[Defenestrated]

Mother Jones has some good blogs, and I thought this one was interesting.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2008/11/10747_public_school_f.html

Dear President-elect Obama,

I'm writing to you as a resident of the District of Columbia, where you'll soon be moving with your two lovely children. I would like to respectfully request that you seriously consider sending your kids to DC public schools—and not a charter school, either, but a full-on traditional neighborhood public school.

I think sending them to a public school would be a significant gesture personally.

 

[sanjuro]

sidwell friends and fergetboutit.

 

[valve bouncer]

If I was a parent I'd hate to have my kids going to school with the kids of someone as high profile as that. The security bs you'd have to go through every single day would be horrendous.

 

[jonKranked]

idk. As parents, they should enroll them in the school that would provide them the best education. NOT the school that would be a "nice (political) gesture".

 

[stoney]

IT would be a security nightmare. The kids will be going to a local private school most likely.

 

[splat]

Do what is best for the Kids, not what is polaticly best
Send them to Private school.

I'm sure non one here remembers the disaster that was Amy Carter when they sent her to Public school.

 

[sanjuro]

IT would be a security nightmare. The kids will be going to a local private school most likely.

I don't think security is an issue. Unless Sidwell Friends meets in a bunker, any school will have massive Secret Service protection.

Tom Clancy described a possible protection scenario at the President's daughters school in Executive Orders. Besides the obvious Secret Service guards, including a replacing a teacher, they had a young female agent work at the 7-11 across the street, partly there to gather counter-intelligence.

 

[dan-o]

Well if Tom Clancy can figure it out I guess it'll be OK. It can't be any more difficult than stealing a top of the line Soviet sub and that only took 2 hours.

 

[sanjuro]

Well if Tom Clancy can figure it out I guess it'll be OK. It can't be any more difficult than stealing a top of the line Soviet sub and that only took 2 hours.

I googled "Secret Service Protection Scheme for Obama's Daughters", but I only got 14,000 hits.

 

[stevew]

sidwell friends and fergetboutit.

or madeira.

 

[manimal]

hmm, sending his kids to DC public schools might change his gun control stance

 

[$tinkle]

sidwell friends and fergetboutit.

hey, it was good enough for hank rollins & chelsea clinton, should be good enough for teh obamas

 

[Straya]

hmm, sending his kids to DC public schools might change his gun control stance

Would be more likely re-affirm it wouldn't it?

 

[DamienC]

I think about this dilemma often as a DC resident even though my wife and I don't have any kids (yet - we're currently enjoying our DINK status ). From my limited experience though I have seen that the quality of the public schools here greatly varies according to neighborhood (as usual) and the quality seems to be directly proportional to the level of apparent involvement of the parents (as usual).

Take Watkins Elementary School two blocks from where we live in Capitol Hill. It's situated in neighborhood that includes people of every economic strata. Across the north side of the street is a neighborhood of million dollar homes typically inhabited by caucasian families and white collar professional wonky types who probably work on the Hill. Across Pennsylvania Ave is a housing project. In between on every side are nice neighborhoods that the gentrification wave washed over about 5-6 years ago. Went to this elementary school on election day to vote and noted the school grounds had gardens planted by the students. The student body looked like a Benetton ad and it seemed like most kids were being dropped off by parents. We walk the dog by this school all the time too and notice the parents' presence at the school so I don't think it was just an election day thing. In short, it seemed like a place I would consider sending my hypothetical kids. It seemed like a fine place of learning fit for the President-Elect's children.

I think the reputation of the DC Public Schools is stained by a handful of schools in mostly less affluent parts of town where the parents have traditionally have had neither the time nor interest in getting involved on top of a central office bloated by graft and sloth. However we have a new school chancellor (Michelle Rhee) that answers only to the mayor and she's kicking ass and taking names. I would still be leery about sending kids into the DC public school system but I think things will take a turn for the better if Michelle Rhee keeps this up.

 

[Samirol]

I think the reputation of the DC Public Schools is stained by a handful of schools in mostly less affluent parts of town where the parents have traditionally have had neither the time nor interest in getting involved on top of a central office bloated by graft and sloth.

What's also probably is that since it is probably a poorer area, they are working longer hours in order to make ends meet. People are quick to blame the parents, and although there are a lot of ****ty parents, in some cases, the problem is economic.

 

[Toshi]

What's also probably is that since it is probably a poorer area, they are working longer hours in order to make ends meet. People are quick to blame the parents, and although there are a lot of ****ty parents, in some cases, the problem is economic.

how much tv do these hypothetical parents (and kids) watch per day?

 

[Samirol]

how much tv do these hypothetical parents (and kids) watch per day?

I'm not sure what you are getting at, I'm making the point that higher income families often have more time to devote to schoolwork than lower income families.

 

[manimal]

Would be more likely re-affirm it wouldn't it?

no, he'd realize that banning guns does nothing for the soaring crime rate.

 

[Samirol]

no, he'd realize that banning guns does nothing for the soaring crime rate.

the ban was pretty ineffective, though. If they were able to ban all handguns in Washington D.C effectively, then crime would have gone down. Gun bans in the U.S are ineffective because of the proliferation of guns, making it nearly impossible to do.

If we are going to do a gun control debate, then comparing effective gun control situations to effective gun non-control is fair.

It would be like trying to ban pornography, it is just impossible to do effectively because of the internet.

 

[stevew]

hey, it was good enough for hank rollins & chelsea clintons

henry went to sidwell?

i thought he said he went to some military type school on one of his earlier spoken word records.

 

[DirtMcGirk]

I heard an idea that the Obama's may do as the Kennedy's did and have their kids attend school in Virginia. The Kennedy's built a home in Alexandria (I think) so the kids could have a little more normal life.