Ken wrote: ↑Fri May 26, 2023 12:18 pm
I knew a teacher who taught there for a year
I suspect it has changed a lot since you knew anyone there.
2014? I doubt very much has changed.
10 years can change a lot with poor or good leadership. Some inner city schools have been totally transformed in that amount of time, for good or ill.
It also shows the weakness of public schools and the strength of private since those who would support the private school would stand behind it and help, while a community cares little for the public school and finds little support.
When we lived in Marshall, AR, the school was very poor and we had a lot of children who struggled. They asked for volunteers to help start a reading program. I volunteered and found many who did also and we worked to help the children. The community supported it. Few support public schools now because many feel they have little connection or say in what happens.
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Just because you are paranoid, doesn't mean they are not after you.
I think I am funnier than I really am.
I suspect it has changed a lot since you knew anyone there.
2014? I doubt very much has changed.
10 years can change a lot with poor or good leadership. Some inner city schools have been totally transformed in that amount of time, for good or ill.
It also shows the weakness of public schools and the strength of private since those who would support the private school would stand behind it and help, while a community cares little for the public school and finds little support.
When we lived in Marshall, AR, the school was very poor and we had a lot of children who struggled. They asked for volunteers to help start a reading program. I volunteered and found many who did also and we worked to help the children. The community supported it. Few support public schools now because many feel they have little connection or say in what happens.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying we should give up on the children of Marlin TX. Far from it. Every child deserves every opportunity.
But what you are really seeing with school performance is a symptom of the larger decay and downward spiral of that community. My point is that what you are seeing is not so much an isolated failure of a specific school. But a systemic failure of a whole community. And reversing course is an enormous task. Breaking the cycle of poverty and getting kids turned around young is an enormous task when you don't really have the support of functional adults. At least in many cases.
There are, of course, always good families who are supportive and do their best to keep their kids moving forward. But it is tough and their kids are usually the first to leave and never come back. And the parents who are the most ambitious tend to move out themselves to put their kids in a better environment.
I know Marshall. We used to pass through there in route to camping at Caddo Lake which was one of my favorite places in TX. The larger question is why Marshall is so poor. Texas should be a prosperous state. To the extent that schools are struggling in Marshall I'd also suggest that is more a symptom of larger problems as well.
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A fool can throw out more questions than a wise man can answer. -RZehr
10 years can change a lot with poor or good leadership. Some inner city schools have been totally transformed in that amount of time, for good or ill.
It also shows the weakness of public schools and the strength of private since those who would support the private school would stand behind it and help, while a community cares little for the public school and finds little support.
When we lived in Marshall, AR, the school was very poor and we had a lot of children who struggled. They asked for volunteers to help start a reading program. I volunteered and found many who did also and we worked to help the children. The community supported it. Few support public schools now because many feel they have little connection or say in what happens.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying we should give up on the children of Marlin TX. Far from it. Every child deserves every opportunity.
But what you are really seeing with school performance is a symptom of the larger decay and downward spiral of that community. My point is that what you are seeing is not so much an isolated failure of a specific school. But a systemic failure of a whole community. And reversing course is an enormous task. Breaking the cycle of poverty and getting kids turned around young is an enormous task when you don't really have the support of functional adults. At least in many cases.
There are, of course, always good families who are supportive and do their best to keep their kids moving forward. But it is tough and their kids are usually the first to leave and never come back. And the parents who are the most ambitious tend to move out themselves to put their kids in a better environment.
I know Marshall. We used to pass through there in route to camping at Caddo Lake which was one of my favorite places in TX. The larger question is why Marshall is so poor. Texas should be a prosperous state. To the extent that schools are struggling in Marshall I'd also suggest that is more a symptom of larger problems as well.
I find it interesting that you seem to see this so clearly, while any criticism or concerns or observations about broader society going down the toilet is met with your denials that anything is less than hunky dory.
10 years can change a lot with poor or good leadership. Some inner city schools have been totally transformed in that amount of time, for good or ill.
It also shows the weakness of public schools and the strength of private since those who would support the private school would stand behind it and help, while a community cares little for the public school and finds little support.
