Salon.com News | The shame of San Francisco A great piece on the controversy over an Edison School in San Francisco. People like to bash the far right for their ruthless political tactics, but the far left can be just as bad, though they're not as well organized nationally. There's more to the story than what's here, but this is a very good and comprehensive look at the proposal. It's also pertinent to those of us in New York as Edison is going to be rejected by five schools today. Interestingly, the parents in each district voted on the matter, but any parent who didn't vote had their voted counted as a "no" vote. That provision was put in by the School Board. One of the reasons why these schools are failing is low parental participation, so as Giuliani put it, it was a done deal from the start. It's too bad in my eyes since the city and state have been unable to turn these schools around, and now they are blocking anyone else from making an attempt. There needs to be a concerted effort to break the strangle-hold the far left has on schooling in these districts. Their methods simply don't work in the lower-income schools. We know that, and it's not a knock on their intelligence, but it's time to try something else. Edison may not be the answer, but what's there currently isn't either.
- posted by levinson @ 3/30/2001 10:57:00 AM