Beverly Hall’s success led to willful blindness about cheating
In the beginning, there was The Mission.
When Beverly Hall came to Atlanta in 1999 to serve as superintendent, she brought a powerful commitment to improving city schools. She did not believe that a child’s socioeconomic status determined his or her destiny, she said, and she was adamant that even in — especially in — low-income urban neighborhoods, public education could transform lives.
So she set about to prove it, and she has done so. In Hall’s 11 years as superintendent, she has produced results that current controversy should not diminish. Atlanta schools today are better run, teachers and administrators are more student-focused, graduation rates are higher and thousands of children are being given more control over their own destinies.
Yet when Hall announced last week that she would not return as superintendent in the 2011-12 school year, the news was greeted not with disappointment but relief. That’s because somewhere along the line, The Mission had given way to The Story.
The Story began to take shape early in Hall’s tenure, as the turnaround of the Atlanta system became national news. Major foundations were drawn to the city, eager for evidence that measurable progress could be made in a largely urban district. Hall became a sought-after speaker, and last year was named National Superintendent of the Year.
Human nature being what it is, Hall and others became invested in that success. The Atlanta School Board, the business community and for a long time the media all bought into it as well. The Story became a point of pride, telling us something that we all wanted to believe, and as Hall’s stature grew, so did the deference that she enjoyed from those around her.
That was part of the problem. The other part involved Hall’s approach to education reform, which relies heavily on testing. Under her leadership, test scores not only determined how students were performing, but how teachers, principals and even Hall herself were performing. The emphasis on test results for job security, promotions and bonuses created a temptation to cheat that some found too much to resist.
So when an AJC investigation in 2008 and 2009 turned up evidence of widespread cheating on standardized tests, Hall faced a choice: She could defend The Mission, or she could defend The Story. And I honestly think she lost the capacity to distinguish between the two.
Defending The Mission would have required Hall to react aggressively when confronted with well-documented allegations of pervasive cheating by school district personnel. After all, if true, the allegations meant that children were being cheated of the education that test scores said they were being given. Had Hall taken that approach, the damage to both the Mission and the Story would have been minimized. She did not.
Instead, she used the respect and trust she had built to downplay and minimize evidence of cheating, leading those who believed in her to follow that lead. She claimed vindication from evidence that in reality offered none, and as we learned last week, she and others withheld a damaging independent analysis which confirmed that cheating was a major problem.
Again, the gains made under Hall’s leadership are real, even if overstated in the standardized test results now under state investigation. But the damage is real as well.
Among other things, fallout from the scandal has fractured the Atlanta School Board at a time when its leadership is badly needed. Like Hall, board members seem more interested in The Story than The Mission. In their case, The Story is about where to place blame for what has happened.
The Mission, however, remains the same.
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168 comments Add your comment
AmVet
November 23rd, 2010
9:12 am
SoCo, that reminds me of that commercial about the older white executive railing against “the man”, until his young employee noted that he is “the man”!
So now that you are “the man”, I may have to reconsider whether you are one of the good guys or not!
USinUK
November 23rd, 2010
9:12 am
AmVet – what they fail to acknowledge is the pain and suffering it takes for the market to right itself –
again: Bernie Madoff.
yes, he was eventually found out – but definitely not by the market. and how many more people would have lost how many more millions of dollars before it came to light.
Southern Comfort
November 23rd, 2010
9:13 am
TnGel
Riding the banana is a rite of passage in our family. You’re not officially a student until you’ve rode the banana
@@
November 23rd, 2010
9:16 am
Gale:
The ones labeled as disruptive, or not wanting to learn, probably DO want to learn, just not what is being taught.
Agreed!
But completely segregating? I’m not in favor.
What one group is learning can be of value to the other, and vice versa. They should share the same classroom at some point during the school day in order to bring about common goals.
