Detoit Schools Suck. Ever wonder why?

[hjmick]

Well, you could start at the top. Having a functionally illiterate person as President of the school board doesn't exactly set the best example.

Does DPS leader's writing send wrong message?
Laura Berman


The president of the Detroit school board, Otis Mathis, is waging a legal battle to steer the academic future of 90,000 children, in the nation's lowest-achieving big city district.

He also acknowledges he has difficulty composing a coherent English sentence. Here's a sample from an e-mail he sent to friends and supporters on Sunday night, uncorrected for errors of spelling, grammar, punctuation and usage. It begins:

If you saw Sunday's Free Press that shown Robert Bobb the emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools, move Mark Twain to Boynton which have three times the number seats then students and was one of the reason's he gave for closing school to many empty seats.

The rest of the e-mail, and others that Mathis has written, demonstrate what one of his school board colleagues describes, carefully, as "his communication issues." But if these deficits have limited Mathis, as he admits they have, they have not stopped him from graduating from high school and college. In January, his peers elected him president by a 10-1 vote over Tyrone Winfrey, a University of Michigan academic officer.


"I'm a horrible writer. I know that," says Mathis, 56, a lifelong resident of southwest Detroit. His difficulties with language were spotted as early as fourth grade, when he was placed in special education classes. His college degree was held up for more than a decade because he repeatedly failed an English proficiency exam then required for graduation at Wayne State University...

But the story of Mathis speaks directly to Detroit's educational conundrum, as officials try to raise standards and the proficiency of its students.

Is Mathis a success story? A man who beat the odds to win political success and career opportunities on the strength of his personality and judgment? Or is he an example of the system's worst failings -- a disinterested student who always found ways to graduate, even when he didn't meet the requirements -- likely to perpetuate lax academic standards if the board wins its court battle with Bobb over control?

"It's kind of scary to even talk about," says Patrick Martin, 49, a Detroit contractor whose 12-year-old son is a student at Noble Middle School.

"If this is the leader, what does it say about the followers? It explains a lot about why there's so much confusion and infighting with the board and Robert Bobb."

Another e-mail

Here's another mass e-mail from Mathis, from Aug. 11, 2009:

Do DPS control the Foundation or outside group? If an outside group control the foundation, then what is DPS Board row with selection of is director? Our we mixing DPS and None DPS row's, and who is the watch dog?

...

Can Mathis read?

"Yes, I can read. I'm capable of reading a lot of information and regurgitation," says Mathis, who told me he sometimes needs to read documents two or three times to fully comprehend their contents but then masters -- and memorizes -- them.

Engaging and honest

Mathis is an engaging man. When I asked him about the grammatical deficiencies in his e-mails, he didn't waffle or grandstand, instead honestly answering questions about his difficulties in school...

Mathis and another student unsuccessfully challenged the use of an English proficiency test as a requirement for graduation. In 1992, when the case went to trial, the lawsuit gained national attention. Mathis said then his failure to pass the test "made me feel stupid." The requirement was eventually dropped in 2007, and Mathis applied to get his degree the next year, after his election.

Understands struggling kids

Mathis, who can be a persuasive public speaker, retired from Wayne in 1995. He's served as a substitute teacher in Detroit schools, run a nonprofit and served on the Wayne County Commission.

In his career, Mathis has compensated for his rudimentary writing skills by seeking help from others and working on his listening and speech skills. "We picked him (to be president) because we thought he has the intelligence for it and the tolerance for disruptive behavior," says Reverend David Murray. "He has that type of calm."

Is it absurd for a man who cannot write a simple English sentence to serve as the board president? Or to lead the elected board of a district that ranks at the nation's bottom for literacy?

The questions are more likely to elicit complex answers than criticism of Mathis.

"I know he's a terrible writer. Oh wow, I've seen his e-mails," says Ida Byrd-Hill, a parent and activist who runs a nonprofit and is a member of Mensa, the high-IQ group.

"His job, though, is to represent the community. His lack of writing skills is prevalent in the community. If anybody does, he understands the struggles of what it's like to go through an institution and not be properly prepared."

Mathis and some of his supporters say his story is about someone who manages his limitations, just as others manage physical disabilities.

"Instead of telling them that they can't write and won't be anything, I show that cannot stop you," Mathis says. "If Detroit Public Schools can allow kids to dream, with whatever weakness they have, that's something. ...It's not about what you don't have. It's what you cando."

Because of his struggles and perseverance, Mathis describes himself as a role model.

But is he?


From The Detroit News: Does DPS leader's writing send wrong message? | detnews.com | The Detroit News

 

[CrimsonWhite]

Unfucking believable.

 

[IanC]

the scary part is that semi-literate fellows like this are also in the teaching field. sob stories about how proficiency exams discriminate against minority teachers are commonplace but is it reasonable to expect someone incapable of scholarly work to teach it to students? or even recognize it?

It is time to expect and insist upon reasonable standards for teachers, support staff, and students. even if it means accepting that some will not be able to achieve the mark.

