Thank you, Katie Knox, for your drawing.
Dear WinkWorld Readers,
How are our schools doing when we compare them with schools from other countries? Fine. Just fine. It is a myth to think that our schools aren’t doing well. This myth has been propagated by those who would like you to believe our schools are bad, so that they can take over the schools. Our new educational lead person in DC wants you to believe this. Just ask the people of MI, where she was, what happened to their schools when corporate education took control of local public schools. Or just Google the data and read.
Mostly, in the US, we all love our local public school, but we are not so sure about yours.
In the US, we believe in welcoming all kids to our local school. Many countries do not. Our schools are very heterogeneous. The kids in our schools often come from high poverty communities, and it is hard to learn when you are hungry, or there just are no books at home. We have lots of kids who bring other languages and are still acquiring English. We have kids with learning disabilities, physical handicaps, emotional damage, etc. We are not a homogeneous group, but we all treasure democracy and believe in education for all.
Below, I am posting some of the information which verifies that US schools are doing just fine. And, yes, we can do better. You really do not have to read all that I have here, but I so hope that you will stop thinking that US schools are bad. Just not so. Stand up and be proud of our kids and schools. Get to your local school and offer to help. Together we can all make our schools even better.
I conclude with a story about blueberries.
“Please, please, please, don’t throw me in the briar patch.”
Thank you, David Berliner and Schools Matter.
Thank you, Steve Krashen and what we can do to protect kids from poverty.
Thank you, The Nation and Diane Ravitch. The data are nuanced, and we must address the needs of kids of poverty.
Thanks, again, Diane Ravitch: Standardized test rank kids by family income.
Thank you, Steven M. Singer.
U.S. Public Schools Are NOT Failing. They’re Among the Best in the World
And, a special thank you to Jaime Robert Volmer for telling us a story about blueberries, er I mean a story about what makes US schools unique. Yes, you do have to read this one.
