Prodding poor parents to get even more involved is really just a callous disregard for the fact that parental involvement–while ideal–is a luxury that not all families can afford.
Melissa Harris-Perry on MSNBC after Tennessee proposed a bill that would take money away from the state’s poorest families if their children fail to make the grade in school. (via msnbc)
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It is also a callous disregard for the way the state’s most fail-happy school system is organised: many Nashville Metro schools are filled with children whose bus rides are several /hours/, because in the name of ‘desegregation’, those children are bused across the county to attend school. A household with two working parents does not have the time to be involved with their childrens’ school life in the way this bill would demand.