Do that, and we won’t end up with a bunch of left-wingers who think one’s intellectual prowess is more valuable than the others. Show me a brain surgeon who can fix his own car, and I’ll show you a well-rounded individual.
USinUK:
Anyone who celebrates royalty, as though they were a part of, causes me to question that individual’s intelligence.
I’m outta here.
Southern Comfort
November 23rd, 2010
9:16 am
Looks like RB is still having trouble quitting Jay.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p1Q1qCfXrQ
AmVet
November 23rd, 2010
9:17 am
Yep, the cons love their criminals. Provided they are of the white collar variety…
And rest assured Bosch and SoCo, if there is ANY kind of racial element to the subject at hand, guys like RB will seize upon it and always try to indict any and all other elements thereof.
You can pretty much take it to the (offshore) bank…
Southern Comfort
November 23rd, 2010
9:17 am
AmVet
That means I have to turn in my hood cred now. That bites!!
USinUK
November 23rd, 2010
9:22 am
@@ – “Anyone who celebrates royalty, as though they were a part of, causes me to question that individual’s intelligence”
I celebrate loads of things – it’s called being a part of the community of man.
“They should share the same classroom at some point during the school day in order to bring about common goals”
homeroom. that’s what it’s there for.
RB from Gwinnett
November 23rd, 2010
9:22 am
Jay, what is the current graduation rate within the APS?
RB from Gwinnett
November 23rd, 2010
9:22 am
And what was it 10 years ago?
Gale
November 23rd, 2010
9:33 am
Right, homeroom. The only problem I have with sharing the same facility for the college bound and the vo-ed students can be solved by instilling a respect for the trades. When I was in school was the start of the “everyone who wants to succeed must go to college” model. It destroyed vo-ed.
Gotta go do work. Have fun.
RAPbama
November 23rd, 2010
9:33 am
If Beverly Hall thinks that public schools can totally overcome the socioeconomic status of its students, she is mistaken. That will never happen. Education begins in the home, or so it was once said. Now, all the responsibility for school failure is being laid on teachers and parents are no longer part of the equation. What liberal nonsense.
Uptopian thinking of the left runs into its biggest challenge with public schools. They have to blame someone for the failure of their ideas, but blaming teachers is gutless, clueless and wrong. The young teachers in my family tell me they spend 75% of their time just maintaining order. How can you teach in that atmospere?
USinUK
November 23rd, 2010
9:35 am
“The young teachers in my family tell me they spend 75% of their time just maintaining order. How can you teach in that atmospere?”
and this is my point.
USinUK
November 23rd, 2010
9:37 am
“Uptopian thinking of the left runs into its biggest challenge with public schools. They have to blame someone for the failure of their ideas, but blaming teachers is gutless, clueless and wrong”
oh, and RAP, show me one “utopian lefty” here who blames teachers.
g’head.
we’ll wait.
Matti
November 23rd, 2010
9:39 am
AmVet: Or as I call it, “Vilify the weak and glorify the wicked”…
Bingo. This is the key to the Republicans’ overwhelming success over the past few decades. It’s certainly true here in Georgia!
The Democrats make the fatal mistake of appealing to the voters’ better nature, common sense, rational thinking, and our civic duty as citizens of this great nation. What’s appealing about THAT?
Republicans win the lifelong loyalty of their followers because they do exactly the opposite: They VALIDLATE SIN. They tell the voters, “Greed is healthy! Your prejudice is valid. Your hatred is justified. Selfishness is the natural state of man, the way God intended! (Galt is a good guy… heh…) You are SO RIGHT to JUDGE your neighbor!” I spent enough time in Baptist Sunday Schools to know these things are SINS. But nobody wants to be chastized for their sin. Call them “virtues” and you’re in like Flynn! Woooooooo!
Then they have the nerve to tell us God is gonig to judge us harshly if we don’t persecute gay people, as IF it’s okay to ignore the documentation of what Jesus [allegedly] said, while using something he never talked about against one’s neighbor. (And people here are offended when I say, “CHRIST!”)
