I sent the following email to Luis Navarro of the Biden campaign after receiving an email from him informing Biden supporters of the Senator's education plan, which, but for allocating some block grants to states, focused more on preschool and college than all those grades in between, which in my view is where the greater problem lies. So I sent the following reply:
Mr. Navarro,
I'm a contributor and big supporter of the Senator.
Improving education is something emphasized by every national, state and local politician. They do this because the status of education in this country is ever unsatisfactory. And this is because the identical words of politicians before them made no significant difference, and the electorate has come to feel on this issue like neither will any current politician's words make any difference. We look weak and feckless on this issue, frankly, around the world, because various other countries have figured it out and are consistently having better success educating their children than we are. And, of course, it's a very real threat to America, and her continued competitiveness.
The intractable problems which no politician seems to ever effectively and frankly address are:
1) Parental and Familial Support for Education. Consistently, experts will say this is a key determinant in a child's success. As the Senator indicates, children tend to live up to what's expected of them. And if the parents expect the child to study and do well in school, the child studies and does well in school. A closely related issue, and again one which no politician effectively speaks to, is what to do about a widespread cultural attitude toward school in the African-American community (very much true here in Baltimore) that to study and do well in school is to "act white" and thereby not be genuine and true to ones race. I can tell you I relate very much to being Italian, and if a similar attitude were widely held among Italian-Americans and my family I would have been much less likely to apply myself in school. This particular cultural attitude in the African-American community is a key factor in poor performance. And until our public officials call it out and address it frankly, it will continue to be a key factor.
2) Local Funding. We know, have known and continue to know that local funding of public schools, typically, through property taxes, brings good schools, good facilities and well-paid teachers in wealthy areas with high property values and lots of property tax, and brings poor schools with poor facilities and poorly paid teachers in poor areas with low property values and little property tax. And it will ever be such. And it be such until a politician, a true leader on the issue of public education, frankly addresses it and seeks out an answer. Is Senator Biden that leader? I think he is, but right now he is one more office-seeker in one more election cycle to not have a plan for and directly address the entrenched problem of local funding. One thing is certain: the problem will not be solved by the local politicians from the wealthy school districts. Local funding is a local right, but some kind of federally-funded affirmative action limited only to the poorer school districts is something which should be considered. Such a law would be supported and protected against challenge, in my view, under the 14th Amendment equal protection clause.
Local funding, a lack of parental support, and cultural stigmas for doing well in school especially in the African-American community are the reasons we hear experts cite time and again, and know from our own direct experience to be at the heart of the education problem in this country. Will Senator Biden address these issues?
Thank you,
Joe Intili, contributor
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