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LeBron James Opens STEM-Based School For At-Risk Students In Ohio (sbnation.com)
NBA superstar LeBron James is opening a new school that many are calling a "game changer." It extends the length of a traditional school day and focuses on teaching a STEM curriculum to students who have a higher probability of failing academically or dropping out of school. An anonymous Slashdot reader shares a report from SB Nation: LeBron James' I Promise School opened Monday to serve low-income and at-risk students in his hometown, and the public school could be an agent of change in the eastern Ohio city. The institution is the intersection of James' philanthropic Family Foundation and the I Promise Network he helped kickstart. I Promise began as an Akron-based non-profit aimed at boosting achievement for younger students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Now the movement has the means to educate these students year-round. I Promise will feature longer school days, a non-traditional school year, and greater access to the school, its facilities, and its teachers during down time for students. That's a formula aimed at replicating some of the at-home support children may be missing when it comes to schoolwork. The school has also anchored its curriculum in math and science-based teaching, dipping into the STEM -- science, technology, engineering, and math -- curriculum that prepares students for the jobs of the future.
Honorable, but not quite useful.
If you want to help, build a school for the unusually gifted. Take those out of regular schools where the pace is low and put them together so they can push each other to greatness.
Of those that have a higher probability of failing, only a certain percent are failing because of the school itself. Many will be failing due to the situation at home, or simply because they don't have the mental faculties to comprehend. Those that show up will have a wide variety of different needs (some may be physically handicapped, some may be mentally handicapped, some may need therapy or counseling), and trying to put them all in one place is sure to cause further problems. If it's "low-income" students, putting them all together is sure to cause problems with violence, drugs, and bad behavior.
If you want low-income students to excel, put one or two in classes with mid to high income students so they get inundated with a better culture and attitude instead, that will do far more good.
oh fuck off
I dont's think you actually care. All you're doing is shooting off on the internet about how while someone is fixing one problem or doesn't meet your exacting standards because it's not the problem you're currently vaguely thinking about.
This is what aboutism at it's finest. You contribute absolutely nothing while trying to divert the discussion.
Pathetic.
SJW n. One who posts facts.
From the article:
How does the I Promise School differ from any other school?
The school will operate with a longer-than-normal school year, with a focus on accelerated learning to bring kids up to speed who otherwise might be lagging. In addition, there is a focus on combating factors outside of the classroom that could cause children to struggle.
Services are available to help students deal from stress related to parents who are struggling to make ends meet. In addition there are activities to prevent the kids from having too much idle time and potentially getting into trouble.
The school also provides services to families, which include job placement assistance for parents and an on-site food bank that will allow parents to pick out foods they can prepare at home.
I suppose we could debate how successful it will be but at least he's stepping up and trying to help. Interestingly he opened the school in his home town, not his new digs in LA. In contrast, I don't recall Michael Jordan doing a damn thing for the underprivileged in Brooklyn (his hometown). Magic Johnson? Well, he opened a bunch of restaurants in East LA but this is a for profit venture.
For the record, I'm not a huge LeBron fan but in this case I think he deserves some credit. He didn't go to college because he was blessed with exceptional sports talent but for the vast, vast majority of these kids there is no sports scholarship in their future. The only way they are getting out of poverty is through education.
right? I went to magnet schools when I was a kid for science and tech. It's where I learned to program even though my family was generally too poor to own a computer until the early 90s (single mom, nurse, her income went way up around then).
Those trillions are very well spent. Teaching your most vulnerable math, science and literature means they can think and reason better. You want that, because otherwise they become an easily manipulated and increasingly destitute demographic. Sooner or later they'll find someone to fix the problems they have, like a fascist dictator. That never ends well for the well educated among a population.
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Boy, is this relevant!
Good job.
And, while we're at it, let's talk about drug testing all the farmers now that they are on welfare.
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
No, because if the money had come from some non-athletic white guy or a corporation or government entity, it would have little chance of really impacting the target demographic. Many at-risk kids aren't going to be too interested in being mocked for going to a special nerd school.
But when one of the greatest sports heroes the kids know of has his name on it, there is little worry about being mocked for going there to get an education. The potential impact to change lives really is because of him, not just his money.
STEM in high school means nothing without the college degree to back it up and if LeBron isn't going to fund these kids THROUGH college its a fruitless endeavor.
citation please?
If you make a claim the burden is on you to provide the proof.
Some food for thought about why your claim might not be right: ...) - so will help them with everyday life cp not having these skills
Giving them a good high school STEM education might open doors to scholarships for college
A lot of the benefits in STEM curriculum apply to everyday life (critical thinking, numeracy,
Not every single job in STEM fields needs a degree - most of the interesting ones maybe, but this might open the door to say "data entry" jobs where previous opportunities might have only been menial/retail jobs.
Would it be more beneficial to have high school AND college - absolutely. But improving 10 lives a little or 1 life a lot is an ethics problem, and a choice that you can't dictate to others.
So your turn. Prove your claim that it is fruitless. Cite your data.
I never would have imagined a post from SB Nation be featured on the front page of Slashdot.
Now add that the system is SO fucked up that even if mommy and daddy are happy together it's more sensible for them to claim they're not...
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
I say the same thing when people buy me dinner. If you aren't going to fund me all the way through dessert it is going to be a fruitless endeavor.
STEM in high school means nothing without the college degree to back it up and if LeBron isn't going to fund these kids THROUGH college its a fruitless endeavor.
That's a fair point. Or, it would be if not for the fact that "If [students at the school] successfully complete the school program and graduate from high school, James will cover their full tuition at the local public college, University of Akron." But given that fact, it's actually a pretty piss poor point that seems more aimed at shitting on someone doing something good than at contributing to a solution.