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V Schools fail urban kids Urban education just isn't getting the job done. That's the gist of a 1975 report by the National Ed­ ucation Association. The report puts it this way, how­ ever: "The educational system is generally failing to provide the urban student with an educational experi­ ence which will afford him an equal opportunity to enter the occupational and cultural mainstream." And what's the result? A vast majority of students failing to read, write, or do mathematics adequately, with the failure becoming more pronounced the longer they stay in school. Failure to learn "Failure to learn basic skills has disastrous con­ sequences, not only for the individuals who fail, but also for the whole society," says the NEA report. "Stu­ dents who have not mastered basic skills are often PAGE ^-SUPPLEMENT TO McHENRY PLAINDEALER-WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 1975 permanently in low paying jobs ... A disproportion­ ately large number of children who have not learned basic skills drop out of school at great economic, psy­ chological, and social cost to society." denied jobs, or if hired, they are forced to remain MlflR DflY?̂ ̂ GIRLS INFANTS TO SIZE 14 ALL SUMMER STOCK & g TRANSITIONAL COTTON PANTSUITS, SWIMSUITS, ETC. i. UP TO] Q ̂ 0 OFF BOYS INFANTS TO SIZE 7 ALL SUMMER STOCK, UP TO SWIMSUITS, PAJAMAS, ETC. 707c (LIMITED QUANTITIES) 0 OFF TheTbddler Shop 3430 UJ EU*\ mcHEWRV Ul. 385-0744) NEA's attack on the problems of urban educa­ tion is part of its current nationwide Project on Ed­ ucational Neglect. Besides the urban inner city, the project also is focusing on such prime areas of edu­ cational neglect as the Indian reservations, the barrios of the Southwest, Appalachia, schools where many Puerto Rican and Asian American children attend, and youth deten­ tion and correctional in­ stitutions. "The time is long over­ due when we should de­ clare war on ignorance and neglect," says James A. Harris, president of the 1.7 million-member NEA. He adds that "it's not a matter of a few children being educationally short­ changed but of millions." Harris emphasizes that problems of educational neglect are not just school problems. They do not start in the classroom, he adds, and are not started by teachers. Contributing factors "They start in the womb because of malnutrition and disease," he declares. "They start in the street because of uncaring and callous individuals. They start in the halls of too many of our legislatures and are nurtured by half- baked, ill-conceived, and underfinanced political so­ lutions to these social problems. Bandaids are prescribed where major surgery is needed." The plight of neglected urban education shows up in many forms, the NEA report indicates. For ex­ ample: nniiAB DAYS July 31-August 1 & 2 FAMILY SHO CLEARANCE Men 's-Wom en 's-Children's SAVE UP TO OPEN 8am to 5pm GIES SHOES AND SHOE REPAIR 1307 Riverside Dr. 385-2801 McHeniy • More pupils per teach­ er than most schools, less money to spend per pupil, fewer text­ books and other in­ structional materials. • More dropouts, with both dropouts and some i l l -prepared graduates swelling the community unem­ ployment roles. • An upsurge in the use of drugs, student un­ rest, and school vio­ lence, including the use of weapons. • Old hazardous school buildings--in 16 of our largest cities, about 1,300 elementary schools and more than 210 secondary schools built before 1920 are , still in use. • High teacher turn­ over, less experienced teachers, teachers with low expectation of pupils. • Poor family environ­ ment to support the pupils, few positive and productive teach- er-parent meetings. The report notes that a financial crisis is central to the problems of urban schools, and that this cri­ sis is due partly to popula­ tion migration. Middle- class families and busi­ nesses both have been moving -to the suburbs, leaving behind a shrinking tax base. Financial problems At the same time, the cost of urban education is steep. Teacher salaries are higher in the cities, as are land, construction, and in­ surance costs. The high rate of crime and vandal­ ism necessitates addition­ al -- and expensive -- se­ curity measures. But, says the report, "The evidence suggests that there is no simple relationship between ex­ penditures and school ef­ fectiveness." It notes that "billions of dollars have been spent on compensa­ tory education, thousands of projects have been ini­ tiated, hundreds of studies have been completed," yet there is still segregation, alienation, and declining achievement. "Where additional mon­ ey finally filters down to the urban schools," the report explains, "it is often wasted on traditional ap­ proaches that have con­ sistently failed the urban child. The record of spend­ ing on compensatory edu­ cation is an outstanding testimony to the futility of doing more of the same things that have not worked in the past." Search for solution The report, developed as one of the working tools for NEA's educational neg­ lect project, stresses that such factors as overcrowd­ ed housing, low income, and inadequate food and medical care cannot be ignored in searching for a solution to the urban educational problems. On-site investigations, national conferences, and action projects by many of NEA's nationwide net­ work of 10,000 state and local affiliates are among the Association's weapon­ ry in its ongoing multi- pronged attack on educa­ tional neglect. His feet need checkup, too Most parents know the value of regular health checkups for their chil­ dren. 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