This parent activist in Chicago says that parents have good ideas about how to improve the schools but Mayor Rahm Emanuel won’t meet with them.
Parents in New York City say the same about Mayor Bloomberg.
Why won’t the mayor listen to the most informed and most committed stakeholders of all? Not the business community, not the entrepreneurs, but the parents of the children?
| It would cost more than the city has which is a nearly 1 billion dollar deficit! Parent groups have proposed plans that would increase art and gym, support after school programs and allow more opportunity for hands-on learning, but CPS and the mayor emphatically refuse to discuss the future of our children’s education with parents. Rahm’s only solution is to impose a longer school day with no additional funding and essentially let schools try to figure out how to make it work, while secretly hoping schools fail so he can close them and create more charters. |
Diane Ravitch's blog 
It is ironic that they are all about student and parent choice and lettting them vote with their feet. Create good schools and the parents will flock to them. Until the schools they want are their local neighborhood public schools.
And for all of their talk about choice, when the parents choose to talk to their mayors they run and hide.
Rahm, I thought you were so tough….you can’t meet with a few Chicago moms? And I will quote you in reference to the Chick Fil A fiasco: “These are not Chicago values.”
Neither is swearing at people, degrading teachers and refusing to speak to your constituents, Mayor Emanuel. Toughen up…walk the walk.
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Because parents are stupid and have NO idea what is good for their children. Only political bureaucrats know what’s best.
Until we take the power OUT of their hands, return it to the local communities, this is what you can expect. This is why so many of us have been calling for the elimination of the U.S. DOE as a START.
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Like I keep saying you, Lucy …
When government becomes corrupted, or one of its essential functions goes off the rails, you don’t fix that by eliminating government or its function, you fix that by removing the sources of corruption and putting it back on track.
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These politicians seem to be following the conservative education policy line. If they truly believe that parents are the most important and the most informed people in regards to educational decisions, then they need to listen to them
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When the doors to stakeholders close, I always imagine two possible messages: “We don’t, (and never really did) care about your thoughts and opinions” OR “Our superior plans are falling apart behind the scenes and we don’t want you to see it.” Personally, I hope the first one is not true and the second one is.
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Because he’s One Tough NARD*
* Not A Real Democrat
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GO! NARD!
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So much for that “parent empowerment” stuff these politicians speak about all of the time.
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They are only for parents when they can turn them against public schools and public school teachers. Once they disagree or question, they aren’t that interested anymore.
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Well, I’m not surprised by this. If Emanuel, and Bloomberg and LA’s mayor all seized control of the schools and eliminated the elected school boards—which they did—then why would they want to hear what parents have to say?
Wouldn’t parents be yet one more “obstacle” in their plans to turn our schools into “investment opportunities” for their hedge fund and Wall Street buddies?
The only parents these miscreants want to deal with are those who have been bought off or brainwashed—I used to be part of the latter group. Parents who question their decisions will be ignored, until they (hopefully) go away.
Message To The Mayors: We parents aren’t going anywhere. And we WILL remember…
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