An Anchorage school board candidate says some of the problems at the cash-strapped Anchorage School District have been caused by a shift in the ethnic background of its students.
In an interview with Alaska Public Media broadcast and posted online this week, Don Smith, 75, compared the ethnic makeup of students in the district today to what he remembered from when he was in school.
"When I was in Anchorage High School, it was about 98 percent white students, and the balance were probably Native, and one or two black students," he told reporter Daysha Eaton. "Today, we're 48 percent white, 52 percent other, and that clearly is causing problems. I think our numbers are dropping because we're importing all these people that aren't up to the standards that we had set for the school."
Smith goes on to specifically blame the problem on what he sees as an influx of students from Africa and Indonesia.
For one thing he is right that when he went to school the population in Anchorage was almost exclusively Caucasian. They were also among the wealthiest of Alaska's residents, which is why they lived in Anchorage and had access to the best schools.
Schools in other parts of the state were not doing nearly as well, and in some rural communities the education was haphazard at best. That was not a problem with ethnicity, that was a problem with funding and access to well trained teachers.
Of course this was back before the Republicans launched their war on public education and started to strip away funding and undermine teachers. Don Smith is a Republican.
When I was a student in in the sixties and seventies Anchorage schools were among the best in the nation. That was not because they were filled with white faces, though in many parts of the city that was true, it was because teachers were respected, and supported by our local politicians.
The problem is not with the diversity among the Anchorage student body it is with the politicians who constantly attack public education and work to underfund our public schools.
And that is a problem perpetrated by the likes of Don Smith and other members of the Alaska Republican Party.
Only a racist unfit to sit on an Anchorage School Board would think to blame the result of their dirty work on the children of immigrants.
Education, as in foundations, is important. But education and lack there of, doesn't mean a person won't go on to enjoy lucrative success in honest employment. Work ethic trumps advanced degrees in many cases. Sometimes the stronger person is one who doesn't feel threatened by academic snobs who live to get degrees over work that includes sweat.
ReplyDeleteNeither is bad.
Degrees cost money. Longterm loans payments make people regret empty degrees years later.
We approach college wrong in the lower 48.
Hats off to Alaska, where people pursue things that make them happy and don't waste their time.
Shut the hell up Palin toe-licker. Sarah and Todd clearly cared nothing about the education of their children.
DeleteWhat sweat has Bristol or Willow or Track given off in pursuit of their non-academic careers? They live off reality tv money, their own or their mother's.
Enjoy your life, Anon at 3:06 pm, but don't ever seek the help of a doctor or a nurse or an attorney or an engineer with your ignorant attitude. Those people would bore you to tears with all of the years of education and experience they have. You must have had a terrible time in school. I loved it and, to this day, have great respect for teachers at all levels. Of course, not everyone is cut out for higher education but everyone needs to have enough education to live in a complex and rapidly changing world. If not headed for college or graduate school, a young person should have the best possible grounding in basic math, science, history and literature to become an informed citizen and the best training in a skill that will lead to meaningful employment. (I include trades like plumbing, hvac, construction, etc.)
DeleteBeaglemom
Jeez, you make it sound like getting a degree is a walk in the park requiring no "work ethic." I worked my ass off getting my degrees, all three of them. My parents both have advanced degrees and they instilled a love of learning in me and my siblings.
DeleteOne of my siblings went back to get a more technical degree (but a well-rounded one that requires English and other social sciences) and guess what? He is rapidly advancing ahead of all those guys who came right out of high school (or their GED).
I guess your own college experience wasn't worth shit.
3:06 Pursue things like Drug use, Making Fatherless Bastard children, Pimping, Grifting, and criticizing anyone smarter than you? The Palin Lifestyle?
DeleteSorry, but many of us in the lower 48 think way differently than you. But you certainly are free to move to Alaska( soon to be referred to as Putin's Folly)'
DeleteLet me guess, 3:06: You went to a liberal arts college, majored in dramatic arts or the like, went off to NYC to pursue your dreams, but didn't make it and had to head back to mom and dad. You loved your liberal arts education, enjoyed spending time with your classmates, had some wonderful professors. learned a lot, read some great books, wrote some papers, discussed literature and history, and became a better, smarter person for it. Looking back you might even say it was worth the time and money.
