40 yrs of Chicano Studies

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Old 10-03-2009, 07:56 AM
ilbegone ilbegone is offline
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Originally Posted by kjl View Post
Well the results, as far as their input into LAUSD, speaks for itself. With all their finger pointing and never the thought of looking at themselves as the problem, this failed system will continue, and at the taxpayer's expense. They keep pushing the 'victim' mentality social injustice theme, all the while excusing the lack of true school with a focus on marketable and usable skills. It matter much less if a student can read, do math or comprehend common sense situations. Just as long as they have 'pride' and can argue that it's the system and the country's fault. Being a victim is such a noble cause, who needs those pesky skills like reading and writing.
A few years ago when the May Day skip school BS was going on, a reporter asked a high school girl from Rialto or Ontario why she ditched school.

The only reason the girl could come up with was "I'm doing it for my pride!", with little other notion of what it was all about - amnesty for illegal aliens.

It's just "socially permissible" racism. Let a white person even think of doing what they get away with concerning racism and watch how fast the race card gets thrown on them.

You can't really blame the gabacho anymore for Latino illiteracy. It's pretty hard to yell "the white man is holding me back!" when the people running the show have Spanish last names, south of the border family origins, and an education filled with Chicano studies.


Forty years of Chicano studies

[Jeanfromfillmore]

AyatollahGondola AyatollahGondola is offline
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You know ilbegone, you may have a good theme for a public effort here. Maybe we should strategize on this a little, and bring this to our seerless leaders at the schools administration. I see a billboard event in the future....(insert cartoonlike Nostradamus icon here)

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Old 10-04-2009, 06:03 AM
ilbegone ilbegone is offline
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Default Larry Aceves Educator
This appeared in a local newspaper yesterday as a letter to the editor.

The author is a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction in 2010.

Quote:
Gaps have grown
Larry Aceves
Posted: 10/02/2009 08:16:48 PM PDT

RE: "SAT scores dip for high school class of 2009," Aug. 25.

The news that this year's SAT scores dropped an average of two points from last year should come as no surprise considering our schools have suffered severe budget cuts in recent years on top of decades of inadequate funding.

The news for Latino, African-American and low-income students is even more disconcerting, as the long-standing achievement gaps affecting these groups have widened.

The governor and legislators bemoan these disparities, yet they agreed to additional budget cuts for the coming year that will exacerbate these divides. While Sacramento has raised expectations for our schools and students to the highest in the country, they've driven school funding to the lowest per-pupil level in the country.

I am not a politician but a former teacher, principal and superintendent with 30 years' experience, and I know that our students have paid the price for the state's budget disarray for too long.

As state superintendent, I will be our schools top advocate for the adequate and equitable resources needed for all of our students to be successful in college and the workplace.

LARRY ACEVES
San Francisco

The author is a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction in 2010.

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Old 10-04-2009, 06:38 AM
ilbegone ilbegone is offline
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A whole thread could be devoted to Mr. Aceves. Lots of material.

Mr Aceves presided over Franklin-McKinley Elementary School District in San Jose for 13 years, retiring in 2006 when his district was nose diving in educational performance. The district is predominately "Latino" which seems to be of either the very recently arrived or unassimilated community derived of sudden mass migration. I believe the district is near state receivership, it's educational performance is beyond dismal.

However, the man has expended a lot of shoe leather over a 30 year career meeting people and seems to have created a network of alliances.

Just a few of the organizations he has participated in; California City Superintendents Association, the California Association of Latino Superintendents, and the Association of California School Administrators. He has achieved leadership position in several educational associations.

Lots of Latino contacts. Lots of Latino Superintendents out there.

Forty years of Chicano studies

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Old 10-04-2009, 07:15 AM
ilbegone ilbegone is offline
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Besides the racial bias towards "Latinos" (regardless of national origin or legality of residence) in our school system, there are tons of other problems associated with the unassimilated or uncaring.

I'm not sure exactly what the apples versus oranges are in some of this discussion.

