Finally, an incumbent on Teaneck's Board of Education has made it clear as to why our budget must increase. According to a post on the Teaneck Progress blog by David Duiguid: We as a district made a commitment 5 years ago to raise student achievement levels to those of surrounding districts in Bergen County, and in the process to attempt to eliminate the achievement gap between whites and minorities.
There it is. In a nutshell, Dr. Duiguid admits that our budget is increasing because he feels the need to close a so-called "achievement gap" between whites and "minorities."
So Dr. Duiguid admits he is a racist. His concern is not for all the students, but specifically for a single group of students, specifically Blacks and Hispanics.
While comments on other blogs indicate the upcoming elections are an orthodox versus everybody else issue, the true facts are that this is a "minority" versus everybody else issue.
It seems that the good doctor is convinced that throwing money at a perceived problem will solve it. This despite most studies on the "achievement gap" place the blame squarely on the parents (America's Next Achievement Test: Closing the Black-White Test Score Gap Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips) and on peer pressure to do poorly so as not to be viewed as being "too white." (Black Students' School Success: Coping with the "Burden of 'Acting White'" Signithia Fordham and John U. Ogbu).
How can an illegal alien, non-English speaking Central American parent help his anchor child with English homework? (Immigration, Family Life, and Achievement Motivation Among Latino Adolescents Carola Suarez-Orozco and Marcelo Suarez-Orozco)
How can a black father help his kid with schoolwork when 65% of black children live in a home without a father? (national figure from the Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p70-114.pdf)
Imagine if one of the orthodox candidates said that the entire town would be responsible for spending money on schools because some orthodox children were not scoring as well on tests as were others in the school system. The outcry from the "rest" of the town would be deafening.
So now, we are all asked to share the burden because many black fathers abandon their families and illegal aliens and anchor babies, who are given a free ride in our schools, have no schoolwork help at home.
Sorry, but while providing an acceptable education to public school children may be my civic duty, whether or not I like it, I feel no need to make up for the shortcomings of others.
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14 comments:
People like this fail to understand that an education is the only way up! If we don't teach them to be productive citizens they'll be the same ones waiting outside the bank to crack our skulls for our SSI checks!
I can't believe that in 2010 We still have bigoted idiots lingering around.
What is amazing is this completely ignorant rant. I cannot believe how people who have no vested interest in our schools, and chose to be separatist based on religious beliefs can spout such racist and ignorant comments. That you live in a town as multiculturally diverse as Teaneck with an overwhelming "majority" of people who are African and Hispanic and who contribute to the academic, social and economic welfare of this town and still be so incredibly racist is beyond me. Additionally, this same group which has a synagogue based on every corner that does not add any economic value or social engagement to the rest of the town and most importantly do not pay taxes on these houses of worship can engage on talking about another group of people who through their taxes pay for them to enjoy their separatist lifestyle is simply crazy. It seems that making up lies, pointing the finger and doing the blame game is the only thing this blogger is good as well as being myopic and racist in their point of view. Shame on you and others like you who feel this way. You do not deserve to live in this town!
Anon #2, I agree that the rant was a bit racist (not all blacks don't have fathers at home, etc.) but your reply was even worse. Jews shouldn't be living in Teaneck? Who do you think pays most of the taxes to support the schools? You say there's a synagogue on every corner. I think there are far more churches than synagogues in Teaneck. As for choosing to live a separatist life, that's our choice. We still pay taxes, and as such, should have a voice in the school system. Saying we shouldn't have a say in how our taxes are spent or how much we should pay is taxation without representation. That was one of the issues which led to the founding of the US. Also, just think what would happen if the Jews in Teaneck said, hey, you're right, let's send our kids to public school - we shouldn't be separate anymore. What would happen? An influx of thousands of kids at one shot would probably collapse the schools, and raise taxes even more.
