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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ilaine who wrote (47095)	7/25/1999 1:35:00 PM
From: The Philosopher	Respond to of 108807

I wasn't looking at placing responsibility or blame for the problems of D.C. That's far too complex a problem for me to get into here. Keep in mind that all I was doing was responding to your original post in which you praised Washington as a "world class, cosmopolitan city." I was saying that I don't think that a city with the problems of Washington can properly be considered a world class, cosmopolitan city. Where those problems arise from or who is to blame wasn't part of my statement. But I think that in order to be a world class city, a city has to be a good place to live, not just to visit, and that requires good basic services like education, housing, health services, crime prevention, etc.

To: Ilaine who wrote (47095)	7/25/1999 2:15:00 PM
From: Michael M	Respond to of 108807

CobaltBlue -- DC schools don't suck -- too many of the students and parents and "leaders" who pander to them do. Budget wise, DC schools per pupil funding rate is one of the highest in the nation. Faculty wise, Almost 80 percent of the teachers in the DC system have a masters or higher degree. Class size, The 15.7 - 1 student to teacher ratio would cut the mustard in the most expensive private schools in the country (this ratio is further reduced by very high absenteeism rates). You can't teach much if they ain't there. The students don't merely score low on standardized tests, some of those tests show that the percentage of high school students reading and calculating at "proficient" or "advanced" levels is, in some cases, less than a fraction of a percent! System wide the numbers are sickening. What sane parent wouldn't want their children as far away from this environment as possible. Are D.C.'s social woes the fault of the white and middle class leaving OR their opposite number moving in? I think this is an easier "which came first" question than the chicken and the egg one. By the way, the Post does a great job covering education.