NYC’s sad betrayal of K-8 education
Rockledge, Fla.: Last June, I wrote a letter to The News about the ongoing debate about the specialized high schools. It pains me to see here we are again.
First off, let’s stop using the word “segregated” to describe the situation. The mayor and the schools chancellor, and other politicians are particularly fond of using that word. The schools are not segregated. The test is open to everyone, regardless of race, color or class. Did I miss something? Or are Asians all of a sudden considered white people now? When did being able to determine that 2+2=4 lead to segregation?
Which leads to my point: Why is no one screaming from the rooftops about the sad and sorry state of K-8 education in New York City, particularly in black and Hispanic neighborhoods? It is shameful, and the continued lack of discussion of a real solution by either our mayor or our chancellor borders on criminality.
My old elementary school, PS 137 in Lower Manhattan, is now sharing a building with nearby PS 134. That’s two elementary schools crammed into one building. Why? Because the DOE turned PS 137 into a Chinese-language charter school, where very few kids from the neighborhood attend. Whose bright idea was that? You think a child can learn in that environment, let alone a gifted one? Why isn’t the mayor listening to those like Councilman Rob Cornegy who has talked about returning the gifted and talented programs that Mayor Bloomberg did away with to black and Hispanic neighborhoods? Why isn’t the mayor talking more about how he will raise test scores on the state English Language Arts and math exams, which are downright abysmal?
Because he can’t. He has no real solutions, so he plays the oppression card that people fall for so well. Except the oppression isn’t the test. It’s the sick and sorry state of K-8, which is oppressing the black and Hispanic children of New York. Black and Hispanic children attended my alma mater, Brooklyn Tech, in large numbers when I attended in the late 80s. Did the test get harder? Are the Asian kids that much smarter? No.
Fix the sad and sorry state of K-8. That is the only solution required here. Yusef Johnson