Nofreecheese
November 23rd, 2010
9:44 am
GHETTO POLITICS! APS is a means of dispensing cash to people who support the existing political class; not of educating children! Bookman, the “emperor has no clothes”! She is an absolute fraud! Michelle Rhee, the former superintendent of the Washington D.C. schools, is imminently more qualified than Hall. She fought and scraped for progress and improvement. The improvements she attained were incremental; but considering the socioeconomic obstacles her students faced, they were monumental. In the end, she was fired b/c she wasn’t black and interfered w/ the political class’ ability to reward political allies. Oh, Beverly Hall comes along and says “abra cadabra” and snaps her fingers and APS is magically transformed. Bookman–admit it–there are cultural deficiencies which you are fostering. Please note, I did not use the term “racial deficiencies”.
Mr Right
November 23rd, 2010
9:44 am
Just checking in to see what junk Jay is copying and pasting today !
RAPbama
November 23rd, 2010
9:48 am
Well, what folks think on this blog doesn’t matter much. What matters is the thinking of the politicians, unfortunately. Remember the inner city school in Rhode Island this past year? It was not performing well and the “solution” was to fire 100% of the teachers. That kind of thinking will not help our schools. My mom was a high school chemistry teacher and she never thought too much of the “professional educationist” crowd, so I am probably biased. However, their track record of late is pretty dismal.
USinUK
November 23rd, 2010
9:49 am
“In the end, she was fired b/c she wasn’t black ”
mmm … a tad oversimplified.
first of all, she wasn’t fired … she resigned.
secondly, race had nothing to do with the flack she got – she pi$$ed off teachers no small amount by … you know … FIRING a couple hundred of them
RAPbama
November 23rd, 2010
9:55 am
“In the end, she was fired b/c she wasn’t black.”
Unfortunately, that is totally true, succinct and dead on accurate. I wish things weren’t that way, but every distinct group of humans is subject to herd mentallity. If you deny that, you are crazy.
USinUK
November 23rd, 2010
9:56 am
oh … I don’t play cricket, either … does this mean I’m not allowed to celebrate the opening of The Ashes???
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/default.stm
if only @@ could set forth some kind of guidelines on what one is allowed to celebrate or not …
USinUK
November 23rd, 2010
9:56 am
RAP – considering she wasn’t fired, that’s not even 50% true …
Southern Comfort
November 23rd, 2010
9:58 am
In the end, she was fired b/c she wasn’t black and interfered w/ the political class’ ability to reward political allies.
To quote Bosch: “Oh my freaking God!”
RAPbama
November 23rd, 2010
9:58 am
Technically you are right. But she wouldn’t quit that job unless she knew more than we know. Being right by the letter of the law is useless if the law is flawed, don’t you think?
jm
November 23rd, 2010
10:00 am
Michelle Rhee. Michelle Rhee. Michelle Rhee.
USinUK
November 23rd, 2010
10:00 am
RAP – scroll up. she was instrumental in the firing of 200 teachers in DC schools.
race had nothing to do with it. she pi$$ed off the teachers.
Jack
November 23rd, 2010
10:05 am
Show me a civil servant that’s more concerned with the mission than the story and I’ll show you a saint.
Southern Comfort
November 23rd, 2010
10:06 am
Show me a civil servant that’s more concerned with the mission than the story and I’ll show you a saint.
Should I change my screen name to St. Southern Comfort then?
USinUK
November 23rd, 2010
10:09 am
SoCo … the patron saint of ghost porn
RAPbama
November 23rd, 2010
10:10 am
I’m a strong advocate of teachers, but teachers of late come off the bottom of our academic output, unlike Japan, Korea, Finland, etc. Would you want to teach in this climate? I would not and that is sad. There are thousands of teachers in D.C. and surely 200 of them were truly lousy. And I wish that were not true.
