Friday, September 16, 2016

Detroit 8th Grader Teaches 8th Grade Math

When it comes to upward mobility out of the inner city
Where the quality of schools is in a word too shitty
The tried and true method is high quality education from teachers who know how to teach
And a curriculum that puts the skills needed for a high paying job in reach
It’s bad enough that in cities like Chicago, Detroit and Baltimore
A black student has a great chance of getting shot shortly after leaving his or her front door
If today is his lucky day and the gauntlet of potential violence he or she passes through in one piece
Somehow avoiding a confrontation with the police
The hours spent in class are too often a complete waste of his time
Nothing of value learned, boring beyond belief and moving closer to a path to crime
Our public schools in the inner city have largely the kids and parents failed
While the teachers’ unions and their political puppets fight against tenure and the charter schools tooth and nail
Detroit leads the nation when it comes to failing schools
But also has the second highest percentage of charter schools relying on competition as tool
More and more charters without regard to performance with too many of the for profit mode
Ground zero in terms of basic skills to the tried and true path out of poverty erode
But when in Detroit an 8th grade teacher frustrated by the conditions in frustration quits
The school administration cannot find a replacement to in his chair sit
In a moment of the blind leading the blind turns to another eighth grader to teach math
No wonder the students in this Detroit school are heading down at flank speed the failure path
We cannot redistribute out of poverty if the size of the pies remains the same pie remains the same
Decades of Blue leadership in our cities for crime and failed schools are largely to blame.
        © September 16, 2016, Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet 
        Alaskanpoet for Hire, Poems to Admire

        Poet Extraordinaire Beyond Compare
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