Seattle Is Getting Rid of Gifted Schools in a Bid to Increase Equity
reason.com
reason.com
That was quickly reversed, and I believe all the relevant school-board members were resoundingly voted out. Go Indians!
"Progressives" have completely lost the thread. YES, racism created an unequal society, and much racism and inequality persist to this day. AND the answer is not to throw out all standards. Particularly at a school like Lowell, which was the best chance for a POOR smart kid to get a great education. The rich kids already go to Lick or University or wherever.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1981/11/09/o...
Its reputation still isn’t what it was in the 1960s, though it’s not garbage tier like it was in the 1980s.
Better to make trade schools more accessible and on par, rather than ruining college.
The white and Jewish students of the time didn’t flee because of costs, but because they were suddenly surrounded by students that weren’t at all prepared for college. Why pay for a sub-par experience?
“Middle-class whites left CUNY in droves after tuition was imposed. Lavin said there was almost a feeling at the time that "CUNY is only worth going to if it's free."
“Lavin and some others still at CUNY feel that the fiscal crunch gave the board an excuse to tighten admissions standards and impose proficiency tests in addition to charging tuition.”
“George H. Hanford, president of the College Board, said his group was pushing high schools to improve programs so CUNY and other colleges won't have to spend so much time and money on remedial work. Half of today's entering college students requires such courses, he said.”
The fiscal crunch allowed CUNY to make a slow recovery, though as I said before it never really recovered.
The CUNY experiment of open enrollment was a failure. Contrast that to the formerly-free but still highly-selective Cooper Union.
I hope the education system pushes for more students in under represented groups to partake in advanced offerings instead of getting rid of them. In my ideal, the school system should strive to help all students push their intellectual ability. Moreover, school sports and extracurriculars are great places to push for greater diversity since they tend to lack under represented groups.
All this bloviating by commentators is just chickens and pigs all over again. Much as those on the outside would like to wring their hands and describe high-minded ideals, the parents and children who are most affected by the situation are making rational choices.
But the optics are bad, really bad, and the reality on the ground is bad too. Go see who sits with whom in the lunchroom.
More discussion:
It's far more likely people who dislike name-calling and poor quality confrontational comments flagged the threads.
Everything about HN's karma and moderation is designed to encourage high quality discourse and discourage conflict. That approach attracts readers who are drawn to high quality discourse and who dislike the trash-talking low-grade conflict found on other sites.
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What about the "non-smart" underprivileged kids? These gifted schools are another version of "separate and unequal". IMO, this decision will only have a small effect in addressing inequality - you will still have massive factors, like money, parental education, race, etc. But at least, the state decided not to exacerbate the problem.
Welcome to the future.