Joe the Plutocrat (the artist formerly known as paleo-neo-Carlinist)
November 23rd, 2010
10:14 am
“…you go to school where you learn to read n write, so you can walk into the county bank and sign away your life…” Steve Earle. public education makes sense on paper, but 75-80% of students are warehoused while their parents work. they are not “educated” so much as indoctrinated to become dutiful, consumers, which contains some irony, as both “producers” and “moochers” consume corporate America’s goods/services. maybe 25-30% seek intellectual growth, but sadly enough, the majority of these “learners” are more interested in learning how to “game” the system (join the plutocracy), as opposed to overthrowing the system. and even those bent on “revolution” are generally marginalized or become artists who care eventually “bought off” for short money (even my namesake)
peaches
November 23rd, 2010
10:14 am
The whole board need to be wiped CLEAN. YES MS. HALL NEED TO LEAVE AND THE REST ALSO.
It’s time for new people with new ideals. I think teachers put up with alot of mess COMING FROM CHILDREN HOMES, SOME TEACHERS ARE CURSED OUT, JUST TREATED BAD.
AND THE TEACHERS DO NOT GET THE SUPPORT THEY NEED. TEACHERS NEED TO BE PAID AND PAID WELL.
BUT WHO EVER TAKE OVER SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR THE TEACHERS AND PAY THEM WELL.
But parents should take pride in there kids education, make sure they do there homework, and make them mine. When your kids are out of control they make the class out of control, and then the teacher lose control.
jm
November 23rd, 2010
10:15 am
well peaches – you may get your way. Governor is in a position to do so if he wants.
USinUK
November 23rd, 2010
10:16 am
RAP – the issue isn’t whether the teachers were good or bad – the issue is whether Rhee was “fired” (she wasn’t) because she wasn’t black (again, not the case)
marky mark
November 23rd, 2010
10:16 am
I have so many thoughts on this subject, that I am not sure where to start. The problem, to me, is that teachers have no control.
1) Allow teachers to decide if a student is truly disruptive. In the 9th grade, a friend of mine was, what we then called, hyperactive. He just couldnt sit still. Finally, one teacher of ours let him wander around the back of the class as long as he was quiet. He could walk, stand, move, whatever, and he “aced” the course. He just couldnt sit still. However, if the student is disruptive, he is gone, and the teacher decides when/if he can come back. The Admin needs to support the teacher, and deflect the parents anger.
2) The admin has got to set the tone for the school, determine if a teacher fails, and remove the teacher if they cant teach. But get out of the way of good teachers, and support them in their efforts.
3) Parents, parents, parents. Too many parents use the school as dumping grounds. This opens the whole socio-economic problems of single parents, babies having babies, etc. Until we change our culture so that out of wedlock and young births are frowned upon, this is never going to get better. But we need parents involved in the schools. You can make arguments that the cost of living makes it where both parents now have to work – and that cost of living can be reflected in everything from the cost of government to the desire for more luxuries; but until adults deflect their desires in order to spend more time and attention on their kids, again, this is not gonna get better. But this is the biggest single factor that is missing today, parental involvement at all levels, in the school and at home.
4) READ to your children. Video games for two hours? fine….now read for Three. Start them with anything from the Dr Seuss to the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, but teach (not MAKE, this is fun!!)them to enjoy reading. Have a reading night with no TV. Thank God that my mother (widow) instilled in all her kids (3) a love of reading. It made school SO much easier….
Most of this is obvious…..and should work in conjunction with testing, etc. My sister, who is a professional actress, sucked on tests. She was the first candidate to kick off the Masters program in Drama at GA State – (she declined and moved to NY for theatre). But she would have never gotten her degree if some of her professors hadn’t realized she had a thing about testing (we still dont understand, truly) but they assigned her extra credit coursework to offset this issue. This is an example of effective teaching and student management.
