Thursday, January 2, 2014

2014 What Will YOU Do to Help Education in Norwalk?

How about a New Year's resolution that is worthwhile keeping? Let's improve education from the crib through school years. What will you resolve to do? Read aloud to your child at least three nights a week? Help your child more often with homework? Discuss current events at the dinner table? Introduce a vocabulary word a day and make a game out of using that word during the week? Business owners, will you provide books for schools? Books in restaurants for children to read? (Place your advertisement or business card in the book). Mentor a child? (this is a long term commitment). Will you ask your school how you can help?  Teachers, what will you resolve to do better? Board of Ed members? Let's create ideas and share them. Commit to your resolutions and we can change test scores and education! It's up to you!

5 comments:

  1. Fascinating to an observer that people are the first to complain, but no one wants to help increase test scores at home. What does that say about us? It takes a village, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, friends......it takes a willing village. No takers? Then no complainers!

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  2. Well said. It all begins at home. When kindergarteners come to school already several years behind (thank you NEON), there is a big gap. It keeps growing exponentially. Schools cannot remediate all the problems of society,

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  3. Agreed!. We must also note that we live in a society where most people want everything for "free" or at the very least through little effort. Norwalk should try and tie the ability to live in city supported housing with being and active parent. Parents should be required to attend school events and become active partners in their child's educational life.
    Workshops can be offered to help parents help themselves and their children.
    Time limit for public housing perhaps? Nobody should be living in public housing for multiple generations.

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    1. Agreed! Agreed!

      But since it's a good idea to place time limits on people receiving government subsidies for housing costs, why stop with public housing?

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      The biggest housing subsidy on earth is the home mortgage interest tax deduction. Sure, it might make sense for families to be able to deduct their home mortgage interest payments when they are young and just starting out, but after 10 years or so, can't people stand on their own two feet? Otherwise, aren't we creating an entire class of homeowners addicted to public handouts in the form of tax breaks?

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      Nobody should be getting housing subsidies in the form of tax breaks for multiple generations.

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    2. I'll gladly give up mortgage tax breaks if (and only if) something substantial is done about public housing.

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