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    Who are the NERD fund donors Mr Snyder?

    Raise the curtain.

    Parental Choice IS Local Choice


    By JGillman, Section News
    Posted on Sat Aug 27, 2011 at 06:19:46 PM EST
    Tags: Schools, Gross Pointe, Tim Bledsoe, Dems, Elite, Snyder, Charter, Public, Michigan (all tags)

    No wonder Johnny can text, knows even the most obscure members of the black Eyed Peas, but doesn't know that the constitution is the law of the land, Ben Franklin isn't ONLY a drug store and for all intent & purposes cannot read.  

    The lefties have it wrong yet again.

    Gross Pointe schools either do not want "certain elements" from other school districts in their schools or they are ignorant of the needs of kids getting shafted in certain areas throughout the state. From the Oakland Press:

    "My personal point of view is when you take away local control of education, you essentially steal a community's destiny," board president John Steininger said.
    Steininger is referring to the attempts by the Snyder administration's plan to have all schools participate in the "schools of choice" program, the legislature's next set of reinvention changes.   Democrat Rep. Tim Bledsoe, Grosse Pointe, is worried that a mandatory schools of choice program would be the "death blow" to local control.
    "If your school board cannot control its boundaries and who is allowed to attend your schools, there just isn't much left that Lansing can't determine," Bledsoe said. "The school board is left to hire and fire the superintendent and that's about it."
    Perhaps he thinks there is a conservative element to it?

    A little more below.

    A friend who is closer to the issue writes:
    "Can't believe freaking Bledsoe and the Dems are harping on "local control" to try to undermine parents right to choose which school their children go to.  They think they've got a "conservative" talking point by saying "local control" but they're forgetting that we're not freaking idiots.  The ultimate LOCAL control is PARENTAL control!"

    Snyder makes a valid point as noted later in the Oakland press article linked above.  He notes that schools with room should not be allowed to refuse out of district students, and that (of course) in district students should have first choice.

    Snyder is right on this. We all pay for the schools. Last I knew, a publicly supported, public school, in Michigan, still received money through formula from Michigan taxpayers.

    Bledsoe, the dems, and Gross Pointe schools are wrong, and should really "think of the children".  

    Kids trapped in failing school districts ought to have choice if there is room in a better school.

    THAT is whats right.

    < Remain Vigilant | 30 Days of Summer >


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    Parental Choice IS Local Choice | 83 comments (83 topical, 0 hidden)
    You're missing the point on the REAL reason behind (none / 0) (#1)
    by KG One on Sun Aug 28, 2011 at 10:27:27 AM EST
    ..people around Detroit opposing this proposal.

    Unlike Rep Bledsoe, I'm not a.) a democrat and b.) PC., so I can say what needs to be said.

    I can tell you is that he's using the "local control" argument because he's deathly afraid to touch on the REAL issue here: DPS students leaving Detroit en masse and fleeing to the 'burbs bringing down test scores and causing numerous disruptions in the classrooms.

    Race is still a touchy topic in this part of the state, and he's afraid with being slapped with a racist label if he tells anyone what I just wrote.

    Click here to see what I mean.

    There's a damn good reason Detroit Public School Students     have a graduation rate in the 25% range.

    Here's another one.

    Now you and the guv want to impose on the education of the students in those districts surrounding Detroit who do want to learn?

    Why should their education be even more adversely impacted by a PC runamok-guv?

    Why should surrounding communities have to deal with the problems that will accompany this influx of unruly students?

    And are you ready for the proverbial can of worms that will come along with this proposal.

    For example what will the guv do when those former DPS students demand transportation between their front door and school of choice?

    Or any of the other goodies handed out by our benevolent government?

    What, you won't provide any of it? Then you're a racist!

    EMF's don't kick out all of the residents while they restructure their assigned cities so that they are solvent again. The same should hold true for schools, especially DPS.

    Send someone in there to liberally apply a kick in the pants to the status quo (just for the record Roy Roberts, isn't cutting it), but don't drag down the adjacent districts with a ready-fire-aim solution.

    Another thing should be noted (none / 0) (#7)
    by JGillman on Mon Aug 29, 2011 at 08:22:34 AM EST
    Unruly kids CAN be removed.

    Set rules. Enforce them. Done deal.

    Also don't forget that its a public money issue.

    If ever it went to court, under the 14th amendment, it MUST be adjudicated in favor of choice.  

    State money, state choice.

    you don't have to like a law for it to be the correct one.