Mr Aceves and other like minded people want to throw more money at whatever the problem is, and in self interest concerning employment they have a further reason to deplore the recent cuts.

However, I believe that classroom education, for the most part, consumes over 60 cents out of every dollar in California. I believe in Texas, it's around 50% of the same dollar. And Texas has a higher graduation rate than California.

Both have a high ratio of Latinos in the schools, and I believe the schools which have those high ratios have a high drop out rate in both states.

Where are the apples and oranges here?

Quote:
According to Larry Aceves, a retired schools superintendent who is running for state Superintendent of Public Instruction, the information on graduation rates put out by the state is far from accurate.

"I don't want to paint everything with a broad brush," he said, but speaking generally, the way schools count how many students graduate from high school is "not an accurate process."

Aceves said he believes the official graduation rates suggest California schools are doing better than they really are.

"I think we're giving ourselves credit for more than is due," he said. "We don't have an accurate way of learning what happens to kids when they don't show up. We need to have a system that says if a child doesn't come back, every effort is made to find out what happened." 9-27-09
http://www.chicoer.com/lifestyle/schools/ci_13431762
Quote:
Aceves notes that the job of superintendent is an increasingly political, high-profile position that must answer to business leaders, parents, teachers, students and the community at large. Finding men and women with the personality and stamina to take on so many challenges is no easy task. http://www.cftl.org/pressroom_clipvi...c_12_11_06.php
Quote:
The future for leadership in public education looks bleak,” said Wes Smith, 37, superintendent of the Cascade Union Elementary School District in Anderson, near Redding. “A lot of experienced people are retiring, and a lot of people who are qualified don't want the job. But if we want to have great schools, they demand and deserve great leadership.”
And, in spite of the performance of Franklin-McKinley under Acevas' stewardship,

Quote:
In 2005 Larry was awarded the Association of California School Administrators Marcus Foster Memorial Award. In 2001 he was named Santa Clara County Superintendent of the Year as well as Catholic Charities’ Top Community Partner.
What happened? Aceves will say that it was a lack of funding.

Quote:
While the dropout rate for Santa Clara County is about 15 percent, for Latino students it is 26.6 percent, also higher than the state's.

Local teachers were at a loss to explain why Silicon Valley's Latino and African-American students are doing worse than their peers in other parts of the state.

Weis said educators must radically rethink classroom instruction and replicate the strategies that appear to be succeeding: working with students in small groups, making sure students never fall behind and bringing families into the conversation.

"We need to change the way we are teaching," Weis said. "The fact that we are least effective with our fastest-growing demographic does not bode well for the future. It's the No. 1 issue of this decade."

Alum Rock and Franklin-McKinley, along with 10 other districts in Santa Clara County, are now on the PI list. If they don't improve, they face a possible state takeover of their schools. 2009

http://www.individual.com/story.php?story=106951955
Forty years of Chicano studies

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Old 10-04-2009, 07:19 AM
ilbegone ilbegone is offline
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Originally Posted by AyatollahGondola View Post
You know ilbegone, you may have a good theme for a public effort here. Maybe we should strategize on this a little, and bring this to our seerless leaders at the schools administration. I see a billboard event in the future....(insert cartoonlike Nostradamus icon here)
PM me. Lengthening to at least ten characters.

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Old 10-04-2009, 07:42 AM
ilbegone ilbegone is offline
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A short bio on Aceves.

Aceves was educated when the Chicano movement was starting up and full full steam with public radicalism. I wonder if he was a Mecha member.

Quote:
Aceves is a first generation American. His parents were
working-class immigrants who raised Aceves and his four
siblings in Calexico, California. Aceves graduated from
San Diego public schools and served as a paratrooper
in the 82nd Airborne Division. He earned his bachelor’s
and master’s degrees in education from San Diego State
University.
He began his educational career in 1974 as a teacher
in San Diego and has served in school districts in San
Diego, San Jose and the Central Coast.
He’s been a teacher, principal and superintendent, and
when he retired in 2006, he had served as superinten-
dent of the Franklin-McKinley school district for 13 years
Forty years of Chicano studies