Southern Comfort
November 23rd, 2010
10:17 am
SoCo … the patron saint of ghost porn
Even Casper has wants and desires…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCHFVTQKqdQ
RAPbama
November 23rd, 2010
10:19 am
Well, according the Rhee, the issue was clearly because the teachers were lousy. We are at loggerheads, you and I. That is a Brit term is it not? As usual, I can’t convince anybody of anything, least of all my own family, and am just lucky to keep myself in line. Have a good one, USinUK.
Matti
November 23rd, 2010
10:25 am
marky mark,
Good suggestions. Can we run you for school superintendent in four years? I also cannot understand the modern obsession with video games. I watched my friends’ children spaz out on everything from Bandicoot to Grand Theft Auto. Then here comes the whine, “I had to take my son’s cell phone away because his grades are in the toilet!” Really? Who could have predicted that — when he was four, and spent three hours a day on the playstation? We never had a playstation, x-box, or anything of the sort. We had books, honors-level classes, sports, and student government instead. I stand by my decision to reject the mindless pop-culture consumerism that is turning us into a nation of ignorant corporate slaves.
jm
November 23rd, 2010
10:27 am
We need Rhee. We need Rhee.
RAPbama
November 23rd, 2010
10:31 am
marky mark, you make way too much sense for a blog. If I were King, you would run the Atlanta schools.
marky mark
November 23rd, 2010
10:31 am
Matti, I agree. I think that they do need to have some interests in the things their friends do like video games (so that they are not ostracized as being strange)just as me and my friends obsessed over baseball growing up; however, now is the time to teach balance. A kid that READS Harry Potter vs seeing the movies is going to get a totally different experiance. My grandkids are 2, 4 and 7 – I have already bought them all the Hardy Boys, working on Nancy Drew for the 4 year old, and bought the boxed set of Harry Potter for when they are old enough for those…..
Matti
November 23rd, 2010
10:36 am
marky mark,
My daughter not only read all the HP books, (and ripped through them again every summer) but she now always reads any book for which she is going to see the movie, before seeing the movie. My first question is always, “How was the movie compared to the book?” She’s also a big fan of Vonnegut, which makes me proud.
marky mark
November 23rd, 2010
10:40 am
for teacher pay, I am going to be a little bit of devil’s advocate. One of my first loves, when I was 20, retired last year from the Glynn county school system (think Brunswick/St Simons). Cathy was a music teacher for 30 years. When Cathy got her Masters, she was got a huge pay raise. She retired with a salary of $65K, teaching music to 1st – 7th graders. Sorry folks, I love her dearly, but a grammer school teacher teaching music making $65k. No county/state government can sustain that type of pay scale. And when I hear clamoring for increasing teachers pay, we have been doing that for some years now.
marky mark
November 23rd, 2010
10:41 am
Matti, believe it or not, because of my love for Army comics when I was ten, I am an amateur historian (and pretty good at it) of WW II. One day I want to go back to school and get a history degree in it….all because I love reading comics….
marky mark
November 23rd, 2010
10:42 am
I have somewhere upwards of 1000 books on WWI. I collect first editions that were written in the late 40’s and early 50’s of firsthand accounts (or at least I DID before last years financial disaster, but thats another story!!)
marky mark
November 23rd, 2010
10:43 am
that shoulda been WW II
Matti
November 23rd, 2010
10:54 am
marky mark,
OK, but I’m betting your teacher friend did not start out at $65K, nor the equivalent of that amount for the times. Am I right in assuming that it took her more than 25 years to reach that pay level? That used to be a lot of money, but I can ASSURE you that $65K is not much money when you have a mortgage and kids. Trust… there’s nothing left over at the end of the month. Zip, zilch, notta.
The good news is, with the advent of the 21st-Century Global Plutocracy, and the resulting widespread wage suppression in this country, we should begin getting better-educated, more qualified applicants into the teaching pool, now that the opportunities for those with advanced degrees to actually make a decent living are drying up faster than the belief that in America, anything is possible if you just work hard.
