Audio By Carbonatix
Magnetic Retraction By Jim Schutze, May 14
Messing with Success
The magnets are not only “islands” of excellence, cut off from the
larger world around them. They provide a crucial role in allowing a
sense of possibility and aspiration to permeate the entire
district—to kill them is to kill that sense. We should see them
for what they are, vehicles of democracy. We can disagree about what
“equalization” might mean, but I have my daughter in a magnet, at least
in part, because I believe in the democratic mission of public
education. We should be extending the magnet model, not gutting it.
Dan from Dallas, via dallasobserver.com
Thank you for investigating this important matter. I want everyone
to remember that every child in Dallas, no matter where they live and
regardless of income, can attend a magnet school if they qualify. The
schools are diverse racially, economically and geographically. And we
receive no Title I funds. The magnet schools are nationally known
successes; why would Dallas want to toss that aside?
Bonnie Bazley from Dallas, via dallasobserver.com
Two of our children attend a DISD magnet school (Travis), and it has
been a phenomenal experience for them. Both children have flourished in
the project-oriented, individualized magnet environment. The teachers
are excellent, and they care deeply about the kids. I have heard
similar stories in visiting with parent leaders from both the learning
centers and other magnet schools. These schools do not foster elitism,
but rather personal responsibility and initiative. They provide
children from every corner of Dallas and from all walks of life the
same opportunity: An education that is tailored to their needs.
Kristin from Dallas, via dallasobserver.com
Let’s say for argument sake that we dismantle the magnets, spread
the budget evenly to all the schools in the district. What next? What
do you do with newly renovated Booker T. Washington, or Townview, or
Skyline? Who is going to create new attendance zones to encompass
thousands of students within the neighborhoods closest to these
schools? Who is going to tell all the juniors planning to graduate from
their current high school in 2010, “Sorry, you are changing schools, so
you can just throw away that senior ring. It’s no longer your school.”
Where are you going to send the students at Townview’s Talented and
Gifted Magnet and Science and Engineering Magnet to take college-level
courses? There isn’t another school in the district that offers the
courses these students are scheduled to take next. My son is a junior
and will have 18 college courses completed at Townview before he
graduates next year. If you spread these students around Dallas to
attend their neighborhood high school, the schools will not be prepared
to teach the classes they are ready to take…If you dismantle the
magnets, it will not be feasible to offer college-level courses at all
the campuses in DISD. The end result will be to reduce the academic
achievement possibilities of DISD to the average student.
Kathy Priester from Dallas, via dallasobserver.com
“A Daytime Curfew?” By Patrick Williams, May 14
A class crime
Can anyone explain how giving a kid a $500 fine is going to improve
school attendance or decrease daytime burglary? Anyone? There is no
research to support this; there is no rational argument to support it.
Giving kids a ticket is just that, giving kids a ticket. It doesn’t
make school safer, more appealing; it doesn’t improve conditions that
lead to truancy; it doesn’t help hungry kids get fed—in fact, it
does the opposite. So sorry for the kids in Dallas who need help, not
financial penalties for not having the tools they need to get by
perfectly in this world. They need assistance, not tickets.
Tracey from Austin, via dallasobserver.com
The kids caught cutting school should be given a taste of the
careers they can look forward to. I suggest some or all of the
following:1. Have them dig some ditches.2. Spend time working in fast
food.3. Standing on a street corner holding a sign.4. Working at the
Dallas Observer.
Tim Covington, via dallasobserver.com
