This is a classic example of banning the symptom in lieu of curing the cold.
I volunteer in New York's K-5 public schools as a 1-on-1 tutor for children a bit behind their grade level on reading. These are smart kids in crowded classrooms with insufficient resources addressing their needs. Needs like mild hyperactivity, hunger, needing someone to talk to about the financial stress they know their parents are under, lacking a home internet connection, et cetera. These kids are also concentrated around black and Hispanic communities.
These are solvable problems. Classrooms could be made less crowded. Funding could be increased. The small number of bad teachers could finally be held accountable. School lunch expanded. Mental health resources provided to students. Subsidies for households with young children at home.
But instead we get treated to a fight on racial battle lines from a mayor who thinks he's running for President.
> These are solvable problems. ... Funding could be increased. ... School lunch expanded.
On the subject of school lunches, it's not really a matter of increased funding. It is deciding to tackle the problem.
Chicago Public Schools serves free breakfast and lunch [1] to all students (not just low-income) using the exact same funding sources that NYC and all other school districts use. They are completely open about how they did it [2]. They completely eliminated the practice of heating up frozen meals, renovated school kitchens and started cooking from scratch and buying directly from farmers.
If only they put this much effort into the rest of the school operations...
I volunteer in New York's K-5 public schools as a 1-on-1 tutor for children a bit behind their grade level on reading. These are smart kids in crowded classrooms with insufficient resources addressing their needs. Needs like mild hyperactivity, hunger, needing someone to talk to about the financial stress they know their parents are under, lacking a home internet connection, et cetera. These kids are also concentrated around black and Hispanic communities.
These are solvable problems. Classrooms could be made less crowded. Funding could be increased. The small number of bad teachers could finally be held accountable. School lunch expanded. Mental health resources provided to students. Subsidies for households with young children at home.
But instead we get treated to a fight on racial battle lines from a mayor who thinks he's running for President.