Instead of looking for positive ways to encourage parents connecting with schools, South Carolina Lieutenant Governor (and gubernatorial candidate) Andre Bauer, thinks that poor families should have their government benefits cut-off if they don’t go to to PTA meetings.
Why, you might ask?
Lt. Gov. Bauer explains:
“My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed. You’re facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don’t think too much further than that. And so what you’ve got to do is you’ve got to curtail that type of behavior. They don’t know any better.”
You can hear his remarks here, and read more about it here and here.
I teach in Columbia, South Carolina and while we think Bauer means well, his tactlessness is disturbing.
Additionally, this article came out in our paper today ๐
http://www.thestate.com/editorial-columns/story/1127285.html?story_link=email_msg
What a foolish idea. I really don’t see how that would facilitate anything. He needs to read a copy of your book ๐
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How do PTA connect to poverty? What magical bullets do PTA have, because I never heard about or experience a Bake sale model closing students achievement gap in Urban schools API ranges 1-3. In my community the only things that we do with PTA is selling candy, this model sure can’t provide me a skill to be on main street Lt. Governor is Worse individual in the WORLD.
Parent-U-Turn