SCHOOL BOARD KEEPS ON CUTTIN’: THREE GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS SCRAPPED
By LBReport.com
The elimination of three graduation high school graduation requirements for Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) students—computer literacy, health and service learning—has been unanimously approved by the school board in the latest of a series of drastic budget cuts.
During public testimony, a number of teachers and parents pleaded with the board not to cut health and computer literacy classes, requirements that LBUSD added years ago to exceed state required minimums. But the board engaged in very little discussion before voting.
12 Comments
Programs like those LBUSD has chosen to cut from its graduation requirements are but “icing” on a public education “cake” that has become at once smaller in portion and far less nutritious over the past few decades. I do not think LBUSD is saying the computer literacy, health and service learning programs are not important, only that there are other programs such as mathmatics, science and english literacy, that are more so.
Despite what many politicians and members of teachers unions seem to believe, there exists a finite (and currently shrinking) amount of funds with which to run our public schools. We have to apply the available funds where they can do the most good in providing a quality education for our children.
Perhaps in dropping these accessory requirements LBUSD schools can now concentrate more effort and attention on the basics and far more important subjects.
Goodness knows more attention is needed!
Health and service learning I can see cutting. But computer literacy? That is a basic skill in today’s world. Even cashiers at McDonald’s need that skill.
Hi Ms. LB: Computer literacy classes serve little purpose if a large percentage of our public school students fail to demonstrate competence in math, science, english and history. If parents want to provide computer instruction for their children, they should do so themselves or hire tutors.
We send our children to primary and secondary schools so that they may learn the very *basics* of what they will need to be competitive in the real world. Unless and until the majority of our children can demonstrate proficiencies in the basics, we should not squander another dime of public funding trying to teach them anything else.
Can California educate? It is indeed disheartening to learn that California ranks 47th (that’s 3 from the bottom) in education–California which used to be the ideal in education!!. No wonder private, and faith based schools now have long waiting lists.
Illegal immigration, (which costs California $10.5 billion annually) is to blame. $ 7.7 billion to schools to educate the children of illegals–this does not account for free lunches and special instruction courses,(ESL-wonder if they are pulling those?).
This has had an advese impact on our children and their education.
And it will not stop. Pulling sports programs, libaries, computer labs, on site nurses, shortening school days is only the start. Do I blame the illegals for taking advantage? No, I blame our government who can’t get it together to protect a soverign nation–thus protecting our children.
Larry: There are many reasons we are currently failing our children in the area of public education. You have included but a small number of them here.
But your blame doesn’t go quite far enough. In this nation it is the people who create the government and allow it to continue to exist in the form and at the level of competence, efficiency and fiscal responsibility (or in the utter absence of all of these) that it does.
To the degree that government has become this “other” entity, separate from ourselves is the degree to which we, as a people, have permitted it. No one and nothing can give constructive control of government back to us if it is not ourselves.
It is our responsibility to take that control back and to keep it firmly in hand once we have done so.
No, Larry. Do not blame “government.” Rather, blame those who create government and have the sole and exclusive authority and responsibility to change and control it.
Blame the people. Blame the voters. Blame ourselves. But once the focus of our blame for all of the ills of government finally rests where it rightly belongs, then let us stop, finally, pointing fingers and get to work fixing all that has become so very broken there.
Actually, John, using your logic, any child that cannot handle the classroom pace in math should go get a tudor, so we can free up budget dollars for computer labs.
John B. Greet, I’ll bet you subscribe to the “lone assassin” conclusion of the Warren Commission?
Ms. LB: Not quite but your correction is well-taken. A tutor is normally employed in addition to the normal teaching curriculum, to provide the struggling student with additional assistance in his or her studies. Employing such a tutor (as we have in the past) in know way minimizes the students activities or presence in the classroom, it only helps that student do better while he is there. So I retract that part of my comment and amend what is left by saying: “If parents want to provide computer instruction for their children, they should do so themselves or hire a private instructor at their own expense.”
rino2: No. But neither do I believe, as so many seem to, that government is the root of all of our society’s troubles. Bad government, like bad schools, is just a symptom of the true illness. They are just some of the more visible and fetid by-products of voter ignorance, apathy and inattention.
John, so you don’t believe the governments findings on the lone assassin of JFK. And why don’t you work to get a change? Well, I can empathize with you why not.
rino2: I really just don’t care very much about that topic. You seem to. I think that is great! By all means, do pursue it to your heart’s content!
Contrary to many folks who post here, I have no illusions whatsoever about how evail mankind can be and how very badly we can treat one another. Much occurs in my community, my state, my nation, my planet and my solar system that I truly dislike and would change if I could.
Perhaps like you, I do what it is within my power to do and then I do my best to encourage others to do the same. I do not waste a lot of my time whining and moaning about the many ills in our society and pointing fingers at the popular political scapegoat du jour. Elected and appointed officials come and go. The people (the electors) and the law remain.
If we can but correct the various deficiencies within ourselves and then commit to governing ourselves in a manner more closely aligned with our true desires, all of the rest will fall into plac quite nicely.
Or so I believe.
this drop in employability is fully supported by the california prison guards association…
What LBUSD was illegal under the standards set up by the CA Department of Education. Under Section 51934, they should NOT have got ridden of health classes.