Deus Vult said:Observer said:The way I read the article, mostly white college graduates will teach at mostly non-white schools, but without having to go through the conventional teachers' colleges. Why is this bad?...
One reason it's bad is that is appear to be grounded in the stupid assumption that
1) the achievement gap between black students and white students CAN be lessened or equalized
...
This appears to be just another dumbass white liberal scheme!
Although not directly addressing the point regarding "Teach for America", there has been evidence that the extreme achievement problems of the poorest and most "at-risk" can be mitigated -- and at a bargain price. It is also relevant to the secondary debate on this thread of private vs. government schools. I could not find the report that I had run across earlier, but here are some references:
article above said:-The poorer and more at-risk a student is, the greater the relative achievement gains in Catholic schools (York, 1996).
-The "multiply disadvantaged"Â benefit most from Catholic schools (Evans & Schwab, 1995; Greeley, 1982; Neal, 1997).
-Social class effects on educational achievement are significantly lessened in Catholic schools (Bryk, Lee, & Holland, 1993; Greeley, 1982).
-The achievement gap is smaller in faith-based schools (Jeynes, 2007; Marks & Lee, 1989).
-Students in Catholic and other private schools demonstrate higher academic achievement than students from similar backgrounds in public schools (Coleman & Hoffer, 1987; Coleman, Hoffer, & Kilgore, 1982; Greeley, 1982; Sander, 1996).
-Latino and African American students who attend Catholic schools are more likely to graduate from high school and more likely to graduate from college than their public school peers (Benson, Yeager, Guerra, & Manno, 1986; Evans & Schwab, 1995; Neal, 1997; Sander & Krautman, 1995).
Graduates of Catholic high schools are more likely to vote than public school graduates (Dee, 2005).
-Graduates of Catholic schools are likely to earn higher wages than public school graduates (Hoxby, 1994; Neal, 1997).
-Catholic schools tend to produce graduates who are more civically engaged, more tolerant for diverse views, and more committed to service as adults (Campbell, 2001; Greeley & Rossi, 1966; Greene, 1998; Wolf, Greene, Kleitz, & Thalhammer, 2001).