Bob Geary is mocking the Wake County school board majority for its slow pace in developing a new student assignment plan.
In a column Wednesday in the liberal Independent weekly, Geary writes that the board majority is "not anywhere near having a new student assignment plan" after having dropped the diversity policy. Geary says the "Majority Five now seem a little lost about what to do next."
Geary makes a big deal about the board not being close to the draft timetable for implementing the new community assignment plan.
"Meanwhile, the "old" board's three-year assignment plan remains in place through the 2011–12 school year," Geary writes. "That's the plan that the new majority hated so much because it accounted for diversity—along with proximity to home, stability of assignments and the other factors the majority says were neglected."
That's the plan Tedesco was directed to replace, even when 94 percent of the 40,000 parents who answered the majority's survey said they were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their children's assignments. No wonder Tedesco is having trouble."
Geary also takes shots at the board majority not being "close to hiring a superintendent," dropping out of the N.C. School Boards Association and eliminating the standing committees.
Geary closes with a pitch for the election of all four Democratic candidates for Wake County commissioner. A sweep would give Democrats all seven seats on the board.
"For the school board of "no," that would be a very resounding NO," Geary writes of a Democratic election sweep.
Comments
Fair School Board Would Have Listened To Every Concern
Mon, 08/23/2010 - 17:58 — drakeaParents That Choose Diversity Are Denied
Recently, a school board in central NC decided there should not be a policy for schoolchildren to be in school with classmates of other socio-economic-cultural backgrounds. Further, a parent cannot request their child be moved to a more diverse school. (see the wcpss net website and search growth-management/student-assign-process-summary-eng).
Parents that believe diversity exposure in the classroom is a key to peace are alarmed. Especially since many if not all other parental concerns have been addressed.
Many support the NAACP and resent that their efforts have been ignored by a school board which is overshadowing this basic concern with distractions on similar subjects (pitting community-based schools against diversity, bringing in other ideas after other policies have passed, and accreditation reviews that have nothing to do with diversity policy). Parents do not want to necessarily do away with community-based schools, or other new policies, but history proves that a future where adults misunderstand other cultures is extremely dangerous. To not listen and not try to help parents that want their child exposed to more diversity (fyi, most neighborhoods in central NC are probably about 35% diverse) is detrimental.
The NAACP knows that more diversity in classrooms, more like the adult world, helped this country become the melting pot the rest of humanity admires. The NAACP knows the result of blatantly omitting diversity policy is often racially divided schools, re-segregation, and that can lead to hostility in America. That is why the NAACP is the strongest voice in this request.
But I fear the NC battle may be over in this conservative movement that has swept the country this decade. Close by, Durham county went through this five years ago and lost, and Wake County begins classes (and therefore new policies with the omission of the necessity of diversity) on Wednesday, August 25th.
What's a "socio-economic-cultural" background?
Tue, 08/24/2010 - 03:13 — TrailerParkGirlI was low-income as a student while my BFF was middle class - yet, our "culture" was the same.
I was low-income as a student and now I'm middle class - yet my "culture" hasn't changed.
The NAACP does understand that the prior policy was based solely on socioeconomic status and justified with negative stereotypes of lower income and positive stereotypes of higher income and that race was not used as part of the definition of diversity - correct? Does the NAACP expect certain races to always be in the lower income bracket in order to continue to use SES as a proxy for race? Given the SES stereotyping, has the NAACP considered the downsides of using SES and race interchangably?
Melting pot - 99% of this county has never had a socioeconomic status assignment policy and yet is still a melting pot. Where I'm from, socioeconomic diversity would be considered an oxymoron because they don't view people as being different from another based solely on income level. Might have something to with why they understand one another so well and why their classrooms are more socioeconomically integregated than here. It's interesting how when people start seeing each other as being "the same" (thereby equals and as one group) rather then "different" (thereby separate) they tend to get along.
