Way Past “Time To Educate”

Laurie Simmons's "Clothes Make The Man" at Mary Boone Gallery in Chelsea
Laurie Simmons’s “Clothes Make The Man” at Mary Boone Gallery in Chelsea

Rochester is one of seven cities in the US that can claim half of their children are living below the poverty line. This is something that is hard to believe for those of us lucky enough to be on the other side. And according to the Democrat & Chronicle, Rochester compounds the poverty with extreme racial and economic segregation. New York State is the most segregated state in the country. What is a kid born into these circumstances gonna do?

The Urban Suburban program is growing but they’re simply syphoning off the best, those that could be role models for the rest. And one sixth of city students go to charter schools, the ones without disabilities or language problems. Last year at Kodak Park School fewer than ten percent of the students were proficient in math and and English.

The newspaper, in a series called “Time to Educate,” is looking for solutions but right now they are in probing mode. They are asking for suggestions as to what they should be investigating. This a problem that belongs to all of us and it will bring us all down if we don’t do something about it.

4 Comments

4 Replies to “Way Past “Time To Educate””

  1. I hit the suggestion link and it took me to the D&C page w/ the story.

    4 sentences ? ? ? and one of the most dumbed down “news story” videos imaginable.

    Maybe the D&C needs to start by educating itself to a higher standard of reporting

  2. By definition investigation is the act of educating oneself about a subject. They have no clue what journalism is or the fact that it requires hard, uncomfortable work. I can only surmise that this is a millennial thing: outsourcing the ‘facts’. Somewhere along the line the local tv news became the only local journalism in town.

  3. 4 sentences? Maybe buy the issue for the full cover story — which is ample and excellent. My how people throw insults “no clue what journalism is” without bothering to read the story first!! Incredibly insulting from both of these commenters.

  4. Yes, I didn’t help matters here by linking to such a skimpy blurb. I couldn’t find the digital version of the article I read in the newspaper.

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