Comments on: Soul searching, hope and despair (and popcorn): A mother describes the Achievement Gap Summit

By: Caroline

Caroline — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 00:05:34 +0000

Berkeley’s food program has enormously more money to spend than nearby larger districts. Here in SFUSD we’re lobbying for the city to kick in money to improve the school food — after all, feeding the community’s children shouldn’t be a responsibility dumped on educators.

By: Oakland teacher

Oakland teacher — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 18:58:18 +0000

To Concerned Parent: My son goes to school in Berkeley at a public school where food is a constant: Free breakfast for every child. Snacks throughout the day. Free (or cheap, if you don’t qualify) fresh lunch with an always available salad bar.

Yes, it takes extra money and focus, but kids can have healthy food at school.

By: Concerned Oakland Parent

Concerned Oakland Parent — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:12:51 +0000

I have been reading the postings – on this blog, in the newspapers and on the Oakland Schools list serve. My child attends a school with a good reputation and she is receiving a good, not great education. Many students in the school are learning and many are not.

I find myself becoming more and more frustrated and angry. Why are some students learning and some students not learning? Open Court requires that they all have the same lessons each day. How do I deal with the anger of the families whose children are not learning and the parents are sending their kids to school without adequate sleep, food, preparation? How do I as a concerned parent make up for what is missing, thus what holds back my child because other children cannot pay attention either because they haven’t started the day fueled (food) or rested or there on time?

How do I support the teacher? How do I support the kids? Most of all, how can I make a difference when I see it getting worse every year and more and more time are spent helping the kids who are not prepared and less and less time on the kids who are prepared? What is equity? Is it equitable to put one teacher with the children in a very small class and put a very large class together of kids that are working ahead? Would it help?

Does anyone offer suggestions other than the chanting and clapping at KIPP? Can low income students of color learn in an environment where there are expectations of punctuality, quiet behavior, breakfast in the morning, 9 hours of sleep? Can they learn in an environment where those qualities are not required? Do the ever-present helicopters and gunshots keep them awake? Would it help if the students had a refrigerator with low fat cheese sticks and fruit for a morning snack? I would gladly work with my neighborhood to make sure that happens if it would help. What works? And why can’t we do it in Oakland?

By: Caroline

Caroline — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 03:12:47 +0000

From other comments I’ve heard, the reason that Edward James Olmos’ speech left people uncomfortable and uneasy was that he’s an actor who had played a teacher. A lot of people were wondering why the teacher Olmos played, Jaime Escalante, wasn’t there instead. (Escalante was unable to replicate his “miracle” at his next place of employment and eventually moved back to his native country, Bolivia, reportedly discouraged and embittered — so he might not have been much of a motivational speaker.)

I admire Tavis Smiley, but I have to say he truly doesn’t get it if he’s encouraging people with self-doubt to leave teaching. The most gifted teachers I know have experienced a lot of self-doubt, among other things because their job is so hard, so underappreciated and so low-paid, and they get beat up and blamed constantly for all the ills of society. It would do a severe disservice to children of all demographics if those teachers all went “oh, OK!” and took Smiley’s advice and changed careers.