Bill Cosby on Schools

From Michael King at Ramblings' Journal we get this story about wonderfully outspoken Bill Cosby: bq. The Cosby education tour continues in San Francisco Bill Cosby visited an award-winning inner San Francisco school yesterday, and gave his now-usual speech chastizing parents who fail their children. bq. San Francisco school chief Arlene Ackerman wrote a letter to Cosby, inviting him to see one of San Francisco's "dream schools," which are low-performing schools that have overhauled their approach to teaching, to greater results. bq. Cosby visited Charles Drew Elementary School in San Francisco's "poverty-stricken" Bayview-Hunters Point area yesterday.

After his visit, Cosby praised the school, but he stressed that it was parents -- not just the schools themselves -- who needed to step up to ensure their children beat the statistics. "Parents are 99 percent," he said. "School districts don't parent. They teach."

bq. Ackerman said she was happy to have Cosby air his views, even though they are politically incorrect. bq. Cosby has been hopeful that people would get over their shock following his initial comments last spring, and that they would be more ready to be about the business of change for the better.

"I think we're past the furor part now," he said. "It's a movement now that needs to happen. ... It's time for people to just stop seeing themselves so much as victims, so much in poverty, and realize what education does and fight for it like you're fighting for your life -- and you are because that's what our children are."

bq. It's well past time to be about the business. Well past time. Good stuff - Cosby is saying things that need to be said. A lot of people both white and black are still running on the 60's style welfare lifestyle and entitlement. This more than anything else has led to the disintegration of family life and the poor education given to their children. High crime and poverty follow. You take a look at immigrants from some oft he Asian countries and although they arrive dirt poor, they have no problem with working and they value their children's education more than anything else. Hence, you see the move from poverty to wealth in two or three generations. It's not "the man", it's not poverty, it's inability to keep a job and the lack of education.