Because the NAACP has no interest in that
Tue, 08/24/2010 - 07:46 — Voice_of_Reason_The power brokers in that organization thrive on "victimology", they lost the "Advancement" message. It is plain to see as an outsider whenever they get the media involved they always are picking a fight because the see the non-white races always as victims, never achievers. I never saw support ever for a successful person of color unless that person was part of the "victimology crowd" that makes their living stirring up racial tensions and always painting people of color victims. In the beginning, the NAACP did some great things, now they are part of the problem, not the solution to race relations in the US. It is also a politically monolithic organization now whose blind support for the Democratic party is the way their organization survives. Never mind that the likes of Rev. Martin Luther King was a Republican, or that LBJ (a Dem) was the one that kept a civil rights act with teeth from becoming law under the Republican administration under Eisenhower years before he signed a similar bill when he saw a political advantage in doing so. The NAACP does a good job brainwashing their members by distorting history and demeaning those that don't have their far-left ideology of today. The fact that they once were a strong force behind true civil rights and advancement of their members, IMHO doesn't give them the right to evade criticism by people. People that criticize them, shouldn't be labeled a racist like they are today just because they disagree with their political agenda.
"Further, a parent cannot
Mon, 08/23/2010 - 20:26 — Apexter"Further, a parent cannot request their child be moved to a more diverse school. (see the wcpss net website and search growth-management/student-assign-process-summary-eng)."
Sure they can. It's called a transfer request. See http://www.wcpss.net/forms/transfer-2010-11-en.pdf.
"To not listen and not try to help parents that want their child exposed to more diversity (fyi, most neighborhoods in central NC are probably about 35% diverse) is detrimental."
What the heck does "35% diverse" even mean? And, if most neighborhoods are 35% diverse, then why wouldn't a community school be 35% diverse?
I wondered about the "35%
Mon, 08/23/2010 - 22:43 — CaryCurmudgeonI wondered about the "35% diverse" too. How does that define the remaining 65% who are not diverse? Seems like the writer means 35% minority and/or F&R. Using that logic, a school which is 100% diverse would be the ideal?
As to the "Conservative movement that has swept this country for ten years," the writer is apparently not well acquainted with the 2008 elections, where nearly every conservative candidate got blown out.
I blogged about it earlier
Mon, 08/23/2010 - 21:39 — KeungHui (author)I blogged about it earlier this year. The reality though is that particular provision wasn't used by families to request transfers to more diverse schools. It was an option for staff to reject transfer requests if they felt that approving it would have negative impact on diversity. For instance, they might reject a person wanting to leave a high-poverty school if they felt it would negatively impact the health of the sending school.
Well, since most of the
Sat, 08/21/2010 - 14:26 — danofncWell, since most of the "extremist" stuff he posts here never makes it into the paper, I am not sure selling papers is the goal.
I think he just posts what he can when he can. Sometimes, that means a press release from one side, and at other times it's the other side.
Would you prefer that he just post the results of the school board meetings and work sessions?
Personally, I like that he posts a couple of things every day, regardless of which side issued the release/printed the article. The 300-400 reply posts that we end up with when he goes on vacation are quite unwieldy.
He throws things on the blog, and then that's it. If there's no interest, the topic sinks because no one replies. As a matter of fact, count how many posts on this thread aren't either accusations or defenses of Hui agenda, then subtract that number from the total.
I bet that this thread would have very few entries if you'd drop your (baseless) line of thought.
Edit to add: My mistake. I got this thread confused with the other thread where you are questioning TKH's motivation. He posts what Geary writes pretty regularly when Geary's talking about school board issues...just like he usually posts what Hood/Civitas write when they talk school board.
After he posts them, the people who disagree with Geary/Hood/Civitas call them morons who don't understand anything and then it's on to the next post.
Agree...
Sat, 08/21/2010 - 15:25 — Bob_SconceIt seems clear that Keung's overriding motivation is just to post interesting things as often as he can. The curious thing is how much the various groups (especially the opposition groups, since they're the ones attacking) have made use of this. For example, a typical GSIW press release would ordinarily probably go unnoticed. But, with several posts a day here, chances are that press release will actually get some publicity.
He's equal opportunity -- WSCA announcements got their blog posts also. But, there haven't been many of those lately.
Bob, thanks for hitting it
Mon, 08/23/2010 - 18:07 — KeungHui (author)Bob, thanks for hitting it on the nose. I try to post things that people might be interested in discussing. Not everyone here looks at all the different sites or gets the various posts so this is a way to see what the other side is talking about.
WSCA is pretty quiet now but is supposed to get geared up for the county commissioners races. I'm sure I'll have more stuff from them to post at that point.
Hui - you're missing my point completely
Sat, 08/21/2010 - 13:22 — nancyncYou posted: ~~ Do you say the same thing when I summarize what supporters of the new board majority write about? I suggest you talk with people on the other side who grumble about why I keep blogging about what John Hood has to say ~~.