 

[IanC]

a michigan professors blog says that Mathis not only has been a substitute teacher but also that he passed the Teacher's Union proficiency exam. if true.....

 

[chanel]

Some states have set a passing score on the Praxis II teacher exam as low as 59%. You can guess the reason why.

I did read an article yesterday that might help the Detroit schools in the future.

Johnson, who has been both applauded and vilified for his role in negotiating a new contract that requires Detroit teachers to defer $10,000 in wages and undergo peer reviews of their classroom performance, said he supports emergency financial manager Robert Bobb's efforts to hold teachers accountable for what students learn -- or fail to learn -- in the city's 172 public schools.

But now that his members have ratified a contract that takes the first tentative steps toward tying teacher pay to classroom performance, Johnson wants to make sure parents and school administrators are held equally accountable when they fail to deliver for the children

But Johnson says the most important thing Detroit Public Schools could do to boost classroom achievement is institute an attendance requirement that penalizes students and parents for unexcused absences.

According to the district's own data, the typical Detroit high school student missed 46 days of instruction last year. Nearly a tenth of all high school students were absent more than 100 days. The school year is 183 days.

As the Free Press education team reported in its recent series on DPS, at least three states -- New York, Florida and Wisconsin -- have adopted LearnFare standards, which tie welfare payments to school attendance.

Making parents pay for kids' truancy | freep.com | Detroit Free Press

I like it.

 

[xotoxi]

Detoit Schools Suck. Ever wonder why?

To be perfectly honest, NO, I never wondered why.

I guess I didn't really give it much thought.

 

[xotoxi]

Can Mathis read?

"Yes, I can read. I'm capable of reading a lot of information and regurgitation," says Mathis

Alright...so he can read and vomit.

But can he do them at the same time?

 

[hjmick]

Christ this is embarrassing...

Um... Could I get a Mod to correct the title of this thread? It seems as though I left out the "r" in Detroit in the title...

 

[CrusaderFrank]

The problem in a word: Democrats

Democrats have run that school district and Democrats control the teachers union and are doing everything in their power to turn every school district into a Detroit and they are succeeding

Not the first time I've said it, but thanks to Democrat control of the school system half of US high school students can't identify when the War of 1812 occurred and 90% can't name 3 Founding Fathers even if you spot them George Washington.

The Democrat Party needs stupid people, lots of stupid people and this is how they guarantee a ready supply of dependable voters

 

[chanel]

Christ this is embarrassing...

Um... Could I get a Mod to correct the title of this thread? It seems as though I left out the "r" in Detroit in the title...

I'm pretty sure you can edit the title yourself. I've done it. Don't be embarrassed. Making typos and being illiterate like this guy aren't even in the same league.

 

[Dis]

Christ this is embarrassing...

Um... Could I get a Mod to correct the title of this thread? It seems as though I left out the "r" in Detroit in the title...

I'm pretty sure you can edit the title yourself. I've done it. Don't be embarrassed. Making typos and being illiterate like this guy aren't even in the same league.

You can't edit your title after your thread is already posted - a mod has to do it.

 

[Xenophon]

Christ this is embarrassing...

Um... Could I get a Mod to correct the title of this thread? It seems as though I left out the "r" in Detroit in the title...

I thought it was perfect, you railing on education and not spelling the city name correctly.

 

[mdn2000]

Detroit is what happens when Liberals, Democrats, and affirmative action hiring take control of a city.

 

[hjmick]

Christ this is embarrassing...

Um... Could I get a Mod to correct the title of this thread? It seems as though I left out the "r" in Detroit in the title...

I thought it was perfect, you railing on education and not spelling the city name correctly.

Yeah, but I did spell "embarrassing" correctly...

 

[Samson]

Detoit Schools Suck. Ever wonder why?

To be perfectly honest, NO, I never wondered why.

I guess I didn't really give it much thought.

Agreed.

Since I'd never live in Detroit, then I don't care.

 

[Zander]

WHat?? everyone know it's the "white man" that is intentionally screwing up black folks education!! Obviously this illiterate fool was planted by WHITEY.

 

[86DuDE]

The man obviously has talent in other areas, and Detroit needs all the help it can get but I don't see any reason to get too worked up over this kind of thing.

 

[hylandrdet]

Interesting...

You hate the idea of a semi-illiterate person being in charge of a school system, but you have no problem with such a person being THE COMMANDER AND CHIEF??? (gwb)

FOOD FOR THOUGHT!!!

 

[Truthmatters]

Is our children learning?

 

[hylandrdet]

WHat?? everyone know it's the "white man" that is intentionally screwing up black folks education!! Obviously this illiterate fool was planted by WHITEY.

Wrong. Black education in Detroit may be down, but it's up in most areas of the country.

Detroit has a struggling economy and it's trickling down to the schools. In Detroit, if you're not a doctor, a lawyer, a cop, a firefighter or a auto worker, you're unemployed.

Michigan currently stands as the #1 state in the country, in terms of unemployment.

It's not about race or politics, it's about economics. Food for thought.