One for Black/Hispanic kids one for everyone else.
While it is clear that this is an opinion piece this guy has some valid points. I applaud the school for raising enrollment rate of students in AP classes, way to go. That's always a good thing. But, cutting good teachers that are already there to import teachers that are minorities and then implementing this two tiered disciplinary thing? That's lame.
Tucson schools create race-based system of discipline
by Doug MacEachern - Sept. 19, 2009 08:22 PM
The Arizona Republic
It has been a busy summer for our friends running the Tucson Unified School District.
As always, the annual Ins ute for Transformative Education summer seminar, hosted by TUSD's amply funded Mexican/American raza-studies program, was fun. So much racial bitterness to obsess over.
Tim Wise, the ultra-angry Tulane University poli-sci grad who has made a great living finding racism under every doormat, was the featured speaker. Everyone was wowed.
In a year in which hundreds of district teachers received pink slips, meanwhile, TUSD spent thousands on recruiting teachers from out of state.
And it hired a coordinator at $80,000 per annum to lead the effort.
The recruiting was prompted by what is fast becoming the consuming passion of the TUSD governing board and its allies - to establish a corps of teachers that precisely mirrors the racial make-up of its heavily minority student population.
You can argue the efficacy of such issues legitimately, certainly.
On a certain emotional level, it is a good thing for a minority student with few incentives to achieve much academically to see others who have.
But, as always, TUSD's race-obsessing board of governors is taking racial bean-counting to preposterous extremes.
This summer, the TUSD board adopted a "Post-Unitary Status Plan" that it expects will help the district escape a decades-old federal desegregation order.
The plan includes increasing the number of minority teachers - per the summer hiring spree, which netted 14 special-education teachers and one math-science teacher.
It also includes a vast expansion of the district's controversial Mexican-American studies program.
Despite the budget-enforced closing of school libraries, the shuttering of arts and music programs and the layoff of teachers and counselors in other disciplines, the Post-Unitary Status Plan calls for a vigorous expansion of the program run by TUSD's happy band of unrepentant political leftists.
The board's plan also calls for changes intended (however counterproductive those plans may be) to improving the lot of minority students.
It wants to see more minority students enrolled in advanced-placement programs, for example - a laudable goal, certainly. But consider one significant part of the plan for "improving" the academic status of TUSD's Black and Hispanic students:
The board is calling for a two-tiered form of student discipline. One for Black and Hispanic students; one for everyone else.
With the goal of creating a "restorative school culture and climate" that conveys a "sense of belonging to all students," the board is insisting that its schools reduce its suspensions and/or expulsions of minority students to the point that the data reflect "no ethnic/racial disparities."
From the section of the 52-page plan led "Restorative School Culture and Climate," subhead, "Discipline":
"School data that show disparities in suspension/expulsion rates will be examined in detail for root causes. Special attention will be dedicated to data regarding African-American and Hispanic students."
The board approved creating an "Equity Team" that will oversee the plan to ensure "a commitment to social justice for all students."
The happy-face edu-speak notwithstanding, what the Tucson Unified School District board of governors has approved this summer is a race-based system of discipline.
Offenses by students will be judged, and penalties meted out, depending on the student's hue.
Certainly, from the point of view of a public-school administrator, such a policy is beyond insane.
TUSD principals and disciplinarians (assuming such creatures still exist) are being asked to set two standards of behavior for their students.
Some behavior will be met with strict penalties; some will not. It all depends on the color of the student's skin.
It is an invitation to chaos.
The students of the Tucson Public School District
certainly deserve more.
They deserve a chance to excel academically.
Instead, they get this. Genuine apartheid.
Reach MacEachern at 602-444-8883 or [email protected].
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepu...chern0920.html
What do you all have to say?
Last edited by ashbeeigh; 09-21-2009 at 01:50 PM. Reason: I can't type.
It's typical behavior in American public schools. Far from the best people run schools in America, public or private. Teacher get crappy wages, and we get what we pay for. Teachers in Japan and Europe are highly regarded and pay well. We suck, especially in San Antonio. Although people up in NEISD and NISD think they're God's gift to intellectualism. God bless the USA and our high standards.