Wrong wrong wrong.....Number one jackass....Jews do not pay the majority of taxes in town. How could they? Teaneck is only about 30% Jewish. So your saying that 30% of the population in Teaneck pays more in taxes then the other 70%. Then to even say there are more churches then Synagogues, are you nuts? How about you get your facts straight. Stop by the building department and find out for yourself. Either way Teaneck should create an ordinance that prevents any tax exempt properties. This should include churches,synagogues and private schools. Teaneck has 85+ tax exempt properties with 50 of them built within the last 20yrs. How about all 85+ pay just half their taxes. This would contribute at least 2 million in tax dollars for Teaneck. Lets stop making this a race/religous issue and open your eyes.
If the Jewish children went to the Public Schools as they did pre-2000all races would be represented in the school system and would benefit from the taxes that are contributed to the school budget. The Board of Education would balance out the influx of students as it has done in the past. Let's not forget that part of the budget goes to non-private schools in town as it is mandated by the state.
To Teaneck Resident
I will say this, the dynamic in this town is very sad. The increase in the orthodox population and their desire to live an isolated existence in a town with many other cultures is a disadvantage to the orthodox population as well as a disadvantage for the community. It has dramatically changed the demographic of the school in our town
Orthodox dont' mix because the reality is they are frightened to death of intermarriage of jews and people of other cultures. The only way to avoid that is to surround your children with only people like themselves.
You are told you are the Chosen Ones,, which is only true for purposes of your culture. There are many others that may feel they are just as chosen but don't push other groups away.
What the Orthodox has done as a community has created resentment from other groups towards them because of the behaviour of isolation alienation of other cultures.
It's true it may be your choice,,but like with all choices you accept everything that goes with it. If you want other groups to have a better perception of the Orthodox, function in a way that gives people a reason to have a better perspective. But the sad part is I am sure you don't care
"We as a district made a commitment 5 years ago to raise student achievement levels to those of surrounding districts in Bergen County, and in the process to attempt to eliminate the achievement gap between whites and minorities."
I don't see one mention of budget increases in Dr. Duiuguid's statement. It just goes to show you that you can use facts in a way to prove and disguise a mis-statement. No one is admitting racism here but the writer of the original blog is calling Dr. Diuguid a racist. Interesting.
It's sad to see how people like this writer, who are obviously unaware of the very people he's talking about, can be so negative and fearful of the unknown. Those statistics he quotes for blacks have little to do with the demographics of Teaneck's minority families. Whatever does apply, is lost because most of the facts have been distorted.
Choose your words and make your analogies more closely and they might apply. But not in this case. In this case, it's all just rhetoric.
You have made the choice to separate your children from the school system and now you have to try to justify this decision. Look at the lengths that you'll go to try to make what you're doing seem correct. Well, it isn't. You're making a mess of things and it is you who is using racist dogma to prove your point.
Be very careful of the water you tred in. It's very nasty in there!
yes the jews live an isolated existence and it is good.
look at the problems in the shvartze oilom and compare to the jews. we have some problems. they are a speck of dust in comparison with the problems of the other cultures in teaneck and the rest of the country
yes the jews live an isolated existence and it is good.
It is very good especially if you keep up with the inbreeding. All that inbreeding has produced a generation or two of special education kids who you have no problem sending to the public schools to educate and babysit. Why don't your jew schools take them and help them?
look at the problems in the shvartze oilom and compare to the jews. we have some problems. they are a speck of dust in comparison with the problems of the other cultures in teaneck and the rest of the country
oh my goodness, you better look a bit deeper, you guys are just as screwed up as the rest of the world.
Comment above: "the shvartze oilom"
Classy!