    The #1 (none / 0) (#29)
    by grannynanny on Mon Aug 29, 2011 at 10:41:17 AM EST
    solution for failing schools right now is parental responsibility and personal responsibility!  These failing schools need structure and the only way to get the upper hand is discipline.  Make STRICT rules regarding all aspects of the learning environment and ENFORCE them.  I would start with uniforms!!!  If a kid gets kicked out so be it - sick and tired of the PC administrators.  If a kid wants to act up and not learn and the parent(s) are not going cooperate then the hell with them they are on their own. Lots of empty buildings in those urban areas with poor grades.  Let those "upstanding" parents start their own school for their own unruly kids and teach them whatever the hell they want.

    PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY - what a novel idea????  

    • oh by Tom McMillin, 08/29/2011 10:47:16 AM EST (none / 0)
      • Perhaps by grannynanny, 08/29/2011 11:03:44 AM EST (none / 0)
      • It is also by grannynanny, 08/29/2011 11:16:43 AM EST (none / 0)
    Here's an even more unpopular (none / 0) (#32)
    by archiespeck on Mon Aug 29, 2011 at 10:49:23 AM EST
    reality. Yes, the state run skrools are AWFUL and deserve to be dismantled tomorrow. But the truth is that if you bussed all of DPS to Northville tomorrow, you would have roughly the same results. And the reason is because the majority, not all, but the majority of Detroit residents do not view education as a means to bettering yourself. They view it as yet another government handout where their kids get fed for free and babysat. And until that mentaility changes, no open district in the world will change it.

    Good threads (none / 0) (#43)
    by Tom McMillin on Mon Aug 29, 2011 at 11:12:55 AM EST
    Good threads, by the way.
    This is real stuff.  I get so passionate because i get so upset with liberals who have zero problem keeping kids chained up in failing schools by opposing any kind of choice for parents who care (and may not be able to move).

    I just think some of you are in fantasizing about a conservative utopia - that will take a long time to achieve...meanwhile tens of thousands of kids get doomed to lives that a poor education will push them toward.

    I just hope we're willing to "think outside the box" on this one...and of course, without giving up foundational principles.

    Bad Schools or Bad Students? (none / 0) (#61)
    by Conservative First on Mon Aug 29, 2011 at 02:43:34 PM EST
    Much of this debate comes down to that question.  It is really the schools that are failing, or it is the students?

    Now, both are doubtless bad to some extent.  As another commenter asked, what if we swapped the population of a 'good' school with an equivalent number from Detroit?  I content that the results would swap as well.  Yes, the schools in Detroit are bad, but parents in Grosse Pointe would never tolerate the situation in Detroit if it were in their schools.

    Nobody has mentioned that the real free-market approach to education is to eliminate government involvement completely.  Obviously, that isn't politically possible, but it is the standard we should use to judge potential changes.  Decentralization moves us closer to freedom.  Greater freedom of association, which includes the power to reject outside students who may be disruptive, moves us closer to freedom.

    Finally, Rep. McMillin asked for alternatives, which I'll assume means politically feasible alternatives.  First, expand the number of charter schools, and let them accept those Detroit students who actually want an education.  (Of course, they have to be free to reject those who don't.

    Second, break up DPS.  The district is way too big.  Smaller districts would give the minority of good parents in Detroit a fighting chance to improve their schools, and would make it easier to move to a district with better schools.

    Looking over where the grass is greener (none / 0) (#64)
    by Pogo on Tue Aug 30, 2011 at 04:25:27 AM EST
         There is one seemingly obvious solution, as seen here: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20110829/ARTICLE/308299997

         Assuming it is the state's business to require children to be educated, paying for it through taxation (and I think that's been in the constitution since Michigan became a state), then vouchers with no strings attached would appear to be the ultimate solution to local community apathy (or if you like, non-middle class values). Those parents with an interest in their child's future are free to direct it toward the most promising institution. In the Indiana case, the implication was that vouchers weren't universally available, but limited by income levels. Still, much better than Michigan.
         I recall reading a while back that public polling showed that around 75% of the state was opposed to school vouchers. Is this based on fear of religion, or something else? Why are religious schools the vast majority of successful private schools? (In the Indiana story, at least.) Given that generations of Michigan ghetto residents (of all colors) have kept the current situation in place for decades, how bad would it have to get before they were willing to vote for vouchers? (For residents of happy suburban districts, the resultant cost in taxes just to pay for sufficient jails is a substantial part of the budget.) Is it just the unions blocking this, or something more universal in public opinion?

    Interesting analogy from my inbox to add here. (none / 0) (#83)
    by KG One on Fri Sep 02, 2011 at 11:55:18 AM EST
    Even with "controls" in place like zoning ordinances and police patrols, the cream of the crap always manages to ooze into places where it's not wanted.

    And look at that standard response from the gov't when you do try to implement any control?

    Parental Choice IS Local Choice | 83 comments (83 topical, 0 hidden)
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