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In reply to the discussion: Why Republicans Are Opposed to Supporting the Poor - An Open Secret [View all]Mountain Mule
(1,002 posts)About 12 years ago when I still lived in the big city, I contracted to deliver telephone books all over town to earn a little extra cash for Christmas. The routes that included one stop deliveries of 50 plus books (gated communities, large businesses, and schools) were the most lucrative, so I snapped those up every chance I got. As a result, I got to make a tour of the city educational system, and the differences were stunning. One of the schools I dropped off books at was a high school located in one of the wealthiest enclaves in the entire metro area. The place looked more like an upscale college campus than a high school. As a former college teacher, I am deeply concerned about the (non)education of our young people, and I poked my head into various classrooms as I passed with my load of telephone books. I noticed biology and chemistry labs filled with the latest most, up to date equipment. There were banks of sleek computers sitting in the computer lab and in individual classrooms, as well. The library was the largest high school I've ever seen and was staffed by both a professional and a para-professional. A week later my route took me to a high school in a poor, far less desirable neighborhood. The contrast was stunning. The building was run down and featured several cracked windows. The interior featured old curling linoleum covering the floors of the halls and the only computers I noticed were in the administrative offices. No science labs were in evidence and the deserted library featured a collection of perhaps 500 battered and out of date books, resting wearily on battered shelves.
It doesn't take a genius to guess which school had the students with the better SAT scores or which school sent more of its graduates on to institutions of higher education. Keep 'em ignorant and make sure their chances at a decent paying job are slim to none. I despise the republican supported oligarchy.