Commenters on the AJC Get Schooled blog debated whether we ask too much of poor children in response to a guest column today by Furman professor Paul Thomas. Thomas contends that “no excuses” advocates call for poor children to develop “grit” so they can overcome obstacles, while society does little to address the biggest challenge these children face: poverty. Many readers disagreed. Here is a sampling of the comments:
Astro: Reformers are trying to pry open the doors to better schools (just like rich people's kids attend), and obstructionists like the author are the ones standing in the way. Ask the people in Druid Hills, who is holding poor kids back from higher achievement? Hint: It ain't the tea party.
Johnny: At what point are we gonna look at ourselves as individuals and stop blaming the system or somebody else? At what point will you do whatever it takes to prevent your own failure or demise?
Lexi: Fact is, many groups of people immigrated to this country, and their members were poor, temporarily. Many escaped poverty over time, usually educated in public schools that had far fewer resources than we throw at those schools now. Most of the escapees had grit and a work ethic. They escaped, instead of waiting around for people to give them things, and then give them more. It's also a fact that "poverty" is a matter of characterization. The "poor" in this country have more material goods and services given to them than are enjoyed by middle-class citizens of those socialist utopias bought on credit.
Redherring: Sometimes the answer isn't to keep throwing money at the problem. Who is to blame for the kids being brought into this world by unwed mothers wanting to increase their government checks? The total cost from birth to graduation for these children is astronomical: free housing, free food, free schooling, free health care — the list goes on and on. We have rewarded bad behavior for so long it, has become a way of life for too many people. The answer lies in getting people off of welfare and government support and back to working.
AtlantaMom: The "true grit" people clearly haven't spent time around students who don't know where they will be sleeping that night. Homework is not a top priority when there is no food in the belly. And you can't blame this on the students. Not one student asked to be born poor. They are just trying to make it through the day.
Chamblee: How to help the low-achieving schools of those in poverty? Look at those making gains — real gains (not cheating). They are doing it many ways. But I know this: It's not just money. It's smart people — school-level administrators, teachers and parents — putting smart ideas into action.
Teacher: This is common knowledge for all educators. It is called the hierarchy of needs. In its simplest terms, it means people (in this case, children) can't devote as much energy to learning if their basic human needs are not met. A hungry child doesn't care as much about academics as he or she does getting something to eat. A homeless child doesn't care about graduating from high school as much as he or she cares about having a warm place to sleep.
