one of the things that you learn working for a news wire is that the government always releases the information that they don't want you to see on a friday, since that's the day that you're most likely to miss the news. here's what the department of education released yesterday when they thought you weren't looking:
a report that shows that: minority students are less likely to have access to advanced math and science classes and veteran teachers. black students of any age, even the youngest preschoolers, are more likely to be suspended. students with disabilities are more likely than other students to be tied down or placed alone in a room as a form of discipline.
the report didn't say anything about the reasons behind any of this, but it's not hard to figure out. how can we expect to have black doctors or latino engineers when their schools don't even offer chemistry or algebra ii? especially when you tell the students that these classes are 'not required'. seriously, folks, if we keep setting low expectations, our students are going to keep meeting them.