When we lived in Marshall, AR, the school was very poor and we had a lot of children who struggled. They asked for volunteers to help start a reading program. I volunteered and found many who did also and we worked to help the children. The community supported it. Few support public schools now because many feel they have little connection or say in what happens.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying we should give up on the children of Marlin TX. Far from it. Every child deserves every opportunity.
But what you are really seeing with school performance is a symptom of the larger decay and downward spiral of that community. My point is that what you are seeing is not so much an isolated failure of a specific school. But a systemic failure of a whole community. And reversing course is an enormous task. Breaking the cycle of poverty and getting kids turned around young is an enormous task when you don't really have the support of functional adults. At least in many cases.
There are, of course, always good families who are supportive and do their best to keep their kids moving forward. But it is tough and their kids are usually the first to leave and never come back. And the parents who are the most ambitious tend to move out themselves to put their kids in a better environment.
I know Marshall. We used to pass through there in route to camping at Caddo Lake which was one of my favorite places in TX. The larger question is why Marshall is so poor. Texas should be a prosperous state. To the extent that schools are struggling in Marshall I'd also suggest that is more a symptom of larger problems as well.
I find it interesting that you seem to see this so clearly, while any criticism or concerns or observations about broader society going down the toilet is met with your denials that anything is less than hunky dory.
I don't think Marlin TX is "going down the toilet" as you put it because of rainbow flags or CRT or LGBT children, if they even have any.
It is going down the toilet because we as a society have chosen to abandon such communities, either deliberately, or indirectly through our economic and political choices.
And the difference in performance between Marlin HS and say Westlake HS which is not far away in the affluent Austin Suburbs (shown below) isn't about school administration or curriculum. It is about poverty and wealth:
And while Marlin is struggling to keep its schools open, Westlake HS is opening up a brand new Olympic-size Aquatic Center.
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A fool can throw out more questions than a wise man can answer. -RZehr
Ken wrote: ↑Fri May 26, 2023 2:12 pm
I don't think Marlin TX is "going down the toilet" as you put it because of rainbow flags or CRT or LGBT children, if they even have any.
It is going down the toilet because we as a society have chosen to abandon such communities, either deliberately, or indirectly through our economic and political choices.
I live and work in a community that's been in decline for the past 30 years, though not as bad as Marlin. I see the effect that this decline has on our students. Poor rural communities have many of the same problems as poor intercity neighborhoods.
Parents are essential to the success of their children. When parents fail, it's often put on schools to pick up the slack.
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“It’s easy to make everything a conspiracy when you don’t know how anything works.” — Brandon L. Bradford
Josh wrote: ↑Fri May 26, 2023 2:34 pmPoverty is not caused by not having a swimming pool and and a giant football field.
Of course not.
The point is that Texas is investing far more in rich kids than poor kids. That is a deliberate choice. And the results are predictable.
You seem to be claiming that "investing" somehow produces better educational results. I have documented before that some of the highest per-pupil spending is in Baltimore city schools, which also have some of the worst results. So, no, there is no point that anyone is "investing" more in "rich kids". As far as I can tell, we're collectively spending as a society a huge amount of money on "poor kids".
Josh wrote: ↑Fri May 26, 2023 2:34 pmPoverty is not caused by not having a swimming pool and and a giant football field.
Of course not.
The point is that Texas is investing far more in rich kids than poor kids. That is a deliberate choice. And the results are predictable.
You seem to be claiming that "investing" somehow produces better educational results. I have documented before that some of the highest per-pupil spending is in Baltimore city schools, which also have some of the worst results. So, no, there is no point that anyone is "investing" more in "rich kids". As far as I can tell, we're collectively spending as a society a huge amount of money on "poor kids".
I'm not simply talking about schools. I'm talking about everything from clean air and water to healthcare to economic opportunity. If you simply focus on schools you miss the bigger picture. Marlin TX is an example of a community that has basically been abandoned by the larger society, deliberately, and indirectly as a consequence of larger economic and political choices.
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A fool can throw out more questions than a wise man can answer. -RZehr
