“WHAT OUR SCHOOLS CAN’T DO – BUT PARENTS CAN”
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The above title is taken from a commentary that appeared in today’s Chicago Tribune. The commentary was written by Phillip Jackson, the founder and executive director of The Black Star Project. Here are some excerpts from the commentary:
“Chicago schools by themselves can never close the academic gap between poor black and Latino students and their more affluent white and Asian counterparts. Schools cannot eliminate the racial academic achievement gap because schools did not create it. This gap comes to schools with children from their homes, families and communities.”
“Parents, families, communities, societal structures, value systems, peer groups, networks, cultures and community institutions are the best sources of education for children. Without these structures and institutions in place and operating optimally, even the best schools will struggle to educate children.”
“For at least the past 70 years, we have been asking public schools to do what no school can do. We ask schools to substitute for broken family structures and decimated communities; to impart moral and spiritual values to children; to teach children discipline and self-control; to teach them to want to learn and to inspire them to succeed; and to teach children to make positive and proper life choices.”
“Effective parents, families and communities can do what no school can do: create the culture, lay the
