Comments on: Retreating and Updating http://thereginamom.wordpress.com/2008/02/18/retreating-and-updating/ because I love my kids Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:20:06 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Timebandit http://thereginamom.wordpress.com/2008/02/18/retreating-and-updating/#comment-77 Timebandit Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:58:42 +0000 http://thereginamom.wordpress.com/?p=16#comment-77 Hi, L. Part of the reason for so much media attention is that this is a larger scale plan and 14 schools are at stake. Some of the schools are far more viable than has been presented to the school board, and all but one of the proposed elementary school closures affect parts of the city where the aboriginal population is over 14% of the children in that school. The concentration of closures in the central neighborhoods and in areas where a specific minority lives in higher concentration is troubling. This is about more than closing schools -- it's really about what kind of city we want to live in. Hi, L.

Part of the reason for so much media attention is that this is a larger scale plan and 14 schools are at stake. Some of the schools are far more viable than has been presented to the school board, and all but one of the proposed elementary school closures affect parts of the city where the aboriginal population is over 14% of the children in that school.

The concentration of closures in the central neighborhoods and in areas where a specific minority lives in higher concentration is troubling. This is about more than closing schools — it’s really about what kind of city we want to live in.

]]> By: L. http://thereginamom.wordpress.com/2008/02/18/retreating-and-updating/#comment-71 L. Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:44:00 +0000 http://thereginamom.wordpress.com/?p=16#comment-71 With respect to city school closures: What I find disappointing about this issue is the rural/urban divide. When a rural school closure is planned and children will be bussed to a town 30 miles away, if the issue receives media attention at all, concerned parents are portrayed by the media as hat-wearing hicks that rarely drive to town, and always look to the past, not the future. Meanwhile, when city school closures are proposed, local parents are shown as Concerned Parents to Whom we Should Pay Attention. What gives? L. ps - Of course, not ALL rural schools can or should remain open as population changes, and I assume the same applies to city schools. If ALL schools remained open, I would have been the only child in my class, and would have had to pull in kids with an 8-year age range to get two 4-kid teams together for curling. Baseball or soccer would have been completely impossible. Let alone craziness like a band, or a French class. With respect to city school closures: What I find disappointing about this issue is the rural/urban divide. When a rural school closure is planned and children will be bussed to a town 30 miles away, if the issue receives media attention at all, concerned parents are portrayed by the media as hat-wearing hicks that rarely drive to town, and always look to the past, not the future. Meanwhile, when city school closures are proposed, local parents are shown as Concerned Parents to Whom we Should Pay Attention. What gives?

L.

ps – Of course, not ALL rural schools can or should remain open as population changes, and I assume the same applies to city schools. If ALL schools remained open, I would have been the only child in my class, and would have had to pull in kids with an 8-year age range to get two 4-kid teams together for curling. Baseball or soccer would have been completely impossible. Let alone craziness like a band, or a French class.

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