I say that I am constantly amazed about all the stupidity that is going on around the country daily.What do you all have to say?
So what we have here is that for example, if 75% of the discipline problems are caused by blacks/hispanics, and 25% by others, then what the school wants is for ALL of the others to be disciplined, but only a few of the blacks/hispanics. Then they will have a 50-50 ratio, and it will be all hunky dory.
They don't want any "disparities" in the discipline statistics, so they will force it so it looks even. Nice.
This is largely cliche. Teacher's salaries have been steadily rising since the '80's; and now starting teacher's salaries in NISD are approaching 50K - that's for a B.A., often in Education - an easy major - AND for 9 month's work.
We have a good friend, a German, who teaches English at Gymnasium there. Her income is equivalent to a U.S. teacher; and does not approach that of her Dentist husband. "Teachers are underpaid" is many cases simply isn't true anymore. Doesn't change the fact that many of them suck.
Yup, it's been boosted without heavy requirements (in some places). That's not the way it should have been done. It has alot to do with the teachers unions. It would be nice if we required masters degrees, but the teachers unions would strike, cry, whine whatever you can come up with to stop it.
Nah. You can get a "Masters of Education" online these days. Piece of cake. In fact, Universities set up EASY curricula to move teachers up the pay scale - and the tuition is usually paid for by the School District; win/win for the teachers and the college; the taxpayer's getting hosed, however. Damn near EVERY teacher in our district has a "Masters" - we live in a college town. Almost none, however, have a degree in their ACTUAL teaching field. Masters of Education in English, Math, Science, etc.....
Teachers with a M.Ed get paid closer to the 60s 70s then the 45-50k range.
Abd try to fit in that Masters program in with a 40 hour week on top of grading, dealing with kids, parents, lesson plans, and then trying to have a real life. That's a real sacrifice for anyone.
That's why they pick it up during the summer; and, trust me, the University has "special" classes set up for the teachers to get those degrees; my wife was given the syllabus and books for the "Masters of Chemistry Education" class (she is a Chem/Biochem prof); it was less rigorous than Chem 101 for incoming Freshmen! AND she wasn't allowed to supplement it. She, ultimately, refused to teach the class.
I'm not saying it's impossible, I'd do it. For an extra $10,000 a year? Heck yes. But people are whiners and are generally a pain in the ass.
Wow. Not one poster has anything negative to say about this "separate but equal" discipline system?
Incredible.
Now, imagine the reactions to a private school segregating their students racially.
School districts have a lot of autonomy. On the whole, I think that's a good thing. In this case, it has led to equalitarian ass-hattery.
You take the bitter with the sweet. If the policy is really as inequitable as it is represented to be, it will be challenged in court and lose. Tuscon can run its schools any way it wants, subject of course to the ongoing federal order to integrate and the accountability of regular elections.
Integration is the real elephant in the room, along with racial disparities in punishment.
If Tuscon doesn't like the remedy, they can vote out their school board.
The TUSD Post-Unity Status Plan, pp.25-28.
Calling it apartheid is overblown. What the TUSD wants to do is switch wholesale to a *restorative justice* model of discipline to decrease administrative sanctions overall, but especially for blacks and Hispanics. I see no language in the policy that suggests that there will be separate racial tracks in the disciplinary process.
The disparity in racial tracking after the fact might be more related to a 30 year old federal desegregation order, than any insidious "racist" designs on the part of the TUSD..
Last edited by Winehole23; 09-21-2009 at 07:00 PM.
Perhaps the "special attention paid to racial data" in the OP relates to the Federal Court order described here.
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/89260.php
Last edited by Winehole23; 09-21-2009 at 07:12 PM.
Shifting demographics...the district is currently 56% hispanic, but it's teaching staff is 23% hispanic...that said, the job should go to the most qualified candidate, so what they want to do is expand their pool of available candidates...nothing sinister about that...plus, there are some TX districts where hispanic/black teaching candidates are persons non-grata....
I do.
You swallowed a biased op-ed.
Hook, line and sinker.
Where are you getting a 10k raise for having a masters?
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