--- [ ARCHIVE ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=16) # Broader, Fairer, Better: Education Today ***![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Oct-2013/cw11081b.png)EDUCATION POLITICS***-[Whatever happened to education?](https://mail.citywatchla.com/lead-stories-hidden/5816-seriously-folks-what-ever-happened-to-education%20%20) It’s gotten [better and better](http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/12/us-education-is-much-better-than-you-think/68635/) and [fairer and fairer](http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CF0QFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ips-dc.org%2Fgetfile.php%3Fid%3D173&ei=vwtTUrevOMSBiwLB_IGIDw&usg=AFQjCNGQ93XkAgAGWWqD1jzzwg0yElEKtQ&sig2=L_eYaOHbznfsmWwXURWV1A)! What’s happened to education is that it is *not* worse than when we were kids: it’s [better](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/10/03/diane-ravitch-qa-on-her-controversial-new-book/). Kids are *not* failing, they are given vastly greater challenges than during our tenure in K12 and they are meeting those challenges. Contrary to what we hear so often, a kids’ experience in the classroom is immensely “academic” and they and their peers are learning – all of them – at a far more sophisticated, “high-level” than ever. That “all” includes, critically, and admirably, kids of a [far greater diversity](http://www.sfgate.com/education/article/U-S-schools-fare-better-in-analysis-4197439.php) than were served when we were little. Written by Sara Roos. October 07 2013 [](https://www.addtoany.com/share) ***![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Oct-2013/cw11081b.png)EDUCATION POLITICS***-[Whatever happened to education?](https://mail.citywatchla.com/lead-stories-hidden/5816-seriously-folks-what-ever-happened-to-education%20%20) It’s gotten [better and better](http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/12/us-education-is-much-better-than-you-think/68635/) and [fairer and fairer](http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CF0QFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ips-dc.org%2Fgetfile.php%3Fid%3D173&ei=vwtTUrevOMSBiwLB_IGIDw&usg=AFQjCNGQ93XkAgAGWWqD1jzzwg0yElEKtQ&sig2=L_eYaOHbznfsmWwXURWV1A)! What’s happened to education is that it is *not* worse than when we were kids: it’s [better](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/10/03/diane-ravitch-qa-on-her-controversial-new-book/). Kids are *not* failing, they are given vastly greater challenges than during our tenure in K12 and they are meeting those challenges. Contrary to what we hear so often, a kids’ experience in the classroom is immensely “academic” and they and their peers are learning – all of them – at a far more sophisticated, “high-level” than ever. That “all” includes, critically, and admirably, kids of a [far greater diversity](http://www.sfgate.com/education/article/U-S-schools-fare-better-in-analysis-4197439.php) than were served when we were little. I was struck by the Back To School talk of a math teacher who tossed out an aside that in her experience, most parents were sort of left at the wayside come Algebra I. I was surprised by that, but in truth, as I look at my child’s text, I see that they are introducing concepts in a more sophisticated and deep way than I visited them. As well of course my learning is 30 years stale. But the proof is so easily tested in the pudding: ask your (grand)child; ask your neighbor’s child. Challenge him/er with a learning contest and see how you stack up against your 8th grader. I think you will be surprised. I think you will discover that their educational experience is far, far from “broken”, and their knowledge base is broad, deep and impressive. In my view, we are as a society at something of an inflection point in K12 education. What I see is a scary future of privatized, fractionated and [segregated](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/08/29/report-public-schools-more-segregated-now-than-40-years-ago/) education. I worry that it will quickly become [*less* democratic and less sophisticated](http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/27/no-rich-child-left-behind/?_r=0) for one and all. And without in any way diminishing the very real problems that we face, or romanticizing the problems we’ve weathered, it is not the current state of affairs that so concerns me. It is the plans for the future. Or lack thereof. In a district facing budget cuts so severe that there is insufficient money for toilet paper, and class sizes are routinely at 1 teacher per ***fifty*** (1:50) students, how will we sustain an ever-growing electronics habit? We all know how consumer electronics are manipulated to eat more and more of your salary every year. How can we sustain this commitment? How can we protect the trust of educating future generations excellently in a market- and capital- rather than academic-driven environment? And in worrying about the future, it becomes critical to evaluate the present accurately. A false sense of crisis feeds the [culture of fear that results in hasty decisions, poorly-considered](http://isreview.org/issue/71/education-shock-doctrine). The underlying theory and concepts of Common Core are terrific: who can object to learning that is grounded in critical thinking and deep evaluation, even consistency? But [questions surround its implementation](http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2013/07/is_inbloom_enthusiasm.html) and implications for autonomy and flexibility. Boundaries matter and drawing a circle around the entire country as a federally-directed educational zone dilutes contributions at all subsetted levels, including regional, state, district, school, and the most important – the teacher in your very own child’s specific classroom. It’s hard enough fighting bureaucracy at the level of a vast district like LAUSD’s. Imagine when all directives are micromanaged from 3000 miles away. Bottom line is: we have a communications and perception problem with our schools. What’s going on inside of them isn’t all that bad; the system does not need rewiring. Magnets are doing a tolerably good job at integrating schools, certainly better than the revamped system of charters, which