Detroit education: Live and in Person

I am a product of the detroit public school system. I graduate a detroit high school, went to college, graduated college, got a job and founded a Detroit area nonprofit organization. The poster child for DPS.

The DPS School System version 2016 is not what it was in 2003. So much has changed and it’s only getting worse. Schools budgets are being cut, classes are oversized, buildings are falling apart, and grades are plummeting.

I’m at a recreation center teaching art three days a week. Last week we built a model home out of clay. We constructed the base and I asked one student to measure the base of the home so we would know how wide to make the walls. He took the ruler and tried to begin measuring. After a few minutes I asked if he had the measurement, how wide was the base? He continued to throw out arbitrary numbers. “2?”…”4?”. I said, “show me how you measured it”..He didn’t know how to use a ruler. I asked if he knew the unit of measure used on the ruler…he didn’t know what “measure” meant. I asked if he knew how many inches a ruler was, he said “15?”.

These kids are in 3rd, 4th and 5th. How did they get this far and not know how to use a ruler. I want to go to their school and speak with their math teacher; “Do you know your students don’t know how to use a ruler or units of measure?”

The most alarming part is that the students don’t even know they should know how to use a ruler. Who’s advocating for the children?