Poor Bob
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 08:47 — MissVStill hoping for a seat on NC Spin.
I guess releasing anger on a
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 07:23 — HJ2ss2I guess releasing anger on a blog (Keung isn't alone as the recipient of hostile remarks. I've noticed an increase in hostile posts.) is better than "road rage". It's unpleasant but, at least, not lethal.
Durham Rock Throwers
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 07:03 — PACK_MIKE77Bob Geary is NOT a Wake County resident. I love these folks from Durham throwing rocks at Wake County schools. Durham has one of the worst school systems in the state. But Hui will not point out these critics and where they live. It does not serve the N&Os purpose to do so.
"Bob Geary is NOT a Wake
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 20:53 — Apexter"Bob Geary is NOT a Wake County resident."
No, he's a Wake County resident, all right. He wrote an article a couple of months ago complaining because someone was wanting to put up an apartment complex near his neighborhood.
Now why doesn't that surprise me
Sat, 08/21/2010 - 21:18 — TrailerParkGirlWonder how he'd feel about a trailer park :-)
Bob Geary lives in
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 10:25 — virginiadareBob Geary lives in University Park off of Hillsborough Street in Raleigh. You can't get more Raleigh than that! Why are you saying he lives in Durham?
In fairness, I doubt any of
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 08:00 — CaryCurmudgeonIn fairness, I doubt any of us would have known about the LA Times study if Keung hadn't blogged about it yesterday. Cuts both ways.
Wow Hui is taking some
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 07:08 — starsonoursWow Hui is taking some punches lately. Stating were the "complainer" is from doesn't really matter in the reporting of the story. Most times it is safe to say the loudest complainers, to use the words of our mayor, "aren't from around here"
The Independent is the rag
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 02:11 — eddie2The Independent is the rag that repeatedly ran a lie that Debra Goldman "nodded in agreement" as a campaign speaker "said" that educating poor kids is not Cary's problem. An video that accompanied the article showed that the speaker said no such thing.
So, this 'blog' is a repeat of someone else's blog
Thu, 08/19/2010 - 23:32 — nancyncKind of strange, considering it's just one person's opinion. But the N&O loved it, cut and pasted and quoted from it and viola! Another blog of the same blog!
Do you say the same thing
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 00:08 — KeungHui (author)Do you say the same thing when I summarize what supporters of the new board majority write about? I suggest you talk with people on the other side who grumble about why I keep blogging about what John Hood has to say.
Hood v Geary
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 06:08 — AgentPierceKeung is correct that he has indeed run John Hood pieces recently on this blog. Debating the legitimacy of Geary v Hood is pointless.
Noting that "the other side" complains when Keung reprints John Hood pieces is in the same amusing vein as "the left" accusing Rob Christensen of "picking on John Edwards" when the N&O was the last newspaper in America to finally mention Rielle Hunter.
Geary's "media form" is arguably one click apart from NC State's Free Expression Tunnel in its legitimacy.
Bob Geary ???
Thu, 08/19/2010 - 23:09 — AgentPierceGeary's "porn shopper" just got more eyes seeing his name than anytime in the past ten years total. The WCPSB-haters are really pulling out the "big guns" with this yahoo.
I'm sure Cash Michaels and his Carolinian hates the new board too. At least Cash is a pretty good guy, despite his required politics. Keung, give Cash a plug. He IS a good guy with a sense of humor, unlike this Geary clown.
A couple of months ago Geary
Thu, 08/19/2010 - 22:21 — CaryCurmudgeonA couple of months ago Geary was lambasting the board for moving too fast. Now he says they are going too slow. My understanding is that the board has always been on a 9-15 month track to finalize the new assignment plan. Must have been a slow news day at the Independent.
Guess that makes the prior
Thu, 08/19/2010 - 21:48 — DrActualFactualGuess that makes the prior board the "school board of he-- no! Imagine a liberal wanting Dems in office, what would we have guessed. Who wouldn't want 4 or 5 more Stan Norwalks, ugggghhh. On the bright side, maybe Bob Geary will score some tickets to the Ann Coulter Republican fundraiser. Stock up on insulin and bring Stan to the event if it is not past his bedtime. I'm sure Betty Ward is hoping for a straight flush.