10/06/98

Readers Comment about Sheff v. O'Neill

...In response to "Sheff Revisited"(10/06/98)

SNET readers believe that intense parent involvement and stricter codes of conduct in schools are essential elements for improving educational opportunities for CT's children. Every child deserves a safe, well-equipped learning environment with family-friendly policies and high achievement expectations. A selection of reader comments about the Sheff v. O'Neill case follows:

What Do the Plaintiffs Suggest?

"Despite the plaintiff's dissatisfaction, the majority of the citizen/taxpayers of Connecticut are reasonably satisfied with the voluntary methods prescribed by the state legislature. The politics of the matter usually dictate how the response to the problem is configured.

"I have a problem with talk about threats of violence on innocent people if the problem of racial isolation is not solved. Those are very polarizing sentiments. Aggressive attitudes generally meet with an aggressive, not a supportive response.

"Hartford per-capita student expenditure is among the highest in the state. Welcoming students to participate in cross-district enrollment seems like a good thing for those who wish to participate. School systems should look for opportunities to expand on this while continuing to address responsibilities to local residents. I realize that it's not a very convenient solution and not without sacrifice for those involved, but it strikes me as an extension of generous concern, not a token gesture.

"What do the plaintiffs and their proponents recommend as an appropriate solution? Certainly they can't propose that the solution to the problem lies in taking away the freedom of their fellow citizens to live and educate themselves in communities of their choice. The question remains, 'If the efforts of the state to help citizens in need are considered insufficient, then what would be deemed sufficient within the context of a free democratic society?' "

"Those who remain dissatisfied are welcome to propose their solution and present it for public approval and implementation. Any solution must pass that test or it will never have the public support to make it work. Problems are often best solved when people rally and solve them for themselves in a cooperative manner. I recall being taught that in the United States we have government by the people and for the people, 'not' of the people. Forcing people, legally or otherwise has rarely if ever worked well."

Involved Parenting is the Key

"The problem is not with the educational system at all. The problem is with the family, or lack thereof, and is a parallel to the moral decline in the community. The Sheff case is just a smoke screen that is trying to create a remedy by playing the "racial" card.

"As long as the racial makeup of a school mirrors the neighborhood that it serves, there is equality in State funding and there is no state-sponsored segregation.

"However, I disagree with the majority. I believe that busing could help the situation. Pick up the "at risk" kids after school and bus them to a family that will care about them. feed, work and play with them, make sure they get their homework done and get a good night's sleep. These caring families would get involved in the day to day operations of the school, the same way they do for their own kids.

"The best school systems are built by parental involvement, not by money. There is no substitute for parents and family. The Sheff case will accomplish absolutely nothing."

Parents Must Do More

"Parents want excellence and students are entitled to it. Quality education comes about when students, parents, teachers, administrators and the community work together. Why do people think that parents will be involved if their child is shipped off to another community, if they don't get involved when the school is in their own backyard?

"Sheff V. O'Neill bothers me, because it seems to say that if you have a high concentration of minorities, quality cannot be attained. I disagree. More and more teachers are being asked to take on parental roles. Schools shouldn't be forced to employ police officers to bring kids to school, nor should schools have to feed children their breakfast. Where are the parents and guardians?

"For some children, school is the best part of their day and education is the only light at the end of the tunnel. Teachers cannot do this alone. Working together will be much more effective."

Establish Minimum Competencies for Graduation

"Here are one parent's suggested solutions in the Sheff case:

• Accept no excuses when it comes to education.
• Put books in all the libraries.
• Hold parents accountable under the abuse and neglect statutes.
• Have zero tolerance for acting out or violence.
• Encourage positive verbal interactions by demanding proper English through praise and example.
• Hire more parents on state assistance to come and work in the schools as lunch, hall and bus monitors, so bus drivers can drive without having to police students at the same time.
• Make school hours more compatible with children's body clocks, preferable 8:30-4:30.
• Monitor study halls and daily homework. Insist that students redo all work that is not correct.
• Reward good scholarship with educational materials for the student to keep.
• Require student uniforms with regular shoes -- no sneakers.
• Ditch "junk" curriculum and return to basics.
• Make every student memorize multiplication tables.
• Have teachers visit local Catholic schools and take notes on what they see. In Catholic schools they'll find love, dignity, discipline and no excuses.
• Establish minimum competencies for graduation from high school. Schools that don't produce students educated to some acceptable standard are a waste of the taxpayers money."

Ask the Hartford Teachers for Their Opinions

"If judicial mandates can resolve the social and economic disintegration in our large cities, I'm all for it. But the schools should not be expected to carry the burden by themselves. If the parents in Hartford and Bridgeport were really concerned they would not be looking to outside legal and educational "experts" to resolve the issues. They should be looking to themselves to provide minimally decent standards for their children, even before they begin their schooling.

"Have you received any opinions from the teachers who are trying to work in these districts?"

Reluctant to Use Mandates

"When mandates are done by politicians who base their actions on opinion polls, the quality of the result is roughly equal to the quality of the standard. I suspect that keeping law and order in the classrooms is a large part of the job in Hartford; what do you suppose will happen when these problems are exported to suburban districts?

"Do you think, for example, that middle class, suburban families who have high educational aspirations for their offspring will accept much of this? When faced with the idea of busing Jr. to Hartford, Jr. will become a student at Kingswood or some parochial school.

"In general, I think governments ought to go slow with mandates of any kind; they should be used only when there is no other realistic alternative, and I am not sure the Sheff case fits that description."

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.