The Standard Times - April 6, 2013
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130406/OPINION/304060314/
Dr. Laurie Robertson-Lorant is an
English department adjunct at Bridgewater State University.
Relevant Quotes: (Please follow the link above to read the complete article.)
The argument that Innovation Schools will create "haves and have-nots" didn't get very far because, as everyone knows, there are "haves and have-nots" in the schools right now.
At no time did the opposition raise substantive objections to the actual content of the Innovation School proposals themselves — either because they hadn't actually read them, or because they have no flaws in them.
The accusations, name-calling, threats and redundant emotional appeals voiced by the opposition during the two recent public hearings had no pedagogical weight and undermined the credibility of the opposition. Any legitimate questions or objections are meant to be answered in the next phase of the process.
As a member of the Education Department at UMass Dartmouth for five years, I supervised and mentored student teachers in dozens of SouthCoast public schools, including some in New Bedford, and I wholeheartedly support the Esperanza School of Language and Culture and the Renaissance Community School for the Arts. They will be transformative additions to the educational and cultural landscape of the city whose motto is "Lucem diffundo" — "I spread the light."
I urge the mayor and the School Committee to live up to this motto by supporting these exciting Innovation Schools.
