Sad-
 

The CDC reported 1,641,700 unwed births in 2006, a 20% increase from 2002.

It's estimated that 70% of births in the inner city are from unwed mothers.

How are kids from this kind of family be expected to go to school and do their homework with , if they're lucky ,
have one parent or Grandparent home to encourage and supervise them with their school work?

When will the politicians realize that throwing money at programs such as "no child left behind" and "it takes a village"
is just throwing money away, making it seem like they are doing something about it,
when the real problem is the morality and responsibility of the parent to see that a kid will succeed.

Problem is, you can't legislate morality.

why?
 

why is the center for disease control even reporting that statistic.

sad as it may be.... :huh:

I would assume it's because they are under the Department of Health and Human Resources,

or just maybe it allows an additional reason to create more bureaucratic jobs. :think:

nobody gets or stays married anymore it seems .. Try doing a youth program (bsa)with no fathers ..

Eddie, your right, why buy the cow when you can get the milk free.

Don't know what happened to responsibility, especially when it come s too your own flesh and blood.

My brother and son both teach in inner city schools and the stories they tell would make your hair stand on end. Kids don't want to go home on weekends or vacations as they feel safer in school. :(

The politicians throw money at the schools, makes everybody feel warm and fuzzy, but it's not the facilities that need fixing it's the family.

Imho, we need more mentors for the kids. I think qualified High School seniors, Community and State Colleges should offer courses where a student can take a credited course in mentoring and mentor as part of the course.
It would lead to a bond in many cases as that is what happens when you get to know these kids. They need guidance and the time put in with them pays off as much for the mentor as the kids. Great feeling of accomplishment.

Not that easy though, logistics, always the chance of being accused of sexual abuse and all that crap too so you have to be careful to mentor in a controlled environment.

If government wants to do something, spend the money on tax credits etc. to get large companies to build back in the cities where some green space around the company as well as the buildings give the kids hope that there is another way of living besides crime and drugs. Most large companies have their own training departments and could offer these kids tours of their operations, show them how a company works in simple forms etc. But i ramble on.

Politicians don't think out of the box, it's just the same old same old, throw enough of our money around to stay in office. :sleeps:

Better that they investigate steroid use in baseball. :bs:

Well said

Hmm, so once again my tax dollars should be going to fix people's personal problems? So the govt (with my money) shouldnt give $ to schools, even though I am a good parent. My kids should sacrifice so other peoples families need to be fixed?
Its about ACCOUNTABILITY - hold people to their own actions. Maybe the fix is to do less for those who have unwed children? Maybe if there was no govt support, people would spend the $10 buck for a box of condoms? Maybe then we'd have people who want to be parents with kids, who rasie them to be good people.
DOnt make family problems a political problem, keep teh governemetn out of my bedroom and out of my wallet. I have my own kids to raise.

or Why buy the pig when all you want is a little sausage?

You're right - there needs to be more emphasis on responsibility, self control - for both girls and boys. And parents need to be more involved and stop looking the other way.

:rotflmao:Mek, I think you might have a knack for comedy.

I agree, however unless this cycle of welfare started by the politicans after the Watts, Newark and Detroit riots is broken,
people will stay on welfare forever.

By turning mentoring over to the colleges and training programs of private industry could help, over a period of time, to reduce the welfare we are paying for, and help encourage people to work to improve their self esteem and improve their lifes.

In addition i have no problem with work for welfare whenever possible for the same reasons.

Politicians won't go for it. :doh:

Peoiple need a hand up from time to time, but the sysetem we have is insane.

Why get married? Stay single, live in HER state subsidized housing, eat off HER foodstamps, knock out as many kids as you can and bank your check..

What we ned to do is check all male babies born in this country for some @#$%^&ing backbone...

Don't worry soon enough we'll be told who can have children by the government.

When a black man preaches self control and resposibility he is lambasted by the so called black leaders in this country. When a white man says it he is a racist. We have a feeling of entitlement in this country. and a feeling of" we deserve it cause we are oppressed". It is a tough cycle to break if opportunities are not available and fathers and mothers are not held accountable.

Boston Public school system is looking for 10 million additional for their budget to finish the school year.
With a graduation rate of 25-30 % in Boston public schools,
why would anyone in their right mind approve more money???
They should be cutting their budget as it is a waste of tax payers money !!!

So by cutting the budget you're going to increase the rate of graduation how?

It must be the teachers fault, they sit around and don't do anything right?

Well in a few weeks they fish alot:hihi:

I have NO idea how to increase the graduation rate.
But 25-30% graduation rate is a joke and if they need 10 million so they can finish out the year, whats the total budget for the year ???

