The Worst Thing About the Brutal 'No Excuses' Success Academy Video
As Vox's Libby Nelson writes, the "undeniably upsetting" video of a Success Academy charter school teacher berating first graders is "the latest exhibit in a long-running debate about Success Academy and similar 'no excuses' charter schools." Nelson is correct in explaining that "it's part of a broader division within the Democratic Party on education."
The video, however, is about much, much more. It raises basic questions about the society we want to leave for the next generations. I hope every parent with children old enough to watch the video will use it as an opportunity to discuss some of the most fundamental issues that we human beings must tackle.
The video, however, is about much, much more. It raises basic questions about the society we want to leave for the next generations. I hope every parent with children old enough to watch the video will use it as an opportunity to discuss some of the most fundamental issues that we human beings must tackle.
My father and I had such a conversation in the 1950s after the Boston Red Sox star, Jimmy Piersall, had a televised breakdown in Yankee Stadium in the wake of his father's death. As was explained in the book and the movie, Fear Strikes Out, Piersall was pushed over the edge by his father (played by Karl Malden in the film) who combined "the ignorant dominance of a bitter man with the occasional tenderness of a parent who genuinely loves his only son." The baseball star (played by Anthony Perkins) carried "the weight of the paternal ambition" that "is felt by the nerve-racked observer to the point where it is recognizable that the young man must go mad."
As my dad explained, many of my friends had parents who endured great suffering. Fathers who survived the Great Depression, and combat in World War II and Korea The Worst Thing About the Brutal 'No Excuses' Success Academy Video:
As my dad explained, many of my friends had parents who endured great suffering. Fathers who survived the Great Depression, and combat in World War II and Korea The Worst Thing About the Brutal 'No Excuses' Success Academy Video:
