Candace Capers is the parent CCSD wants us to be...or not? She is an active parent. According to the Post and Courier, she's so active she chose to take her children out of our district's failing schools and get them East of the Cooper...where the real schools are. You know? The schools rating Excellent on their report cards, making AYP EVERY year (not just every other year or worse). Moultrie Middle is a middle school which actually offers foreign language, something her 6th grader would not be receiving if she kept her at Sanders-Clyde or worse, Burke Middle. Those Mt. Pleasant schools actually require their children to read AND paraphrase.
God bless her. She's a hero. Thank you, Ms. Capers, for speaking the truth too many of us are afraid to utter. And good luck to your children who are truly receiving an education we cannot provide them on the peninsula.
And shame on you CCSD for not providing them transportation!
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13 comments:
This woman has not sacrificed anything and she is not brave. Her children are the brave ones. They have to deal with a mother who was not ready to have them on any level. Yes I am happy that she understands now the importance of education. But also I feel she is being used by those who want to political damage the public school system. The problem she exposed in the article was already know to everyone except those who want to bury the head in the sand. Again, I am happy that she understands how important education is, but why was she not more responsible in her private life by keeping her legs closed until she could emotional and materially provide for her children.
I wonder about how this woman was as a child. Was she the student in the classroom years ago who thought they knew everything and when her teachers try to get her to focus? She continued to disrupt the classroom? And now the seeds are sowed and have finally matured as plants and she has a poor harvest and she wants to cry foul. Why did she not graduate from high school or get her GED? Did Charleston County not have a policy or program for unwed mothers. After the first child, why did she not live a more responsible life? Why did she continue to have more children when she was obviously not able to take care of the first one.
The only true victims in this story are the children and they have to go to school every morning with the thought they are not living with her and how does that affect them. I do not feel for this woman. She made her bed, but her children did not ask to lay in it. Why don't we hear about what she is trying to do to get her life straight. But she can afford a cellphone calling plan. Is she in an adult high school program trying to get her GED or enough credits to graduate from high school. It is great that people are helping her, but there is a part of me that it does not sit well. She has lived an irresponsible life and now she wants us to feel sorry for her. I can't feel that for her, but for her children I do.
As far as transportation, CCSD has to provide bus transportation for those parents who have worked within the system. Granted this woman made the right choices with her her first child being in school. The school system did not have to transport her child to Mt. Pleasant and she did what she had to do to get her child a good education. But with no child left behind, the school system has to provide transportation to those who have worked within the system, getting a legal transfer. I bet this woman's children have a Mt. Pleasant home address and not a downtown one and this is why she cannot get bus transportation for her children.
There are capable teachers in the downtown schools and there are students who could be equal to any student East of the Cooper; but everyday, they have a classroom in which one, two, or three students are able to create chaos and no one does anything about it. The administrator tells to teacher, "Have you called the parents." The teacher says yes and the principal sends the teacher to see someone else who is successful in a classroom East of the Cooper. Meanwhile, the one, two, or three students are undermining the classroom because we have to accommodate them. The only real accommodation they need is some discipline, bottom line and I don't mean paddling. I mean the fact that when a student goes to the principal's office. It is like the old days. There is not an investigation on who was right, the child or teacher. Bottom line the adult is being paid and not the child. Today we have put the children on an equal footing as the teacher. We must hear the child's point of view and then we decide if the teacher was right or wrong. What ever happen to the thought that the adult in the classroom is right? Children today know how to work the system so that they are not ultimately held accountability for their action until it is to late.
Now on the other hand, a principal tries to do the right thing and downtown tells them that they cannot do it because it will lower the marks for the school in the ratings game. So downtown creates a document that looks like they are addressing the issues of a failing school, but it is a paper tiger. It looks fantastic in theory, but when theory hits the pavement. It gets ran over.
And then those who want to destroy the public school system use the negative school press to push their political points and at the end of the day. The adults do not lose. They go back to their nice homes. The only losers are the children because they are growing up and not getting the education they deserve
You must be delusional to call this woman a hero... yes, yes she has made the effort to put her children in a better school... but what about all the other stuff she hasn't done.
She is not the parent we want as a "role model"... no high school graduation or ged... no husband... having many children without being able to afford them... having grandma raise them... no job... living off the government... I can go on and on
AND YOU CALL HER A "HERO"... that's Charleston's Shame
I lost all respect for the validity of your views when you posted this woman was a hero..
To various commenters: Someone who has made many poor choices tries to do one important thing right and gets slammed? A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Just because she does ONE important thing doesn't make her a hero as a parent... she has a long way to go for that honor
9:24 is right- she has made a good decision, but you take the praise too far. You are so intent on hating everything about CCSD, that you throw riduclous platitudes on someone that clearly doesn't deserve it.
Ms. Capers spoke the truth on our corrupt educational system and its refusal to provide the same education downtown that her children could receive east of the Cooper River. She chose to break the cycle so many of us can't seem to break. She stood up against neighbors, family members, and friends. She stood up against Rev. Darby, the Ministerial Alliance, and Mayor Joe. I doubt she has any idea what she did. She just wants her kids to turn out better than she did. In my neighborhood, that's a hero. We don't like you bashing the lives we live. You either don't live in my part of town or you're ticked cause you read YOUR story in the paper Saturday morning.
It's funny you don't like people bashing the life you lead, but your whole existence on here consists of bashing anyone who doesn't agree with you. Definition of a hypocrite.
