RoR: Forum

From the photo caption of the article:

Students sit in detention at American Indian Public Charter school in Oakland for offenses ranging from getting up during class or skipping a problem on a homework assignment. Students who misbehave in the slightest must stay an hour after school; if they misbehave again in the same week, they get more detention and four hours of Saturday detention.

Ugh.

Tell me again why I am supposed to like this?

Of all the things I detested about my education, these draconian penalties for minor offenses rank at the very top. Sorry, Ed, but I am not ready to sing this man's praises regardless of the final results. Some results come at too high a price. Maybe I am just too smart, white, and middle class to appreciate the context.

Yet another reason I have no children is that I have no interest in subjecting them to this kind of torture.

The behavior modification methods I have seen outlined in at least one book about the Montessori method look much more in line with reason than those of this slave-driving whip-cracker.

Perhaps the article should be entitled:

"Spitting in the eye of individual reason and freedom."

According to one parent:

According to De-Zhon's mother, Roberts said the boy would receive extra work as punishment and that she might rescind his recommendation to a private high school.

That, said Grace, "took it to another level for me. . . . I felt that was evil." She pulled her son out of the school.

Evil, indeed -- amen, sister!

Speaking of evil, I wonder if certain of my elementary school teachers have had the decency to die yet.

(Edited by Luke Setzer on 10/01, 3:03am)

Post 1

Thursday, October 1, 2009 - 4:58am

This seems a little extreme to me. I personally found the KIPP program pretty compelling. If there was one fairly close I would probably send my daughter to one.

Post 2

Thursday, October 1, 2009 - 6:16am

Luke,

Cool picture!

Anyway, I think you got sidetracked on a minor point. If you go to the (Read more...) link to this news, then you will find that I gave 2 hyperlinks. One goes to a critic of Ben Chavis, the other goes to the Amazon link to his book. If you were to examine these links closely, reading in-between the lines, then you would likely get a better picture of Chavis. Here is a quote from a book review:

He [Chavis] speaks harsh truths and takes special joy in debunking left-wing dingbat liberal dogma.

Again, he's exactly what we need to turn this country around toward Objectivism. [Take it from the "Director of Outreach" at a major Objectivist organization]

:-)

Ed

(Edited by Ed Thompson on 10/01, 9:01am)

Post 3

Thursday, October 1, 2009 - 8:53am

In case you missed it, here is the link to the (Read more ...) page.

If anyone can find the audio of Laura Ingram's interview with this guy, please post it. What I had the chance to hear was just terrific.

Ed

(Edited by Ed Thompson on 10/01, 9:18am)

Post 4

Monday, October 5, 2009 - 12:24pm

In fairness to the better aspects of "Lord Draco," I can appreciate the "no frills" approach of teaching strictly to the test. I just returned from my 25th reunion of the Class of 1984 at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM). The Chancellor (!) of the school spoke at one point in the weekend about future expansions of the school to accommodate another 300 students within 10 years or so. The cost will run $70-100 million just for the construction. Obviously the operating costs will also rise proportionally.

I never got a chance to talk to the Chancellor, but did pulse some of my classmates during the many casual breaks. "I wonder if the school ever actually accomplished the goals its founders initially imagined?" I asked rhetorically. "Does any program ever do that?" some responded back with equal rhetoric.

Later, in asking about the paths people took over the last 25 years, I found myself constantly shocked at how many took long, meandering paths toward finally earning degrees, with some never earning them. One now works as a secretary. Another has a bachelor's degree in psychology but lives with her three children on an alimony stream which expires next year. Yet another finally completed his undergraduate degree in psychology after many years of delay only because his job at Planned Parenthood now requires a bachelor's degree.

I have to wonder about the return on investment (ROI) of NCSSM to the taxpayers footing the bill versus that of "Lord Draco." Clearly I see a strong "empire building" aspect of NCSSM that will not relent easily. I still think the "bricks and mortar" expansion is a major mistake compared to an online approach and have said so publicly. Most have responded with derision. Oh, well.

(Edited by Luke Setzer on 10/05, 1:44pm)

Post 5

Friday, August 26, 2011 - 4:57am