BTW, I also read tons of books on WWII (and still watch the movies every Memorial Day weekend!)
Nofreecheese
November 23rd, 2010
11:09 am
@ USinUK: Apparently you lack an awareness of how things work. Politically appointees are almost never fired–it’s made clear to them that they are no longer welcome and they resign. Whether it’s due to dereliction of duty, incompetence, or in the case of Michelle Rhee, politics, “resigned” is merely a euphemism for “terminated” or “quit” under pressure. You’re partially right in that she wasn’t fired for lack of pigment–being racially black; she refused to go along to get along–to conform to the black political culture of DC. If non-black progressives/liberals would address the deficienies and corruption of black culture and politics w/ the same zeal they attack corporate America, the situation would improve.
Mary Elizabeth
November 23rd, 2010
11:20 am
Good article that got to the essence of the story: The Story vs. The Mission
The Story: “Power corrupts. . .”
The Mission: Continues. . .
Since a picture says so much more than words, I will show what resulted from a reading test given to 9th graders – 450 students each year – in a black, suburban high school.
.
From these 10 students’ results, use your imaginations to triple what I have shown to make 30 students for a typical classroom. Ask yourself how one teacher can effectively reach these 30 kids. And this represents one teacher’s class results. Multiply that by 15 for all the 9th graders.
Sally = Readding on 6th grade level
Sam = 5th grade level
Dahlia = 7th
Pete = 8th
Dexter = 6th
Babs = 4th
Johnson = 10th
Alex = 12th
LaShonda = 9th
Wilson = 5th
Mary Elizabeth
November 23rd, 2010
11:22 am
When I shifted spaces, I got a typo – Should be “Reading” not “Readding.”
Mary Elizabeth
November 23rd, 2010
11:32 am
Recently I asked the minister of a very large, protestant North Atlanta area suburb church – mostly Republican, mostly white – to consider developing a project whereby his church members could travel to a very large, protestest South DeKalb area suburban church – mostly Democratic, mostly black – in order to tutor the children of the black church in their individualized reading skills – on their individual levels.
I told the minister that that project would not only enhance the lives of the children, but it would do so much to break up the rigid stereotypical thinking we have about blacks, whites, Republicans, Democrats, South Atlanta, North Atlanta not having connections or caring about one another. Especially I thought the white minister should make the gesture to reach out first, because the black children had the most need in the area of reading.
Results of my conversation with the minister: No interest on his part. He had other outreach going on.
Matti
November 23rd, 2010
11:58 am
Mary Elizabeth,
I think your idea is awesome! You must live in my little corner of the world. They’re eaten up with their disdain for the south county, and the determination to break away. Hard for me to understand, since our services, roads, and schools up here are great! Yet they begrudge those who have much less…. while sitting in pews praising God. I’ve accepted that I just don’t fit in.
Mary Elizabeth
November 23rd, 2010
12:36 pm
Matti @ 11:58
Be glad that you do not fit it – it speaks well for your depth of spirit and simple kindness. Your 9:39 post speaks many truths. Thank you for it.
Tancred
November 23rd, 2010
1:32 pm
“…you will hear outraged cries of racism since most of the people involved will be black.”
Indeed. The one commonality for most of Atlanta’s woes (dysfunctional governance, smash n’ grab robberies, foreclosures, mortgage fraud, cronyism, poor school performance, chicken bones everywhere) seems to be race-related. But people don’t talk about urban black culture, unless they want to “celebrate” some indigenous artistic expression like hip hop or rap (much of which is part of the dysfunction anyway). Until a cultural movement can change the extant culture, more and more people (including the blacks that have assimilated into the mainstream) will leave for the burbs (just like this paper). And wait until our already emptying office towers become vacant. Atlanta will be the new Detroit, despite our more varied economic base. Who would hire a product of the ATL schools? What college would matriculate the same unless it was one of those “fake” colleges you see on the MARTA?
