EDUCATION OF OUR CHILDREN
Problem (Delaware Rankings) : 1) Last in SAT scores 2) 32nd in early childhood education 3) 50th in talent pipeline 4) 20% of students fail to graduate 5) 0nly 30% of Delaware 9th graders will enroll in a second year of college Dropout rates in poorer communities are increasing and could double under the new Common Core Standards and testing. How did it happen: The Governor ushered in Common Core without consulting the people or the Legislature. They accepted Common Core before the Common Core standards were written. Our state accepted the weaker standards and questionable curriculum because our government gave them millions to do so. Why Common Core and Delaware education is bad: 1) Common Core is based on making money for private companies. 2) Standards are based on a political view not educational excellence. 3) The state controls a child’s job choices 4) State collects over 400 data points on child’s personal habits and those of their family. 5) Removes parents, teachers, and school boards from education decisions. 6) Our children can be told to leave school in the 10th grade if their test are not good enough. What can be Done: 1) The first thing we must do is help pass laws to stop this attack on our children’s future. There is a bill waiting on hold in the Delaware Senate SB 269, we call it the Protection of Children’s Education, and we need to call our legislators and tell them to pass this bill. It will stop Common Core and protect our children. 2) Find out if you child’s school is teaching the Common Core Curriculum and pull them out of that school. 3) Ask every politician did you vote for HB334 and do you support Common Core. If they did and will not vote for Protection of Children’s Education Bill, vote them out of office. Tell them our kids are too important to wait! Hold a special session and public hearings now. By September we will lose another group of our children to bad education practices. 4) Support Empowerment Scholarship Accounts legislation that will be presented in January 2015. This will allow you and your children to pick the school they will attend. School excellence and not school location will determine where your children are educated. Reference Resources: Commonwealth Foundation, US Department of Education, Economic Modeling Specialist International, National Institute for Early Education Research-Rutgers University. “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” Martin Luther King Jr |
CRIME IN OUR STREETS
Problem Delaware continues to be a national leader in crime, according to Neighborhood Scout, an online site. Their statistics on crime show Delaware ranked at 5.47 crimes per 1,000 which is 1.59 above the national median. A Delaware resident has a 1 in 183 chance of becoming a victim of a violent crime. Property and violent home invasion crimes are growing. We don’t feel safe anymore because we are not safe. Wilmington is rated the most dangerous small city in America. How did it happen: As we see the breakdown of families and our educational systems failing our children, we find more kids on the streets and crime in Delaware is becoming the only way of life for many. Those going through the criminal system have a 70-80% chance of repeating their crimes. Companies are moving more and more jobs out of our state. Our education system, especially under Common Core, will put more kids on the street. Uneducated, poor, and without jobs many will turn to crime. A recent News Journal headline read, “…Wilmington is mired in violence.” The real estate site Movato.com reported that as of March 27, 2014, Wilmington has more overall violent crimes based on population than any other small city, with 1,703 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. That’s 4.5 times the national average! For murder and total crime, it ranks third nationally. This makes Wilmington worse that 99% of the entire country! Uniformed crime report, What can be done: 1) Education is an essential element in reducing the crime rate. According to the recent statistics reported by Institution of Social Security, the more widespread education is, the less crime is committed in a society or region. We should focus on education that works for our children and not gimmicks like Common Core. 2) Economic crisis has increased the jobless rates and does draw many into a life of crime. Reducing the unemployment rate also reduces the crime rate. Delaware has to repeal the laws that have driven jobs out of our state; such as energy, taxes, education, and attacks on religious liberty and create an environment that leads companies to move here to create jobs. 3) Family stability and high moral standards are keys to keeping families together and leading children on the right path. Government must look to churches that have great programs to help families. Government must follow the high moral standards and ethical behavior established by our Founders and stop attacking the Christian values of our churches. 4) Enforce the laws; no deals for violent crime. 5) Work with groups like Right on Crime to determine what is working in other states and implement it here in Delaware. 6) Community based support- Where the Attorney General’s office and police are visiting community leaders and organizations to look at real problems in our neighborhoods. |