No more classier than the stupid jew that made the original post =)
As a Caucasian, I am totally embarrassed by the original commentary obviously made by another white person. It is the most twisted and ridiculous thing I've read in a long time. The author of this disturbing rant is clearly the racist. Dr. Diguid, who is an extremely brilliant man and devoted father, is far from a racist. His wife is Caucasian and he has 2 biracial children. You seem to be insinuating from your diatribe that all the black children are fatherless and the latino children are products of illegal immigrants. WOW! You are one sick individual. I moved to Teaneck because of the diversity and I purposely wanted my children to grow up in such an environment. I am so happy that I did. They are so much richer for this experience. They received an education in life, something that can't be bought -- only experienced. Too bad the people here that are expressing such bigotry never found the to opportunity to grow and evolve as decent human beings. It's this small mindedness that is behind all the hatred and problems in the world. I am truly saddened by some of the commentary here. And for those that aren't in the "know"... Shvartze is sort of the yiddish slang for the "N" word. Nice isn't it? Nice to know the people using this word think they are so cool and that no one will understand. It's even sadder to think these are our neighbors!
I agree that the dynamic is sad. I wish that the Jewish community and the rest of Teaneck got along well. I have some neighbors that aren't Jewish. Do you think I shut them out? No, I make sure to be just as friendly to them as I am to my other neighbors. You're the one who is making this a separatist issue. Jewish people have no problem with their non-Jewish neighbors. So what if we don't send our kids to public schools? We still pay taxes, and as such, we have a right to help determine how that money is spent. I spoke with someone this weekend who saw the exact breakdown of tax figures. Over 60% of property taxes come from families that don't use the public schools. That doesn't mean all Jews, it means Jews, Catholics who use private schools, and other miscellaneous groups that just don't use the public schools for various reasons. Taxation without representation was one of the reasons behind the US fighting for its independence from England. Why shouldn't we have representation now? There is no law that says you have to have kids in the school system in order to have a vote, or to stand for office. Everyone has that right, whether they use the schools or not. I'm not making a racial issue or any other type of dividing line out of this. I'm just saying that we pay our taxes, so we can put up a candidate we support, and vote for who we want. That's what democracy is about.
I agree with what you (Teaneck resident) said. You definitely have the right to vote and to have a say whether your children are in the public schools or not. It's not the fault of those who vote, it's the fault of those that don't vote in this town. People get angry because it seems that the people who don't have children in our public schools determine the election because they have a 90% turnout at the polls. The people who have children in our schools have a 10% turnout. So who's at fault?
It's not supposed to be about religion or bigotry, it's supposed to be about our children and what is best for them. But you can see by some of these comments, esp. the "schvarze" ones that there is a lot of bitterness and ugliness that is starting to appear. And when you have 3 candidates run that have no children in the school system and state in their platforms that the one great thing about the Teaneck school system is the diversity when they refuse to be part of the diversity, what else can you think but that they are absolute hypocrites. I attended the forums. Einhorn didn't even have the courtesy to show up for most of them. Kaminetsky reminded me of Sarah Palin. She talks in circles and makes no sense at all. Sandor just talks figures. He hardly ever references what would be best for the children, he just talks facts (not always correct) and figures (not always correct). And he really doesn't understand the actual operations of the budget. It's not as simple as he makes it.
One woman in particular was really quite amusing at one of the forums. She stood up with such grandeur and stated she was going to open all of our eyes to the inappropriate workings of the budget. She stated that she herself had gone over it line by line. She mentioned some negligible items and was saving "the best for last." She was so full of herself stating that believe it or not, the Teaneck School system had written out a check for tickets to the circus. How foolish and irresponsible was that! She was so proud of herself that she discovered this seemingly inappropriate expense. Well much to her chagrin, a mother in the audience stood up to explain. Yes, the district did indeed write a check to the circus. It was for a school trip to the circus for our special needs pre-schoolers (many of whom come from families whose other children attend private schools). The circus was a very appropriate venue for these children. And guess what? Every parent paid for the trip in full. Anyone who is familiar with the workings of a school knows that you cannot send a venue a bunch of checks and cash. You collect the monies from the parents, give it to the school and then the school writes out one check to the venue. This is what happened in this case. So her grandstanding was all for nought. I really wish people did their homework before subjecting the rest of us to their stupidity. Although I have to admit, she was quite entertaining.
Teaneck is a great town. Hopefully, this election will bring us all together and not drive a wedge in to further divide us. Don't forget we are all created equal.
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