Some Will Call Them “Bribes,” Others Will Call Them “Scholarships”
Whose fault is it when healthy fourth or fifth-grade students miss 15 to 20 days of school each year, when they regularly show up late to class, and when they rarely if ever complete their homework assignments? Do we blame these 10-year old kids for these lapses, or do we blame their parents?
When the circumstances change, when it’s a high school senior or college student who exhibits the same lack of discipline, we know instantly whom to blame. Clearly, it’s the student’s fault. But because 10-year olds are still at the mercy of their parents—depending on them to feed and clothe them and establish a household work ethic—laying even part of the blame on the kids seems not only unrealistic but counterproductive.
Yet, bizarre as it seems, in the public school system, when kids miss class or fail to turn in their work, it’s neither the child nor the parent who gets the blame. It’s the teacher.
In contrast to private schools, where entrance exams are required, tardiness and excessive absenteeism are not permitted, and recalcitrant students are routinely booted out of class, public schools are all-inclusive, warm body institutions. Attendance is not only free, it’s compulsory. It’s mandatory. Which means that many of the less
Cinco de Mayo: A Great Victory
On May 5, 1862, Mexican troops defeated an invading French army in the outskirts of Puebla, a city around 60 miles east of Mexico City. How did events come to this point; what were French troops doing in Mexico and why?
On September 15, 1810, a priest, Miguel Hidalgo, sounded the church bells to unite Mexicans in a war of independence from Spain. Independence was declared the following day, September 16th. But it took Mexicans 11 years to oust the Spaniards.
They were barely getting their house in order when an unprovoked war was thrust on them by the US wanting and taking about 50 percent of its territory. Needless to say, Mexicans weren’t happy with this circumstance and blamed their leader, Santa Anna, accusing him of great treason. This led to a rebellion to oust him from office.
Once this done, Mexico entered into one of its most important historical periods, the formation of its Constitution
