My comment to ECC, 14 Dec, in response to William Brown posting BCP on Letter from the trenches: Parent describes K-12 dystopia — my addition some GOOD NEWS
Again, another whack at the education system! There seems to be no end to the stories about the school disasters parents and students experience. Some of us old-timers never questioned that our school days were all for the betterment of ourselves and society. It is such a horrible feeling to see current events pushing toward an END of civilization. It’s shameful to think that public schools contribute to this downfall.
Thanks again to this ECC forum, and the regular contributors who do so much to keep us up to date. This latest story from Bruce just adds to our sorrow. Thanks, William, for this latest.
To bring forward some GOOD NEWS, we read about the appointment of David Banks as Schools Chancellor in New York City, by the new Mayor, Eric Adams, effective Jan 1 in the New Year. From the news stories, here are some great promising quotes:
• New York City education system is essentially flawed and needs to be fixed from the bottom up.
• “We’re going to go back to a phonetic approach to teaching. We’re going to ensure that our kids can read by the third grade,” Banks said. “That’s been a huge part of the dysfunction.”
• Banks says he’s thinking of establishing special schools for kids with learning disabilities, and he also plans to expand gifted and talented programs, and specialized high schools.
• The mayor-elect [Eric Adams]is also vowing a laser-like focus on the Department of Education’s budget. He says right now, the money is not being spent properly and taxpayers are being shortchanged.
• Mayor Adams said he wants to educate the whole child, and that includes making sure they have eyeglasses and healthy food if they need. He’s also committed to testing every child to see if they have dyslexia.
Please watch the videos in these stories: