1954 Revisited

Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)

MR. CHIEF JUSTICE WARREN delivered the opinion of the Court
Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. Compulsory school attendance laws and the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to our democratic society. It is required in the performance of our most basic public responsibilities, even service in the armed forces. It is the very foundation of good citizenship. Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment. In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms.

We come then to the question presented: Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities? We believe that it does

Is the Supreme Court upholding this landmark 1954 decision? How is this case different? What has changed since 1954? What seems to be the issue according to this NY Times article?

Sean Bell

Today in class we have discussed a recent shooting in Queens, NY. Why is this incident so volatile? What were the arguments O'Reilly and Sharpton tried to make on the show? Were they listening to each other? What resolution did O'Reilly and Sharpton come to if any? If you only read the NYTimes article presented in class today how might your view of the situation be different? What is the article leaving out?

FLYING WHILE MUSLIM

Although we had a reduced crow on Wednesday the conversation centered around How much freedom are we as AMericans willing to give up to be safe? Is ethnic profiling ok by government employees? Have you ever been the victim of "profiling"?

The class seemed to accept "profiling" as a necessary evil. Do you agree with this?

$$$ TO SCHOOLS?

How much money has been awarded the NYC school system on the court’s most recent decision? What was the court’s decision? What was the dissenting opinion? What does the last paragraph of the article imply?

Spitzer (governor elect) has carefully made a statement regarding the matter,

”We must provide more funding than this constitutional minimum, so that all of New York’s schoolchildren have an opportunity to thrive in the 21st century workplace…”

How has his opinion on the matter changed since the election?

Republican Ad Shocks Some in Tennessee

After reading the article and watching the videos; What is the "unsiad" messsages in these adds? Who is Ken Melhmen? How are voters suppossed to inform themselves? What are the real issues?

Race Preferences Vote

"The ballot initiative, Proposition 2, which would amend Michigan’s Constitution to bar public institutions from considering race or sex in public education, employment or contracting, has drawn wide opposition from the state’s civic establishment, including business and labor, the Democratic governor and her Republican challenger. But polls show voters are split, with significant numbers undecided or refusing to say where they stand."

After reading the article where do you stand?

Voter Supression!

Why are Democrats concerned with the "black vote"? How are candidates trying to get more African Americans to vote? According to the polls that the author uses in the article, what seems to be trend in the feelings of voters? Is voter suppression illegal or immoral? Whose job is it to inform the public of their rights? Is providing misinformation illegal? What assumptions about African American voters are all these candidates making?

Voter Apathy

Today’s class conversation was terrific. We spoke about voter apathy, read an excerpt form a Harvard professor and listened attentively to the words of Martin Luther King Jr.

The class discussion seemed to focus on the lack of clear lines between what it means to be a Democrat or a Republican. I think when commenting today we should try to define clearly the differences between Dems and Reps.

Where does each party stand on global trade, civil rights, the war in Iraq, terrorism, taxes, immigration, stem cell research and gay marriage?

$1.2 Million, Well Spent?

Today in class we discussed the city’s decision to allocate $1.2 million to our 10th and 11th graders with their most popular product the PSAT. After reading the article, Bloomberg Unveils a Plan to Encourage City Students to Take the PSAT, students were then asked a series of question:

1. Why are schools so interested in PSAT exams?
2. Who benefits from PSAT exams?
3. Is the “College Board” profiteering?
4. What affect will this exam have on the sophomore class?
5. Why did the author add the last line to the article?
6. What will school do with the results?
7. Are we as a society ready to let the “College Board” assess our 10th grades?
8. Who pays for the proctors, the non-test taking students, and the counseling of the students who received poor results?
9. Is it a NYC High School’s responsibility to provide prep classes for the “College Board” exams?
10. How might the $1.2 million dollars a year of public school funding be better spent than the PSAT exams.

COMMENT ON: http://monticohort1.blogspot.com/2006/10/12-million-well-spent.html

The "gap"

I apologize for the delay in posting this:

We read in class about the gap in math scores on state tests. In more affluent communities the scores are higher and in high-need communities the scores are lower. We also began to explore the controversial issue of “language”. As a class we acknowledged the social vs. “test” of academic language.

What are we supposed to do with this information? If there is discrimination in the system, how can we as 18 yr olds do something about this? What responsibility do state legislators have to close this gap? What seems to be the real issue here?

Carolina summed of the conversation at the end of class exquisitely by stating,

“The government either has to change the parents, change the tests, or retrain the teachers.”

Are there any other options?

For those of you that want more insight check out Jonathan Kozol's book Savage Inequalities (excerpted here)

Who gets to Vote

Using the new rubric we disscussed in class, write about how voter eligibility seems to be evolving according to the article we read in class. Should state identification cards be mandatory? What concerns are being raised? Who should be allowed to vote?