I think that kids should show thier report cards to the cable Co. Any D's or F's... the cable tv gets shut off for a month. :hihi:

Actually it can be blamed on the parents again, can't it???Just like the zero tolerance issue..The school system can only do so much

I'd like to know whats going wrong in the city school systems. :huh:

And I completely agree, 25-30% graduating IS a joke, something is VERY VERY wrong.

Apparently the standardized tests are doing a whole lotta good huh? :cens:

In my eyes, the problem is that the teachers are forced to make sure the students can pass tests. So rather than spend the day educating the kids and give them a well balanced dose of knowlege, they are giving them the answers to the tests to memorize.

the kids are boored out of their minds because the teachers have less freedom to teach, which is an art form in itself, and loose interest.. then start failing classes... and poof. they drop out.

Parenting is a lost art as well.

In my eyes, the problem is that the teachers are forced to make sure the students can pass tests. So rather than spend the day educating the kids and give them a well balanced dose of knowlege, they are giving them the answers to the tests to memorize.
NeBe.
I am glad you said in your eyes!!
Because this is way off base! Maybe as a younger child (BTW is huge)
But not in High School.....Where it is much more important to learn.




VB

Are you a teacher VB?

I am only speaking from what I have heard about in the RI school system. But because of the no child left behind rules, testing is such a concern that more emphasis is given in making sure the kids can pass the tests..

Im no expert though..

I feel alot has to do with these kids in the city, Alot of them, not all. showing up hungry, after being out late, caring nothing about homework or grades. Having their 2nd child beforethey are old enough to graduate. It's not the school system or the teachers, It's the parents or lack of. No welfare check if your kid can't stay in school and your dad doesn't pay child support.

All good points !
Like I said, Cut and slash the budget , it's complete waste of tax payers money.!

So you punish the kids more because the parents %$%$%$%$ed up?

I dont think throwing gas on the fire is the answer, but there has to be a better answer than cut and run....

The problem is that most kids aren't reading because the parents didn't read to them. The problem is that many kids get caught behind in kindergarten or first grade and then have difficulty catching up - regardless of when the school department spends thousands of dollars per student in help and assistance and programs. The problem is parents don't get involved, or their are not enough parents, or you reach an area with a density of too many angry single parent kids, kids hit critical mass and explode out in tough ways. It is tough to be a kid these days.

And some teachers just suck and forgot why they got into teaching.

Oh, and teachers (and administration) should be required to work in the REAL WORLD every few years, ya know, with their butts on the line when regarding KEEPING your job.

Today's teacher just needs some seniority and not get caught surfing porn to keep their job.

NCLB is working (somewhat) for the lower end kids, getting some caught up. It is putting the screws to school administration to stay more on the ball. But it is not enough. Probably making the top kids suffer as a result though.

Bingo - nail on the head. You teach in the city?

It's not a waste of taxpayer money, it is a principle of our country to provide education to our youth. It is one of the most fundamental things we can do to ensure our countries prosperous future. Though I wish it would be a requirement to penalize parent's when their kids wasted this dime.

Oh yeh, and from very personal experience, some Superintendents just suck royally and either don't give a crap, suffer large amounts of hubris, or are just plain dumb.

There is all of your answers. In addition to staying at a Holiday Inn Express last night, I had the mispleasure to work in a RI school system for 3 years.

John,
Unfortunatly, NCLB and other standardized test crap removes a lot of emphasis on the ability to think, and puts it on rote memorization.

By the time they get to the college level, they can't think and don't know %$%$%$%$ unless it was stuff they had to memorize.. The up side is it is sink or swim, we can try make them want to learn, but if they don't want to it is there (parents) dime...

Don't know the answer, thats why I don't work with people, just sediment :D:D:D

I partially agree. One problem with NCLB is that it is an after the fact bandaid to get the lower kids caught up somewhat. A good teacher can both push testing and thinking and pull some of these kids forward. Unfortunately it is damage control when kids in 6th grade are reading at three grades behind. If these kids were getting help from home in the same way they are getting help in class (think the extra reading teachers and systems not in place when we were kids) there would be far less kids in 6th grade reading at a third grade level.

Don't know the answers either but I did get to observe the classroom for three years. Just enough time to form opinions loosely based in fact and probably still completely wrong. Maybe why I work with 1s and 0s :faga:

reading to your kid at a young age is so important. I always put that as a high priority and read to him for a minimum of 45 minutes before he goes to bed. This is actually why i dont night fish much any more... kid first. Work 2nd. Fishing comes last these days.

No word of a lie, my son who will be 4 in august is reading at a 2nd grade level. When he first started reading I freaked out and thought that he was autistic and there was something seriously wrong with him, which i still do to a much lesser degree.. he's got some hyperlexia going on.. but the fact that I read to him daily and put his needs before mine to make sure he is getting what he needs has helped him immensely. I can not fathom how someone could put a kid in front of a TV all day long after school, shove food infront f them and then send them to bed without spending any quality time with them..