Most educational reformers have no idea what parents and children want – and they do not care

Most of the education interests-especially those interested in low-income societies-focuses on the needs and interests of students, whether they are discussing short-term results such as the results of the unified test, or long-term results such as the college acceptance and graduation rates.

But the most important question they should ask is: What parents in these societies want for their children? What does their family, guide and extended priests want?

Unfortunately, even the best reformers rarely enjoy this question.

Parents are the most important stakeholders in the issues of education after the children themselves, yet the ideological and emotional interests of the reformers have precedence over the precedence over those of parents and local society.

Often, the education of poor or marginalized children is lost in ideological battles between groups of elites that are fully removed from the societies they claim to defend.

Elite social justice initiatives – such as offering logical academic and behavioral standards due to the assumed ethnic justice – are a major example of this “soft intolerance to low expectations”. Is it acceptable to reduce criteria for some children even if their parents want to be detained at a higher level?

Respecting and looking at parents’ priorities is one of the main reasons produced by the original educational projects directed towards society and generates excellent societies objectively and even outperforming interventions from top to bottom of reformists outside society.

Take the Rosenwald: Bokerr T

Noting that the lack of black children in the south of the Jim Crowe era, the Rosenwald Fund contributed $ 4.3 million-matching $ 4.7 million collected by black societies themselves-to build more than 5,000 schools, shops and homes linked to it across the separate south.

Rosenwald schools were very successful and original projects: seed money enabled local men, women and children to narrow the gap in racist literacy in southern Jim Crowe during the reign of Jim by 40 percent. Within one generation, the racist education gap has shrunk for three years to less than a year. These highly translated projects that depend on society have succeeded in facing bitter discrimination on a large scale.

An example in the modern era can be seen on the distinction led by the indigenous population at the Benny Woods School, a difficult preparatory school that serves deprived children who were founded by Lawrence Clifton Jones in 1909.

Piney Woods serves a student body that cannot reach high -quality education, and it depends largely on donor generosity to finance scholarships for many who attend.

But these children and their families do not want a bulletin. They don’t want low expectations. They want a challenge. The challenge is what they receive. The school confirms self -responsibility, self -government, and empowerment from within the societies and families that serve it instead of abroad or “above”.

Each student is obliged to work on a job inside the campus-in fact, the largest part of the campus buildings have been built by the students themselves. And their families donate or contribute to school. They are not looking to absorb or write down. They do not want to be excused, and they do not have – even in the face of clear racism.

There is a warning story for reform, which is the rented school movement. Renting schools are increasingly common and are often promising to educational reform, but they often flounder in the simple fact that ultimately depends on politics, rather than societal interests, to direct their decisions.

Robert Bondisio, a former city school teacher, in his recent review of Steve Wilson’s book “The Lost Decade”, briefly narrates the rise and fall of the “No Excuss” school model.

In years of ascending, the model allowed students in urban areas and not deprived of the superiority of anyone’s expectations. But then failed, catastrophic, under the weight of the increasing social justice culture.

Schools that gave an indispensable opportunity in academic excellence-and professional success in the long term-for black students throughout the country due to the political elites reserved in the ideological battles that are meaningless on the “white”. White guilt has become more important than black excellence.

These rented schools abandoned the criteria of “non -excuses” that helped raise students from deprived backgrounds as old or racist, and replaced them with “property rights” initiatives that lead to low degrees and low achievement. But no one asked the community leaders, who stand more or lose more, if they are on these changes.

Parents with interest. Children with interest. The siblings, aunts, uncles, mentors, and priests – anyone who invests in the lives of these children are interesting. This is the only real protection that societies here are: direct participation in the well -being of children and influence them.

If we want to build a more fair society, we can start by giving up the model from top to bottom, and with ideological motives for educational reform. We must stop allowing elites to destroy the strongest opportunity for our most vulnerable children to improve their life station.

The original population projects are the best of our past – and you will be the best in our future.

Bob Woodson is the founder and head of the Woodson Center, and the editor of the book “A Path for American Renewal: Red, White, and Black Vol II.” Will Crossley is the Vice President of the Woodson Center and head of the Benny Woods School.