Children of these districts are faced with a severe crisis in learning. My response may seem to paint a broad picture because it is a broad picture we have to deal with. There are some concerned parents but the vast majority of parents and students involved are blind to the value of their education and its importance in life.

The Denver school system has fostered a culture that tolerates ignorance. In the schools where the majority of children are from homes where English is not the first language or homes where parents have not completed a high school education, the children are encouraged through benign neglect to continue in life with blinders to the benefits of a good education. In these schools, it is incorrect or not appropriate to educate children in the proper use of the English language. If your parents speak incorrect English you will use that language outside the home. The schools are not encouraging their students to speak correctly out of respect for the parents and their culture or because it’s just easier to move the children through the doors. No one is standing up for how education will liberate the children in their choices in life. No one is saying English is the language of learning in this country. (Don’t start of the English debate, I believe everyone in this country should be bilingual.) To avoid a Babel we need to learn English as a uniform way to assimilate and transmit information in this country among its citizenry.

It’s time to break these children out of the dark even though it may be difficult for them to see the advantages. The main problem will be integration of these children into a new schools. This will be the new challenge. The DPS must be vigilant in helping the children move fluidly through this transition and not abandon them once they enter the new school.

True, the problem with many student struggling to learn begins at home and with the parents. How do we teach them the importance of education? By closing their schools because of a lack of attendance or poor testing results. “That’ll learn ‘em!” The libertarian response is to do away with gov’t supported schools, and let them “buy” their education from the free market. Gee, won’t that be swell!

Logistics does require good business practices, especially when our society puts education on a such a low priority, that the costs of running a school comes out of the small instruction pot, so hard decisions have to made and neighborhood schools must close. But blaming the “school” for student’s poor standards testing, like it’s some organized failure, is like blaming your local city police dept policy when crime goes up, and threatening to close it and start up a new one with fresh cops. A school doesn’t “fail” the students, it requires much more and more individuals. It starts with parents, then come society who fails to fund public education because either they don’t have kids of school age or they attend private school, or they’re just cheap. But these same people are the biggest whiners and complainers of welfare, crime rates, and other negatives of a society when they aren’t educated. You don’t have to read the studies to know an educated person is less likely to commit crimes or be on welfare, but hey that would require an increase in the dreaded “T-word.”

DPS has a lot of issues they need to fix and get their own house in order before they start closing schools due to lack of funds, but education universally for all has to be the first priority. This isn’t a free market business - it’s the future of this country. If you disagree, and you’re employed, live well, have health care, safe, - thank a teacher!