vision2020@moscow.com>
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2001 8:30 PM
Subject: RE: Levy Comments
> Ok... I will bite!
>
> I have been a great supporter of the schools and am generally happy with
> Lena Whitmore school where my children attend school. I am, however,
puzzled
> as to the concrete evidence you seek. The fact that our schools are barely
> above average in a nation that ranks poorly among countries with a
fraction
> of its resources is not enough? Ok... I will give you another. How about
the
> fact that I have to spend 2-3 hours a day supplementing my son's education
> so he actually is challenged? How about the fact that the majority of
> students graduating from high schools are not ready for college. How about
> the fact that most of my students at U of I complain about my junior level
> class being too hard when it is sadly watered down. How about the fact
that
> we do not teach our children the skill of thinking. How about the fact
that
> we spend a lot more money on education that those other countries that
beat
> us but get much less for it. Do we not see that the ignorant children make
> for ignorant adults? Why do you think it is that foreign students breeze
> through American schools? Do we think that foreigners are just smarter?
Are
> there superior brain genes abroad?
>
> I have found the earlier 1-5th grade classes move at a reasonable pace but
> they did not progressively increase the level of difficulty. My son is now
> having problems in 6th grade not due to its difficulty. No... in fact I
have
> started him on far more challenging projects at home and he is excelling.
> His problem is that the substance is not there. At this age, there is a
huge
> need for critical thinking and reasoning skills yet they are still working
> on generating index cards out of stories. They should be working on
> research, report writing, and presenting skills but they have to wait
until
> high school for that... and even then a weak treatment. At some point we
> have to realize that we are not challenging our kids. They are getting
> bored.
>
> I am not suggesting that the English system is appropriate. I went to
school
> in such atmosphere... I did not like it! However, we cannot continue to
> ignore discipline. We cannot continue to allow our children to be victims
of
> mediocrity. We are not preparing our students for hard work. We think we
are
> doing them a favor but in reality, we are committing a great injustice.
They
> will have to compete in this increasingly global world and believe me
> friends... even our college graduates do not come close to those of the
> other countries. It is sad really, we are loosing the intellectual
advantage
> we have due to laziness and apathy.
>
> Having said that I have to admit that I have known many dedicated
educators
> at my children's school. I have mentioned before how fond of this school
and
> its principle I am. This may seem like a contradiction but it is not. The
> problem is not our school system alone. The problem is with us as a whole.
> As long as we go on accepting mediocrity and being mediocre ourselves, we
> will be blessed with mediocre children! We, as a nation, are bringing up a
> bunch of mediocre, lazy, ignorant, unmotivated children. We are too busy
to
> care about our kids. We are quick to blame the schools and the system for
> our own lack of parental fortitude. We treat our schools as a glorified
> babysitter and are amazed when the system fails. The fact is that our
> children are a reflection of us. If we are lazy unintelligent couch
potatoes
> who sit in front of the TV for 4 hours a day we will be unlikely to have
an
> intelligent, motivated, productive offspring.
>
> My purpose here is not to blame the schools, the parents, or the society.
My
> purpose is to blame them all! Stop wasting money in the schools. Start
> challenging the kids. Get your face out of the damned TV and spend some
time
> with your children. It all depends on your priorities. If you are self
> centered enough to not have time for your kids then do not expect them to
> turn out any different that you.
>
> I am sorry if this letter is harsh to everyone. I am sure I will be
> unpopular for this one but I guess that is not a big change. I seem to
enjoy
> a strong level of contempt from most of the members of this forum. But
quite
> frankly... I do not give a damn! When it comes to kids, I am all on their
> side! I am sick and tired of lack of vision and concern about our children
> in this country. I am tired of the children suffering for our stupidity. I
> am tired of people blaming others for their lack of motivation and
> dedication. I am tired of stupid power games in the governing bodies of
this
> country, including the school board, which further erode the resources
> available to our children. I am sick of the parents who have their heads
so
> firmly planted where it was not intended to be and thus utterly failing to
> accomplish their duty. Until that adult population of this country pull
> their head out of their (you know what) we will not change the education
in
> this country... no matter how much money you throw at it.
>
> "Your brother in arms"
> Shahab...
> By the way, since I have been a source of annoyance to most of you in this
> forum and also since I have started working with my son in the afternoons
> after school I will be signing off this forum. I am sure there will be a
> great rejoicing in the land so I feel I am achieving two goods with one
act.
> For those who have shown me kindness, I appreciate it. For those who
taught
> me things, thank you. I feel that it is more important for me to spend
time
> with my children than voice my un-welcomed and unpopular mind.
>
> I wish you all well and hope that Truth finds you,
>
> Shahab...
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: John Davis [mailto:jcdavis@uidaho.edu]
> Sent: Monday, November 12, 2001 7:01 PM
> To: vision2020@moscow.com
> Subject: Levy Comments
>
> I too am concerned with comments by French in the MDN and Danahy on the
> vision listserve, and am disturbed for several reasons.
>
> First, French calls for 'efficient' schools, based I suppose on some sort
> of efficient factory-production model. Well, we just can't do that very
> easily with people; especially given the mandate of American public
> education: a comprehensive successful educational experience for all
> students in a safe, non-threatening environment. It is no small feat to
> accomplish this task, given the multitude of variables our professional
> educators manage (ranging from learning styles and abilities to concerns
> over issues which socially impact their students). While I agree that
> there are some fiscal parameters that our district can and will examine
> from a cost-effective standpoint (technology, transportation, energy
> consumption, etc.) AND knowing that the majority of funds are committed to
> salaries I, and I am sure many others, are quite content with paying an
> additional tax of $.50 to $1.00 per day to ensure that we retain small
> class sizes and the supportive, nurturing environment that is enabled by
> such schools. Keep students in schools within their respective
> neighborhoods. . . and if we have some variation between schools,
> departments, and grade levels regarding class size, so be it.
>
> Second, Danahy claims that our schools are not effective. . . and even
> "stoops so low" (to use his words) to engage in accusations against a very
> professional group of individuals--yes, our community teachers. You state
> strong opinions, but they appear to be just that--baseless opinions, not
> positions supported by evidence. Speaking of evidence, where is
> yours? Even a shred? Have you interviewed and categorized all the
parents
> and children who attend schools other than MSD? Do you examine test
> scores, both standardized and pencil-and-paper? Are you familiar with the
> post-graduate success rate of our students in business, industry,
> vocational programs or college? Are you at all familiar with what our
> children can do? Are you even remotely aware of the quality environment
> our children have in this lovely, provincial community? I suspect not. I
> am not even going to portray my children's experiences, although, suffice
> to say that it is far more positive than your account. . . AND my children
> had experience with MSD and a local private school. It seems as though
you
> harbor some hostility regarding the teachers. . . yes, there is an
apparent
> long-standing 'issue' between the MSD and trustees. . . but, it is time to
> grow up. I expect my current, future, and past trustees to be
professional
> in every sense of the word. Resentment of the past can only lead to
> continued conflict in the future.
>
> I am proud of all of our community schools. . . ALL of them. They are
> staffed by well-educated, well-meaning, bright, articulate professionals
> who work hard to help us help our children be successful in any and all
> endeavors they choose. Do they make mistakes? Of course. Do
> I? You? Yes, we all do. However, it is our responsibility to learn from
> our mistakes and move forward.
>
> John Davis
>
Back to TOC