BADA BING
November 23rd, 2010
1:41 pm
I think they are teaching those kids effectively. Teaching them how to cheat and play the system.
Nofreecheese
November 23rd, 2010
3:13 pm
@ Mary Elizabeth; I appreciate your kind heart and desire to do good, but it’s naive. Your proposal to set up missions in “South Dekalb” or other predominately poor black areas of metro Atlanta wouldn’t be embraced by those residents; they would characterize it as paternalistic, condescending, and patronizing–and would imply you’re a racist for suggesting it. You can keep your middle class WHITE ideals and values; all their political leaders want is your money! Never mind that your ideals and culture largely determined your higher socioeconomic status.
Matti
November 23rd, 2010
3:21 pm
Nofreecheese,
You have a point, but not if it’s done right. I used to be a literacy tutor. The young woman I tutored did not announce the world that some white woman was helping her learn to read. I doubt many people even knew where she was in those hours. She learned, though. She made it through grade 11 in a school system that failed her. All she needed was some one-on-one. I wish someone had been there for her sooner.
Fred
November 23rd, 2010
4:28 pm
Mary Elizabeth:
John Hamilton of Sozo church in Tucker, a small church, has a youth group made up predominately of impoverished black kids. The congregation is predominately white but mixed none the less. The church is in walking distance of Tucker high. He and others tutor all the kids that want help either every day or on some set schedule. (At least they used to, aven’t spoken to him in a while). If you want to help, I’m sure he would appreciate your offer. His BIGGEST ministry as best as I can see it is those kids. You should give him a call. He’s a great guy as is his youth minister.
His church probably bring in less money than you mega church pays the preacher every year, but they get the job done.
Fred
November 23rd, 2010
4:29 pm
You can find them on Facebook. Sozo New Covenant I think………..
Mary Elizabeth
November 23rd, 2010
4:53 pm
Nofreecheese @3:13
You are so mistaken. I am a retired teacher who worked in leadership in a south Dekalb high school for 16 years. Did you see my chart and comments posted at 11:20 a.m.?
I worked to enhance black students’ reading for all of those years. I also worked with the parents of those students after school hours – of my own volition. They never felt that I was condescending or patronizing because I wanted to help them. The parents, in fact, appreciated what I was doing to help. And we did help, significantly.
At one of my meetings after hours, the parents were so inspired to raise money, that they passed the “hat” that evening to give their money for whatever reading needs I felt would serve the kids best. I think the main reason they were so inspired was that they knew I genuinely cared about them and had the knowledge and will to be helpful.
You write as if you are blinded by your preconceived ideas of how people will react. I was there. I saw firsthand how the black people responded to me, a white woman. I also gave inservice meetings to fellow teachers and spoke at county meetings on techniques I had used to enhance reading skills. I hardly think that all I had done in my career – and my suggestions to the minister – came from a naive base. In fact, it was my firsthand knowledge and experience with the problems in the black neighborhoods that gave me the authority with which to speak to the minister in detail. His wife thought I had an excellent idea. The minister was more politically attuned, I believe. However, we must free ourselves of political stereotyping if we ever care to break down race barriers and help others simply because the spirit within us wants to help others. It is as simple as that. Caring breaks down huge barriers. Political ends are self-serving for the most part.
It is so unfortunate when you make stereotypical statements that reinforce prejudice to others. It is I, not you, who has actually worked with the people you so malign and I can say to the readers how wrong you are in your assumptions.
To the readers: It is not true that you would be found to be condescending, racist, or patronizing if you wanted to help black kids in the south areas of Atlanta. It is not true that all they want is your money. In fact, if you want to call the local schools or churches there and volunteer to help the children, why not do so? I found that most people were so appreciative of the love I tried to give tto their children through my skills. But people know when you love them or you don’t. I never felt I was superior to anyone. I, in fact, I believe – deep within my soul – that we are all equal on this Earth under God. I was given certain talents, and I wanted to use my talents to offer whatever love and help I could to others in need. If that is naive, so be it. Then, this world could use more of that naivete. We are all part of human family. And that includes you, Nofreecheese.
