but somehow it just isn't enough to reach people who don't or won't value education enough to make it a priority.
I believe this to be the heart of the problem. Great teachers, great schools + uninvolved parents, bad neighborhoods still = low success. The current educational system around here seems to combine the ideals of: slow down the pace of advantaged kids, give the disadvataged more time and school resources; give them the opprtunity to catch up. The problem is that this system still doesn't work. There are tons of "get involved" and "read to your kids" advertising in my county, lots community outreach programs, places to get free books, and several free pre-K and K preparation options, yet the ones who need it the most, don't take advantage of these resources.
My brother has 5 kids, he doesn't look in their backpacks or make them do their homework, because "it's the schools job to teach," not his. One of my nieces is gifted, he wasn't even going to allow the school to test her becuase he saw no reason. Luckily, the school convinced him otherwise, so my neice is now getting some enrichment at school. It makes me sad to know that there so many parents out there just like this. They never read to, play, or take their kids out to explore the world; even when it would cost them nothing but time. One year for Christmas, I gave my brother's family year passes to the local hands-on kids museum. They never took the kids once.
And so the cycle continues.
