tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post7626058525185722091..comments2024-03-28T02:21:17.452-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: Two Interesting Education Op-Eds in the PIMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-49612099795488973322008-01-21T11:47:00.000-08:002008-01-21T11:47:00.000-08:00I absolutely chose an elementary school we could w...I absolutely chose an elementary school we could walk to. I also chose to live in a neighborhood where there are several great elementary schools. But honestly, not everyone has that choice. And that is what free school choice in Seattle is all about, to me. Yes, it would be wonderful if every neighborhood school was just as good as any other and all kids could walk to school with their neighborhood friends, but it just is not the case.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-7722652883771942432008-01-21T10:51:00.000-08:002008-01-21T10:51:00.000-08:00Please don't confuse us. In this blog, you can on...Please don't confuse us. In this blog, you can only care deeply about one issue and you can't ever see the interconnectedness of the choice system with creating weaker neighborhood schools.<BR/><BR/>Now, in addition to weaker schools, families who do not choose their neighborhood school are also contributing to more green house gas production, and as we know greater peril for the polar bears that our kids are trying to save at places like Pathfinder, Salmon Bay and Lowell. None of which have a neighborhood base of kids.<BR/><BR/>Alternative is not the Green answer. Is this irony???Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-26270465794799938022008-01-20T10:44:00.000-08:002008-01-20T10:44:00.000-08:00I want to be able to have my kids walk or bike to ...I want to be able to have my kids walk or bike to school. However, Seattle parents seems to be moving away from this model and not living by our own "green" standards when it comes to picking a school. How many of you out there picked a school your child can walk to? <BR/>I bet we are the same people who don't think the city, State and National leaders are doing enough to combat greenhouse gases.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-5331365136461642812008-01-19T07:28:00.000-08:002008-01-19T07:28:00.000-08:00Hey Charlie,What might ample provision be... ???I ...Hey Charlie,<BR/><BR/>What might ample provision be... ???<BR/><BR/>I see that Alaska's Governor is seriously considering a longer school year. He said the <I><B>US school year of 180 days is not competitive </I></B>with other countries some with 220 day school years.<BR/><BR/>If the world is flat..<BR/>If education is important..<BR/>If the US has a very short schoolyear..<BR/>If education is the paramount duty of the state....<BR/><BR/>Then why do we have a 180 day poorly funded school year in Washington?<BR/><BR/>The answer is because<BR/>The <I>Paramount Duty</I> of the state<BR/>exists only on Paper not in Realitydan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-79424138256069656732008-01-17T15:44:00.000-08:002008-01-17T15:44:00.000-08:00I agree with the Times. Let's not take on any new ...I agree with the Times. Let's not take on any new education spending promises until we make good on current priorities and promises., such as "<I>It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.</I>"<BR/>- Washington State Constitution, Article IX, Preamble.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-86241903250081068682008-01-17T13:46:00.000-08:002008-01-17T13:46:00.000-08:00I read the piece Mr. Fritzberg wrote, and I agree ...I read the piece Mr. Fritzberg wrote, and I agree with him and it is one of the main reasons we went public, but I will go a step further and argue that if we really want to strengthen our democracy we will go a step further and choose a school in our neighborhood that you can easily bike or walk to. On my street we have kids that attend 4 different schools. Two public and two private. My son has a five minute walk to and from his Seattle Public School elementary. Across the street the little boy is driven by a parent to a school three miles away. Two houses down from them the two children are taken across town (in a 45 minute drive) to a private school that offered their children "more freedom to learn what they choose". I wonder if they figured what free time their kids gave up, in the collective 4 hours of sitting in a car that they are doing per week.<BR/>Last a "gifted" youngester gets on his almost empty bus at 8 am for Lowell to face a almost hour bus ride each way. <BR/>If you look at Seattle houses there are big houses mixed in with small cottages. The rich tend to own the bigger bungalows while we live in a two bedroom cottage with our kids. But we all live in the same neighborhood. My neighbors are plumbers, grocery clerks, nurses, doctor and lawyers but none of our kids play together because they don’t know each other. They would know each other if we had a common interest in making our neighborhood school strong. Make the Green choice, and the democratic choice, and attend a neighborhood school that your child can walk to and you can be involved in. <BR/>cs-whittier parentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com