Mary Elizabeth
November 23rd, 2010
5:02 pm
Fred @ 4:28
Thank you very much for your kind suggestion to me. Perhaps other readers will pick up on your suggestion and help the students. Literacy Action in Atlanta used to have the motto “Each One – Teach One” from a missionary who wrote a book of the same name. How much better our world would be if more thought like that.
Over my 35 year teaching career, as a Lead Teacher, and Reading Dept. Chair, I worked with thousands of students, and hundreds of teachers and parents. At this point in my life, I have a broader interest and am more focused on my writings which I hope will inspire others not just in reading – but in changing our world toward one that has deeper understanding of human nature, values kindness toward others, and transforms one’s own soul and that of others through love.
But I thank you, again, for taking the time, and for caring to write to me with your suggestion.
Fred
November 23rd, 2010
5:03 pm
Well I’ve pointed you in a direction that would gladly accept you gifts Mary. but I erred on the name. He prefers Tom over John. It’s a non traditional church but firmly bible based, none of that willow creek, “lie them to Jesus” crap. I found the web site:
http://www.sozoncf.com/Sozo_New_Covenant_Fellowship/Home.html
Follow the links under ministries to the youth page on face book. Contact Tom or Woodie…….
Fred
November 23rd, 2010
5:04 pm
Sorry, I started the post above before you posted your last one lol.
Nofreecheese
November 23rd, 2010
6:37 pm
@ Mary Elizabeth: I suppose you’re right; my “preconceived notions” and “prejudices” are entirely baseless and have no foundation in the real world. I will refrain from “maligning” the political class of school districts predominated by under-performing black children. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE! Their schools suck and their political class puts themselves ahead of the children. The fact that good citizens like yourself are the only chance these children have validates my contention.
Fred
November 23rd, 2010
8:13 pm
So what is YOUR solution to the problem Nofreecheese? Sterilization? Euthanasia? Or maybe Mary Elizabeth’s?
The child doesn’t choose who bears it.
shirley
November 23rd, 2010
10:06 pm
Georgia would do well to emulate those APS successes that have been verified like those acknowledged by Secretary Duncan a few weeks ago. Such accomplishments at APS were unheard of a few years ago and still are across the state. Some might say mission accomplished for APS, story or not. I do.
Mary Elizabeth
November 23rd, 2010
11:49 pm
Nofreecheese @ 6:37 p.m.
If there is anyway that you could help to tutor some of the children you are speaking of, if not during the school day, then on a weekend day. evem once a month, I know that your heart would change and you would see the situation in a different light.
Please think about doing that, seriously. The students could use the support; their parents would appreciate your efforts; and we always receive in ways we cannot possibly imagine whenever we give.
Nofreecheese
November 24th, 2010
8:14 am
Mary Elizabeth: My heart truly goes out to these children. I wish I could help all of them before they cross that threshhold into adolescence at which point they’re almost impossible to fix. Once they cross the threshold from adolescence into adulthood and become the bad parents and corrupt political leaders that perpetuate this culture of mediocraty they have haved to be judged accordingly. One thing I know for certain: Throwing money at the problem doesn’t help. Inner cities such as NYC, Newark, and Atlanta spend much more per pupil than their better-performing suburban counterparts, yet have far lower academic achievement. How about school choice? These underperforming schools spend as much per pupil as even elite private schools.
Fred, “euthanasia”? No–this is murder. Sterilization? Maybe for someone like Octomom who imposed millions of dollars of costs on taxpayers b/c she exercised her choice to procreate. Odds are her “freedom” of procreation will continue to enslave the taxpayers. Obviously, we can’t sterilize people–but in some case it does have an undeniable appeal.