It was interesting to follow the article in this morning's P&C about the latest fruit basket upset being proposed for the administration of CCSD. It sounds like just a lot of deck chairs and the Titanic again.
It’s bad enough that this appeared to be the product of yet another extra legal meeting behind closed doors by CCSD and its board, but the article referred to a particularly annoying comment made by one of the board members. The final couple of paragraphs focused on an exchange between CCSD officials and the presumptive resident board member from downtown. It was almost laughable if Ms. Green wasn't so condescendingly out of touch with her neighbors and their ongoing cry for improving the seven failing public schools located within a mile radius of Buist.
The writer, Diette Courrege, also left out a rather important observation relating to Ms. Green in her coverage of this exchange. The details might have been of interest to her readers and made Ms. Courrege’s article more relevant.
As it was presented in the P&C article, the seemingly attentive and concerned downtown representative on the county school board was quoted as an advocate of CCSD requiring more reading for elementary and middle school students. She used her own child's Buist Academy experience as an example to make her point. Ms. Green volunteered using her child as an example but the writer failed to carry the example any further based on knowledge that Ms. Courrege as an experienced reporter already has.
It is important to remember that as of the date of her remarks, Toya Hampton Green's daughter was barely into her fourth week as a kindergarten student at Buist Academy. According to Ms. Green, her daughter is required to read four books a week. If that’s true, Buist requires 144 books to be 'read' by each child in a Buist kindergarten class between now and next May. That would compare to the twenty books per year that CCSD is only now proposing as the minimum for all Charleston County elementary school students.
I can understand how Ms. Green may be struggling to appear to want the same standards for every other school that Buist already has, but what’s her point? This would appear to mean that she wants 'the Buist experience' for every child attending all other elementary schools in Charleston County. Ms. Green is practicing the art of grandstanding but Ms. Courrege is letting her get away with using an imaginary grandstand.
Ms. Green’s suggests that “the Buist standard” should be applied to children who have been denied access to CD classes. As a county board member Ms. Green decided CCSD couldn't afford to make additional pre-kindergarten classes available where they are needed most. Then there is the fact that Ms. Green wants all those children not lucky enough to win the Buist lottery to reach for those many required books from the partially empty library shelves found at schools that CCSD's budget failed to fund sufficiently.
I think Ms. Green's superficial comments say much about her total disconnect with the realities of public education in Charleston County beyond the closed universe that is otherwise known as Buist Academy. Ms. Green needs to get a grip on the reality that exists outside the closely guarded gates of Buist Academy. It’s a very difficult and inequitably reality that she helps to maintain by continuing to be so out of touch with her constituents.
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5 comments:
I thought Green's comments were bizarre also, if not condescending. My grandson has been in kindergarten the same time as Green's daughter and he isn't reading any books yet. Hmm, should I have lied and gotten him into Buist too?
The other lawyer on the board is just as big a joke. I can't believe Gregg Meyers actually put in print his interpretation of "incentives." I thought he was just insulting our intelligence at Burke. Now he's insulting the intelligence of everyone who reads the Post and Courier. You really are an ass, aren't you, Gregg?
I don't understand Toya Green. She has been absent in her support for at least 3 important school initiatives developing her district downtown. Chas. Progressive eventually received some support but only after parents pleaded publicly for months. Burke parents and alumni continue to ask why CCSD and the county school board wants to put Lowcountry High Tech at Rivers and ignore their requests for better technical and trades programs at Burke. Finally she wants to require that the math & science charter school use income and racial quotas, yet she supports Buist Academy being exempt from anything related to race, income, ADA or even NCLB. For a mother of a school age child who thinks of herself as involved in the community (not to mention an elected representative) she is unbelievably obtuse and insensitive. Maybe Toya Green's reading list should include what her neighbors at Burke, CPA and the Math & Science Charter are reading, writing and sharing with each other.
Ummm Anonymous #1, is it the school's responsibility to have your kid read a book at night. YOU could help teach your child to read and ask them to read a simple children's beginner book at kindergarden age. My oldest kid didn't go to Buist and was able to read the beginner books by Kindergarden age. Now we did have to spend time as a parent to help him to read, but that parenting time paid off. Maybe you should try it.
12:49 Jon, Perhaps you should have stayed in the marriage and yours wouldn't be so screwed up. Oh, that's right, your wife couldn't stand looking at you, but, neither can we! He does read simple books. She gave the impression that this kid was reading regular books. My grandson is far advanced because he does have great parenting. We didn't sit around and wait for "the village" to do it for us
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