While decluttering paper files I found my notes taken during an Oprah show that aired on April 11, 2006, a two part show with Bill and Melissa Gates. Here is a summary from Oprah.com.
I wonder how much has changed in these last six years?
I decided to share my notes here, publish this then I can recycle the paper I took the notes on. I had intended to blog these back in 2006 but never did.
Key:
O: Oprah
BG: Bill Gates
MG: Melissa Gates
MY NOTES
Oprah Show Special Report Schools in Crisis
Part One:
Oprah: "We are in a state of emergency."
20 years ago, American students were #1 in the world. BG: If this were a business it would be bankrupt.
BG: Sums up a 2005 speech "High schools are obsolete" and he "is terrified".
50% minority dropout rate
33% overall dropout rate
40% college students doing remedial work even at community college level
MG:"How could this be?"
BG: We are dooming a generation to dead end jobs and poverty.
O: I'm blown away that this isn't on every parent's mind when it comes to election day.
MG: Kids are falling through the cracks and nobody notices.
O: I wanted to do this show because most Americans don't know how bad things are.
(Me: Some of us do!)
Math: USA placed 24th in the world.
O: Shocked that poorer countries are doing better than we are. "We are raising a nation of childrne who are not going to be prepared to work at anything! We are not going to be able to hold our #1 status on anything!"
Some facts shared that show inner city kids scoring higher than suburban kids. Suburban kids take their resources for granted.
Graduation rates by state shared. New Jersey best at 88%, worst Mississippi at 59%.
BG: 6% of low income kids will not graduate.
52% of people think school worse now than 20 years ago.
Called Indiana schools "dropout factories".
Why do kids drop out? Lazy, don't want to get up in the morning.
Lisa Lling showed a school doing $36 million dollar renovation, curriculum is equal to other good schools, why failing?
Principal: "We need new ways to motivate students -- don't have the mindset that education is important to them -- it's not that they don't have the opportunity--it's just that they've had it -- they don't want ot go through the effort to get the high school diploma because they don't see a need for it."
Parents don't care.
Lazy kids.
Drugs.
Anderson Cooper: building maintenance not being done, work order from 2002 still not done. Kids do vandalism to ruin school.
The Education Trust West Director Russlyn Ali, lawyer working 16 years to fix schools "happens all over", "learned helplesness", "cycle of low expectations".
O: "cycle of NO expectations".
12th graders Latino reading at 8th grade level
O: Schools operating for 1950s when not getting kids ready for 2006.
White 2004 college valedictorian 4.0 GPA couldn't use lab equipment behind a year in math and math.
Tennessee Hancock County: student Beth Martin: "I feel that it will be impossible for me to catch up. I don't feel smart at all in college I feel like I'm stupid. I feel like I'm not prepared at all, not prepared for anything that comes my way."
Study 34% college grads have what they need to start college.
Jonathan Kozol, author on education and educational inequality: wants amendment passed for improving quality of education for all.
O: "Many devoted teachers, I love teacher, and there are good schools but there are enormous problems."
O wants every American child to have the best school.
1954 Brown vs. Board of Education segregation ended was mentioned.
O: All my friends say their kid's schools are great schools. I tell them it does not matter if YOUR kids are all in a great school because what matter is the rest of the nation.
(Me: Everyone thinks their school is great but it just cannot be true.)
Standup.org
"It's going to take activism."
"This is the most important social issue of our time." lawyer said.
At the end she says inner city kids need to have higher expectations of themselves. We need to "expect more of them". They have the same hopes and dreams as others do.