Michigan Public Schools Doing a Fine Job

[general35]

According to a new report, 47 percent of Detroiters are ”functionally illiterate.” The alarming new statistics were released by the Detroit Regional Workforce Fund on Wednesday.

WWJ Newsradio 950 spoke with the Fund’s Director, Karen Tyler-Ruiz, who explained exactly what this means.

“Not able to fill out basic forms, for getting a job — those types of basic everyday (things). Reading a prescription; what’s on the bottle, how many you should take… just your basic everyday tasks,” she said.

“I don’t really know how they get by, but they do. Are they getting by well? Well, that’s another question,” Tyler-Ruiz said.

Some of the Detroit suburbs also have high numbers of functionally illiterate: 34 percent in Pontiac and 24 percent in Southfield.

“For other major urban areas, we are a little bit on the high side… We compare, slightly higher, to Washington D.C.’s urban population, in certain ZIP codes in Washington D.C. and in Cleveland,” she said.

Tyler-Ruiz said only 10 percent of those who can’t read have gotten any help to resolve it.

The report will be used to provide better training for local workers.
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It's kind of hard to find a high paying job in the private sector when you can't read or write. It's ok, my taxes will keep them fed and clothed. move along...
The Link

 

[gecko]

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[msdw24]

Well maybe if they put the crack pipe or joint down and actually paid attention during school they would be able to go out and look for a job.

 

[Larry T. Spider]

I'm sure they were all wide-eyed and ready for school each morning. They would get out of bed extra early to make sure they weren't late for class and studied long into the night each night. They asked their teachers probing questions that they thought might be on the test. Then, they spent extra time studying for the SAT so that they could get into the best colleges. Despite all of this, their lazy union teachers refused to teach them anything so they ended up not knowing how to read or write.

OR

They came to class late if at all. Killed time by causing trouble or sleeping. Never did any work in class let alone homework. Then, as a result of never giving any effort, ended up not know how to read or write.

Which sounds more likely to you?

 

[general35]

i bet they don't have any trouble filling out the forms for welfare.

 

[BrntOrngStmpeDe]

And that's the crappy part. It is the kids fault predominantly but really its a failure of the parents and no amount of extra funding in the world is going to fix a crappy parent. The only thing that is ever going to change this dynamic is to change to public conversation from blaming teachers (though some of them do stink) to blaming the parents for underperforming children. Elementary school is not rocket science, really neither are most courses in middle school. Its largely a matter of effort on the part of the parents and the kid.

 

[BrothaHorn]

+1 to what BrntOrng, said.

 

[general35]

i recommend everyone see waiting for superman. it is an excellent documentary on the status of our education system. even good parents can't get their kids a decent education in some schools. administrators that want to make changes for the better, can't. its a disaster of a system and it has gotten progressively worse.

 

[BrntOrngStmpeDe]

I have to admit that when we tried to get a chess club going at my kids elementary the administration & teachers responses were along the lines of "great, let me know how that goes.".

But to be fair, it was this spring after they found out that we'd be losing several teachers. They're probably pretty unsure about who's staying and how their workload is going to adjust.

 

[Bevo Incognito]

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[NEWDOC2002]

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[Bayerithe]

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[Larry T. Spider]

Quit blaming the unions. The only five states that do not allow collective bargaining all rank in the bottom half in just about every measurable area. Unions cost too much but quit blaming them for kids not learning - it's simply not the case. If it's all the union's fault, then why aren't we at the top of every academic achievement list?

 

[mojo17]

What do you expect, they are going to have a pretty cushy life living off the 50% of us who pay the taxes. I bet everyone of them will have housing , car, cell phone, and all the cigs and booze they can handle. Oh and don't forget cable and internet access.

 

[abqhornfan]

Waiting for Superman is full of half truths and was intended to shill for the the educational entrepreneurs who want to privatize public schools for profit. I'm not going to address the inaccuracies and omissions here - if you actually care, you can google the title of the movie; from the search returns, you will find pages and pages of discussions pointing out the fallacies of the movie.

I invite you to read the following two studies that point to factors outside of ANY school's control that influence education far more than any school or teacher can. The first link also addresses whether or not charter schools out-perform public schools.

Michael Marder, Professor of Physics, Co-Director of UTeach, University of Texas

CommonWealth Magazine

And I would also ask that you consider the following report on the international PISA scores when controlled for poverty levels before you continue blasting public schools.

It's Poverty Not Stupid

I'm a 26 year veteran teacher (14 years in TX, 6 in New Mexico, finishing up my 6th year here in CO) and I've rolled with a lot of changes in that time - but this latest movement has me truly fearing for public education in this country.

 

[abqhornfan]

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[TexasGolf]

clearly we are not throwing enough money at this.