New York Times Sept. 15, 2003 issue: "City to Track Why Students Leave School"

In the New York Times September 15, 2003 issue addressing the topic of: "City to Track Why Students Leave School"

Children are being pushed out of school because they are not able to learn. I have addressed this problem in many articles that I wrote. I believe there should be accountability in the educational system, which would require laws and policies to implement safeguards to protect our children. According to policy, children are supposed to have a proper education until age 21, but who knows about this? Surely not parents and their children. Now the educational system is trying to do damage control to protect themselves. These educators with all their education do not realize that pushing students out was totally wrong in the first place. I believe they should take responsibility and be accountable to the parents and their children.

As an advocate I have been aware of this for many years. I am myself learning disabled, and I have gone through the educational system and received a diploma without earning it. This makes me feel angry about the educational policies since 1950's and to the present. There has not been grass-roots movement to advocate for children with low literacy skills who might have learning disabilities. This article in the New York Times briefly makes a reference to learning disabilities. Learning disabilities are rampant in our country. Children are still being walked through the system without being educated. I have spoken to many students with learning disabilities who graduate from school, and have gotten into the workforce. Even though schools have helped these students obtain jobs and drivers' licenses, these students have to fend for themselves. Since they are not able to read and write these adults now struggle without the support they desperately need. Let me explain: most of the students have been drilled to memorize tests and give verbal responses to their test, but they are never taught how-to read or write with the proper tools. I can relate to their frustration, I have use many literacy programs and most of these programs do not properly teach students with learning disabilities. Using these programs I have taught myself by using technology to help me with writing and reading skills.

Now that I have learned to communicate. I have found that my own methods work best in my life. Now I am teaching some of what I have learned to other students in different forums' including in my local program and conferences around the country. I bring some of my teaching styles to the forefront of education, but no one has noticed because they have "educators" who have credentials and I do not. I have been using my teaching methods as a volunteer in my local program and nationally, for over 5 years but still no one has noticed.

Student advocates around the country have been trying to address this problem nationally for years. There is one organization that is run by adult students for students they addressing this problem and getting grass-roots activists to start to address this problem with policy makers and other organizations. Right now they need people who LOVE teaching and are knowledgeable to help get the word out about illiteracy, which is still rampant in our country. Who will listen? Not policy makers and newspapers, but the people who want to stamp out illiteracy. These people need plenty of help to get the word out in the states of America. We have freedom of speech in the Fifth Amendment and we also need the freedom to learn to read and write and raise our families as normally as possible. We need employment so we can live and grow, and we need to communicate to all our families, friends, communities and legislatures.

We need to voice our opinions by electing officials who will move education forward. We need to reach out to our representatives to express what I have shared above. With the phrase "no child left behind" and with a similar phrase "no adult left behind" there could be the next century of literate children and adults.

Parent and adult learner and Instructor and advocate,

Some are, some aren't. There are some places where private schools don't exist (yet) and government schools are the only game in town; there are others where private schools exist and take vouchers, AFAIK.

Even if they were all government schools, the fact that they are now competitive with one another is a huge incentive for them to perform. Compare that to the monopoly government schools, which get these students no matter how poorly they do.

Indeed, consider the funding of failure that the government schools often do: the following schools are the worst ones, which means the government needs to "do more" to "invest in education" and "keep kids from falling through the cracks." So they send more money to the schools that are the worst. Tell me, in that situation, where is the incentive for any school or teacher to excel?

At least with vouchers, a better government school will see its enrollment swell at the expense of the failing schools, and the agents of this change are parents, not government.

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