Everybody likes a feel-good story with a happy ending, but David Brooks' "miracle" might be more akin to seeing Jesus on a piece of burnt toast.

2007 Promise Academy test scores...

http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/new-york/new-york/harlem-childrens-zone-promise-academy-charter-school/test-results/

A parent's review...

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1983 300D

Unpleasantly close to the truth.

- Peter.

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2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

I think we need a revival of the good aspects of the old one roomed school-house. Older students would be responsible, at various times, for bringing younger students up to speed on elementary stuff -- multiplication tables, for example. Kids are generally less likely to disobey or smart off to a student several years older than them than they are to a teacher.

Also the one room system helps the older student to better learn the material by having to refresh his memory of it in order to teach it to the young uns. And such students have had hands on experience in teaching before they hit college.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

As if there is a upper limit to what a person can learn...
Your logic here is silly. If you take 50 people that score 10 and put them individually into classes that has an average score of 5 then most of the 50 will sink to the level of the class. If you put them into a class with an average of 20 most will rise to closer to the 20.
If you take the average 10 and give them twice and much attention and twice as much classroom time their scores will rise. The average teacher now is holding the higher students back because the teachers time is spent instructing students who are on the low end. The worst part is that is not PC to teach the higher learners more and challenge them- instead we have to give more effort to those who do not wish to learn in the first place.

bwaahhaaaahaaaaa... JR is right.

Jr is never right- he's as left as is possible in this universe.

I tend to believe that parents motivate their children to at least meet their parents educational standards. There is a genetic component at work as well to some extent I think.

There is no way a child growing up in our household would not see post secondary education. Unless mentally challenged or some other preventative factor. All four did to go to various extents.

It was just expected of them and they did it with no issues. If we had only expected secondary education in the family then that may have been the result for a percentage of them.

With more than fifty percent of canadians having some form of post secondary education tends to make it easier to get children to go. It is staying in contact with their contemporaries longer as well. Also since it is becoming harder and harder to get decent employment when younger they see it as time better spent than at some nominal job.

There's some truth to that but I don't think my remarks were that far off the mark. Of course there are going to be geniuses that are capable of learning more than their peers. At my high school in the horribly liberal town of Olympia, WA, we had advanced classes for math students who showed promise. It is, of course invigorating to be surrounded by peers and not a bunch of dullards.

The 4.0 student is probably working at closer to his max potential than the student at 2.0.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

no. so did scientists in the 19th century, who theorized that "Negroids" had less cranial capacity than "Caucasoids."

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

Admit I only read the first page of the thread.

More time at school means less time with self-destructive people. Way too many of them at all levels but at this level they may be the majority. Getting beyond self-destruction is goal one.