DeleteYet, the minute Sarah Palin's offspring eschew higher education for either nothing or a few weeks at hair school, you are parroting whatever anti-intellectual bullshit comes out of her mouth.
Hey kids! You don't need to go to a university or even a community college. You don't even need a high school diploma. Drop out now, get your GED, and go to hair school. Who cares if you can't write or speak well. Who cares if you don't understand the world or history or geography or politics? You can sweat your way to prosperity!
Hell, (apparently, as you've told us numerous times with absolutely no evidence) in Alaska, most 20 year olds have houses, vacation homes, two cars, two kids, and lots of toys. And none of them go to college! College isn't for everyone, it's for NO ONE! Let the Palin kids be your guide. Just look how well they're doing and not a college class or (real) high school diploma among them. All you need is a mother willing to get you some reality tv gigs, maybe a book deal, and free health health care, courtesy of the government.
I am an academic. I teach in a field that is rooted in the social sciences, but is very practical. Twenty years ago, you didn't need a higher ed degree of any kind to get a job in this field. Now, you can't get anywhere without at least an AA degree. You need a Bachelors degree to get a job in one of the larger, more competitive markets. I have students coming back to get their Masters degree because they want to get promoted.
DeleteDon't give me this "academic snob" bullshit. I'm a PhD who has devoted my life to educating people in my field. I teach them history and ethics and theory and how to interpret research and make logical decisions. We have discussions and debates. This makes them better at their jobs. At the very least, they come out of my classes able to express themselves verbally or in writing, which frankly is invaluable no matter what your job.
I don't know what your problem is, but you've invented this world where academics sit in their ivory tower, looking down on working stiffs. I can tell you it's just not true. In fact, I've met more people who are anti-intellectuals, than intellectuals who are snobs toward people who work in "blue collar" jobs.
In other words, when you agree with Sarah Palin, you show yourself to be a fool.
@ 3:06pm
DeleteSarah your jealousy is showing again. Just because you never graduated from college you feel the need to mock and degrade those that have.
Aren't the palin ho's pursuing "hair & face" skool in the lower 48?
DeleteDidn't skanky sarah go to 5 skools in the lower 48?
Fuck U panty sniffer!
They are a bunch of dumfuck hicks!
I 'm so sick of the racist crap emanating from these bastards I want to puke.
ReplyDeleteThey must be really afraid about changing demographics all over. Poor guys! Diversity among students creates challenges but also offers many opportunities - multicultural friendships, multicultural learning and so on. I am also really tired of the racism we hear over and over again lately. Then, when anyone criticizes the racist, the critic is accused of, well, racism of a sort. No, Mr. Smith, your attitude and your comments were way beyond what should be acceptable in the US in the 21st century.
ReplyDeleteBeaglemom
This Smith character has created problems for years! Why Anchorage folks have elected him to anything is beyond me! I know I've never voted for him and have lived here for eons!
DeleteBut, but, but...I'm not a racist!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI think our numbers are dropping because we're importing all these people that aren't up to the standards that we had set for the school."
ReplyDeleteThis may explain why the daughter of the former governor of Alaska dropped out of high school in her sophomore year to go to hair school.
Is it because of the minorities?
Good point.
DeleteThe good news is that when she dropped out, the overall GPA of the school went up.
DeleteDidn't Sarah have issues with too many Asians when she went to college in Hawaii?
DeleteI can tell you for a fact that at my school in Anchorage, the hardest working kids are the kids who have come as refugees from horrendous situations. They appreciate and value the hard work it takes to get an education. I never hear them say "this is boring"
ReplyDeleteThe biggest issue with Smith is that he hasn't bothered to become informed. He is wilfully ignorant and there is no excuse for that in someone running for office.
ReplyDelete