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GRITtv: Got Docs: Race to Nowhere
What's all this talk about being in a "race" when it comes to education? Does the "Race to the Top" framing change anything? And what's all of this racing really doing for our kids? This week's featured documentary, Race to Nowhere, takes a look at just what's going on with our schools, and whether putting a lot of pressure on kids to ace constant tests and load themselves with work is actually producing happy, well-educated people.
Email this pageGRITtv: Education Inequality in "Liberal" New York
If you're a white student and you arrive at the public elementary school building on 95th Street and Third Avenue, you'll probably walk through the front door. If you're a black student, you'll probably come in through the back. So reported the Village Voice on one of New York's best-kept secrets: its public schools are some of the most segregated in the country. The schools have two tiers: one for affluent white families who pump private funds into THEIR kids classrooms, and another for largely minority, poor communities-- underfunded, underserved and overcrowded: about 43% have severe space problems, and the recession ensures that no help is in sight. GRITtv went to Donna Nevel, an advocate for fairer schools in New York, for her take. Distributed by Tubemogul.
GRITtv: The F Word: Better Uses for Bankers' Billions
What could be done with $20 billion? A whole lot of Wall Street bankers are about to find out. $20 billion's what the New York Comptroller's office says the Street's bonuses bounced back to in 2009 -- up 17 percent from the year of the crash. According to the latest data the average bonus was $123,850 at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase, all of which taxpayers bailed out. Their bonuses this year were almost a third bigger than last year. It gives a whole new meaning to "failing up" as six million Americans -- or one in fifty -- face life with food stamps as their only income (for more on that, see yesterday's GRITtv) and a national average of six applicants show up for every job. It boggles the mind to think of how that $20 billion could be spent. Our friends at Mother Jones aren't boggled; they've put together a nifty list of suggestions for alternative spending. Want a bonus for the country, not the country-club? 1. You could pay the salaries of more than 390,000 public school teachers across the country. 2. You could close nearly all of California's gaping budget hole. 3. You could almost cover unemployment-fund shortfalls, now nearing $25 billion, in 25 different states. 4. You could more than double the amount of Pell Grant funding given to students from low-income backgrounds who might not attend college otherwise. 5. You could increase the budget of the Small Business Administration by more than 35 times. Thanks to Mother Jones for the list. I'll add a sixth--you could fund all the independent media in the country just about for ever.... Fancy making your own suggestions? Send them here: Laura@grittv.org. The F Word is a regular commentary by Laura Flanders, the host of GRITtv which broadcasts weekdays on satellite TV (Dish Network Ch. 9415 Free Speech TV) on cable, and online at GRITtv.org and TheNation.com. Follow GRITtv or GRITlaura on Twitter.com.