Bashing the lives you live which is what... irresponsibility. That is what I call it when people bring children into this world and they are not able to take care of them and you know what, I feel the same about the parents who live east of the Cooper who pretend to be taking care of the children. How are we bashing your lifestyle. All that has been said in these post is that she has been very irresponsible. She can afford a cellphone, but she doesn't have enough money for bus fare. How much does a calling plan cost and how much is bus fare. It is about choices and for the most part she has made a lot of poor ones. And her children are having to pay the price. She has made a lot of poor choices and we, society have to pay for her choices everyday. She had children when she was not able to take care of them emotional or financially.
And society, her family have had to take of responsibility of taking care of her children. Her choices of her babies father or fathers were poor because she chose boys instead of men because real men provide for their children and it is really unmanly to have children and walk away.
Yes...Yes it is fantastic about what she is attempting for her children. Bravo, but I am not patting her on the back because she has made a lot of mistakes and did not learn from them and continued to make them. It is one thing to make mistakes on your on dime, but she is making mistakes and having everyone around her pay for them. So I do not give her a bravo on that.
The point is that why did she not stop at the first child when she should of know the difficulties ahead. Why continue to bring lives into this world when you are not able to take care of their every needs. It is called wait until you are ready and people in your neighborhood and my neighborhood are doing that and have been very responsible. They have waited to have children until they are ready. She is not the first person to fake an address to get their children into a better school. Every so often you have bashed those parents who cheat to get their kids into Buist so does that make those people heros. Because they are doing what they have too to their children in a better school. I think not.
A long journey...a first step. I constantly hear from these CCSD apologist their complaints the critics never offer a solution. Well, Ms. Capers has offered her own solution and is willing to share it. And what does she get from these apologists? She gets slammed. Sort of like those who have offered ideas and solutions to other school problems. They get accused of being against everything. How many people remember that long before there was a law suit against CCSD concerning the cheating at Buist, there was a sincere offer to fix what was broken. They got rebuffed with comments like Mr. Meyers suggesting they start another school downtown. They did. A charter school. What did they get? Threats, delays and law suits from CCSD against charter schools.
The next time someone like Ms. Capers offers to share her ideas, think about who's being negative. I wish more of us could be as honest and as generous about sharing the hard lessons of life as Ms. Capers has been. Thankfully some of our neighbors have been reminded of the struggles they have faced on behalf of their children. She set out to share her story and in return she gets assistance from people who can relate. And what does Ms. Capers say? She's happy, grateful and very much aware of the many others who face similar struggles. Too bad Dr. McGinley can only offer a free ticket back to the same old trap of poor performing schools downtown. Why not offer her children a ride to a successful school? Why not give Charleston Development Academy access to one of the schools to be closed so the only non-failing school downtown can reach more families like that of Ms. Capers? (Did Dr. McGinley forget to mention this only remaining successful elementary school downtown is a charter school?) Why make her children suffer the legacy of prejudices so easily thrown at their mother?
She knows all too well that personal insults from others can be overcome, but a mediocre education is fatal. She has encouraged her children to reach for the best education possible even though others will try to prevent them from getting it. She is a hero to her children for not wanting them to accept the low expectations of others who don’t care if they ever aspire to anything beyond average.
To the critics, you make valid points. Unfortunately, you are still missing my point. I tried to explain, but maybe I did not do as good as job as I should have. We'll have to agree to disagree on this one as well.
Underdog I am not missing your point. I think it is fantastic that Ms. Caper understands the importance of education. But my point is why did she continue to partake in acts that could potentially produce more children. Why not stop at the one until she was able to be responsible for more? There are people everyday who restrain themselves from having children.
It is not healthy for her children to be away from her. They are paying a price and the school system is not obligated to provide transportation from downtown if her children's home address is her great-grandmother's home. They do get transportation from home, great-grandmother's home. The school would be under the impression that is their home.
Which comes to another point, why has she not completed her education. Why has she not taken advantage of the fact that she has family members who are welling to provide a place for them while she gets the education she needs. Are you telling me that there are not government programs to help her get her GED or high school diploma. Does Charleston County school district have no adult education services? If they do, why has she not been taking advantage of that program.
Where are the father or fathers to support their children? Why is there not as much outrage towards them as their is to the school system?
Why is all the rage pointed at the schools and not at the community? The schools fail because the community fails to rise up and fix the problems; instead they want to point fingers to other areas of society. There are those who want to put someone down for trying to better them self educationally by telling them they are trying to be white. What does success got to do with being white?
Downtown residents should create more charter schools if the school district is not going to listen to them. Why wait? Why sit back and take it? Get involve. If you don't get involve then don't be surprise when you don't get heard. The problems in the schools are not going to get fixed until the community decides to fix the problems that are brought into the schools. There are a lot of problems that come in from the community and no one gives the schools the tools or support to fix them. Everyone wants to act like the problems will fix them self on their own.
It is good to see Ms. Caper has got it, but she is not a hero.
I can agree with the main point anonymous 4:52 is making. The poster said, "Downtown residents should create more charter schools if the school district is not going to listen to them." That's a great statement.
Two charter schools have been created against a lot of opposition coming from CCSD. Charlestn Math and Science is up and running now with grades 6-9. Charleston Development Academy is bursting at the seams with K thru grade 5. Both charter schools are successful and were started by parents who weren't satisfied with what CCSD is doing. Both schools have waiting lists. At the same time CCSD is trying hard to keep these schools from expanding into the vacant or under used school buildings downtown by suggesting these public schools pay rent out of their general funds. No other public school pays rent to the public school board. It's a tough fight to get good schools. That's why lots of parents had to push very hard against CCSD to get these schools started.
The trouble is Ms. Capers is just one parent. She and other parents like her have to find a way now. As the editor of the newspaper said the other day, her kids have only 12 years to get the most they can. Their mother can't wait 5 years or more for CCSD to get its act together. OK, she's not a hero, but she is a good example of a parent who is standing up for the kids she's got now.
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