wind up [isolating SES (socioeconomic) groups into ghettos](http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2013/08/13/little-rock-school-expert-argues-for-continuation-of-magnets-transfer-programs-but-focused-on-economic-integration-not-race) of sameness. Because birds of a feather do indeed flock together, it takes some concerted effort to facilitate embracing the new and different. Our schools have a system for fostering diversity. This is so fundamentally important, it cannot be allowed to be undermined. Support Our Public District Schools! Don’t denounce them until you yourself have evaluated the situation fairly – on the ground and through [unbiased reasoning](http://www.epi.org/files/2013/bba-rhetoric-trumps-reality.pdf). Visit a public school. Help out in one. Send your child there. Our schools are what we make of them … unless [we let someone exogenously remake them](http://www.hemlockontherocks.com/2013/09/how-eli-broad-commandeered-lausd-primer.html). ***(Sara Roos is a politically active resident of Mar Vista, a biostatistician, the parent of two teenaged LAUSD students and a CityWatch contributor, who blogs at[ redqueeninla.com](http://redqueeninla.com))*** ***-cw*** ***CityWatch*** ***Vol 11 Issue 81*** ***Pub: Oct 8, 2013*** [ ![LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/LADWP/dwp%20level%20pay%205-7-25.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)") ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/banners/signup-for-cw.png) ## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays Website [ ![Home - HHR Rent is too High - SB-2](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/HHR/AHF-rent-too-high.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/104 "Home - HHR Rent is too High - SB-2") --- ## Featured CityWatch Stories [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/d8/066m-d8f0fac6.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33229:democrats-finally-tell-iowa-and-new-hampshire-you-dont-go-first-anymore&catid=395) ### [Democrats Finally Tell Iowa and New Hampshire: You Don’t Go First Anymore](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33229:democrats-finally-tell-iowa-and-new-hampshire-you-dont-go-first-anymore&catid=395) GELFAND’S WORLD - Earlier in the week, the Democratic National Committee did something good. Mind you it wasn’t great… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/da/066j-daf22e28.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33231:a-prisoner-a-peacemaker-and-israels-defining-choice&catid=375) ### [A Prisoner, A Peacemaker, and Israel’s Defining Choice](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33231:a-prisoner-a-peacemaker-and-israels-defining-choice&catid=375) P.O.V - Marwan Barghouti remains one of the most consequential—and controversial—figures in the Israeli-Palestinian con… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/65/066n-6599ca07.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33228:lausd-demolishes-closed-schools-wasting-public-assets-and-community-hopes&catid=312) ### [LAUSD Demolishes Closed Schools, Wasting Public Assets and Community Hopes](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33228:lausd-demolishes-closed-schools-wasting-public-assets-and-community-hopes&catid=312) NICK'S VIEW - We are appalled that the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is demolishing closed schools in the… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/e3/067m-e39a930e.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33250:missing-middle-la-city-plannings-new-approach-to-attainable-housing&catid=429) ### [Missing Middle. LA City Planning’s New Approach to “Attainable” Housing](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33250:missing-middle-la-city-plannings-new-approach-to-attainable-housing&catid=429) MY TAKE - As if Sacramento’s relentless parade of housing-streamlining legislation hasn’t disrupted Los Angeles neighbo… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/84/066h-84a1ecbd.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33234:homelessness-among-seniors-spikes-in-los-angeles-county-but-its-not-hopeless&catid=312) ### [Homelessness Among Seniors Spikes in Los Angeles County, But It’s Not Hopeless](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33234:homelessness-among-seniors-spikes-in-los-angeles-county-but-its-not-hopeless&catid=312) SENIOR HOUSING - Near the very end of the report for the most recent Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, there’s a stat… --- ## [ ARCHIVE ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=16) [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Apr-2018/034e.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15339:early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles&catid=16)### [Early Intervention and Jobs are Key to Stemming Chronic Homelessness in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15339:early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles&catid=16) ### [Tucker Carlson and Gay Rightwinger Blame California Wildfires On Hiring LGBTQ People](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18755:tucker-carlson-and-gay-rightwinger-blame-california-wildfires-on-hiring-lgbtq-people&catid=16) ### [Anti-LGBTQ Veep Just Can’t Stop Talking about Mayor Pete](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17690:anti-lgbtq-veep-just-can-t-stop-talking-about-mayor-pete&catid=16) [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Apr-2018/033j.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15316:news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties&catid=16)### [NEWS PULSE: ‘Corrupt System’ Reason for Not Voting in 2018 … Majority Wants More Than Two Parties](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15316:news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties&catid=16) [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Jan-2016/1404d.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10245:dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles&catid=16)### [Dead Dog Set on Fire … Sparks Fears for Strays in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10245:dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles&catid=16)