Tony Norman article-Biggest gap in Black kids' learning:parents |
I will begin by saying that I think that the “Biggest gap in black kids’ learning: parents” article is extremely well wrote. Norman tackles an enormous issue that often is ignored because of its size. However, if I were his editor, I would question the exact role the teachers do play in the equation. He almost rids them completely of blame, which is the point of his article. He writes, “You could transfer the most accomplished teachers to Pittsburgh tomorrow and still face painful reality—the bored and unmotivated African-Americans students counting down the minutes until the end of the school day.” And while I do understand what he is saying and the issue he is looking at, I would not completely write off any error on unions and teachers. Some sort of statistic might help here to clarify, or something along of the lines of… “If an accomplished teacher replaced a mediocre teacher the students might see hints of their enthusiasm for learning, or strive to be as well-educated as he or she. While this would certainly not come close to filling the black education gap, it might just start the process.”
Furthermore, I would ask him to elaborate on what caused the disinterest from the parents in the children’s schooling. Was it how they were raised? Are they simply too busy? Do they not feel responsible for their child’s grades? Are the children’s grades begin ignored a sign of a larger issue? Is it because many students today come from single parent households? I want to know what the borderline cause is, and if it can be prevented by any other way than getting the parents to become more active in the children’s education. He begins to explain what parents need to do to become more active with, “This goes way beyond showing up for parent-teacher nights. This means supervising homework, modeling an appreciation for learning from the first day that child comes in the world, limiting media distractions…”. More specifically, I wish he would write about ways parents can model an appreciation for learning and how to limit media distractions, like by playing counting games when grocery shopping or giving them books instead of an I-pad to play with while they are young. Individualized suggestions would help to make this more of a proactive piece than it already is.
And lastly, I would praise Norman for an excellent article. I would commend him for diving into this issue and realizing its importance, even over other largely problematic issues like “police brutality, urban violence and joblessness.”
Furthermore, I would ask him to elaborate on what caused the disinterest from the parents in the children’s schooling. Was it how they were raised? Are they simply too busy? Do they not feel responsible for their child’s grades? Are the children’s grades begin ignored a sign of a larger issue? Is it because many students today come from single parent households? I want to know what the borderline cause is, and if it can be prevented by any other way than getting the parents to become more active in the children’s education. He begins to explain what parents need to do to become more active with, “This goes way beyond showing up for parent-teacher nights. This means supervising homework, modeling an appreciation for learning from the first day that child comes in the world, limiting media distractions…”. More specifically, I wish he would write about ways parents can model an appreciation for learning and how to limit media distractions, like by playing counting games when grocery shopping or giving them books instead of an I-pad to play with while they are young. Individualized suggestions would help to make this more of a proactive piece than it already is.
And lastly, I would praise Norman for an excellent article. I would commend him for diving into this issue and realizing its importance, even over other largely problematic issues like “police brutality, urban violence and joblessness.”