Seattle Schools

The American born blacks are doing lots worse than the immigrant blacks in their test scores in math. They use words like this is an “alarming” or “comparison shocks some”. I am no expert at anything but feel the need to give my spin on what I would think makes this happen. Everything has a pay off, there must be an incentive to do something. From the time you are a toddler you must eat your “veggies” to get your piece of cake.

I have always been amazed at how the Asians come over here, not knowing our language or culture and get to be the top achievers. Maybe there is something in their genetic make up but mostly it’s the way they are brought up at home. They are taught to study. They are taught to better themselves. I don’t know a thing about American born Blacks and Somali born blacks but I would imagine their genetic make up is the same. That being the case it has to be attitude. There are some rich Somali blacks and there are some rich American born blacks, so lets stick with the run of the mill type.

My take on this is our welfare society has ripped all ambition form the little American born blacks. I am using a broad paint brush and there are exceptions but for some reason American born blacks are raised to believe that because their great, great, great, great Grandaddy MIGHT have been a slave they should be handed everything on a silver platter. There are 3rd and 4th generation blacks who have lived on welfare. They even whine about that. Lets just take one family for an example. A little American black is born to a Mommie that has no idea who his daddy is or if she does know she wont say because she would not qualify for welfare. He can still slip in the backdoor of her “free rent” apartment, and eat from her food stamp supply of food. They can go to emergency rooms free, get a welfare check that gets raised every time she has another baby. That baby grow up knowing he is way better off to JUST HAVE FUN and not study, his Mom does not try to get him to study or support himself. He has a better life(better apartment, and food) than the little white boy and girl that got married and both have to work at flipping burgers and have no insurance.

If the United States stopped giving free rent and food to the Mommies and Daddy’s whose kids are doing so poor in school it would stop. There should have to be a pay off. The Mommies are home all day and could be teaching their pre schoolers all sorts of things, instead they give them no reason to do well in school at all. No punishment, no rewards and probably the parents dropped out of school and on and on. Lots of Somali blacks came here from war torn countries and refuge camps but still do better than the blacks who had a much better life here. The American born blacks are actually being harmed by insisting on things instead of earning things. Even trying to force whites to integrate with blacks backfired. I have worked with blacks, I have rented to blacks, I have lived beside blacks. I do not hate blacks but its how they act that makes me like them, not because someone is trying to force me to live or work with one.

Cut of Mommies welfare check and food stamps if she cant help her child with his school work. If she knew unless he went to school and brought a passing grade home, “she would get fired from her job of collecting freebies”. It would change in a hurry. The American born blacks have a huge chip on their shoulders that the Somali blacks don’t and until that changes these little blacks would rather hang on corners in gangs or stay out all night because Mommie doesn’t care what they do. She doesn’t care if they bring home a good report card. Give them an incentive to study.

I was a really really poor little farm girl, baby of 12 that caught on early that if I was going to do anything different I had to study. I was the first in my family to graduate from high school. I was the valedictorian of my class. My parents made all of us little kids sit at the old kitchen table and study by a kerosene lamp. We had no running water, we had a three holer outhouse so if you think for one minute being poor automatically makes you do poor in school, YOU ARE DEAD WRONG. There was a willow switch waiting if we brought home a bad report card. There was no welfare or food stamps. We were taught, “work if you want to eat”. The little American born blacks don’t have a clue what its like to be poor. They have no incentive, they have been robbed of that. They have to want to better themselves but giving them more freebies is not the answer. Maybe school work camps for the children, and make Mommie get a job, even a low paid one.

Hope this generates some thoughts. Until you change the mind set of the American Born Blacks that they are so poor, so picked on etc etc nothing will change. LLL

As you know, Maria Goodloe Johnson was recently fired as the Seattle Public Schools Superintendent.  She most likely will not apologize for her actions and didn’t even attempt to keep her job.  It turns out she was making approx. $264,000 per year and is entitled to an additional $264,000 after she was fired per her severance contract terms.  Don Kennedy, the school’s Chief Financial Officer, was also fired without cause.  Mr. Don Kennedy was making approx. $174,000 per year and is entitled to $87,000 (half) after he was terminated. As we all know, that is how government works.  They create contracts that none of us regular people would ever get if employed. We would be immediately terminated without notice but not when you have a leadership position with the city.  I guess that makes you better than everyone else.

After reading those facts several things come to my mind.  First, lets talk about skills and education.  There are many well-educated school officials available all over the USA.  We all know (if not – you should) that everyone is dispensable and a few job wanted ads in some of major publications will result in more qualified talent then we can handle.  They will come from every state far and wide to work in the Seattle School District.  No severance or contract would even be required.  Maria Goodloe Johnson and Don Kennedy are not “that special” when it comes to their skills and education.  I understand from a public relations aspect Seattle School Officials want the public to feel “confident” in their hiring decisions but their process and the “value” they place in these individuals is overrated.  If they really wanted to make a change, with would hire them just like everyone else.  We all should be equals when it comes to hiring and firing.

From a money perspective, they obviously are being way overpaid.  Seattle doesn’t care about their spending and will just make up another law to take more taxes from you. It’s the democrats way to spend more than they have then claim they are broke and require more. In regards to salaries, $120,000 should be the cap for upper management.  Like most positions – there should be no severance terms.  You get hired and fired just like everyone else.  It’s not needed and wouldn’t hinder the resumes from pouring in.  This of course is the problem, Seattle leadership has created a monster and are now stuck with their bad policies and procedures.  Changing these procedures would be a public relations nightmare and cast someone being a dictator or extremist. 

Scandal:

There was an Audit published on February 23 that disclosed that the district expended over $1.5 million on endeavors of dubious public value, and nearly $300,000 on services that were not received. They found it to have, “questionable public purpose”.

Update 2023: Despite her efforts to address the district’s academic achievement gap and to improve overall student performance, her tenure was marred by a financial scandal involving a district-run small-business contracting development program. Maria Goodloe-Johnson passed away in 2012. The exact cause of death is unknown but family members stated she was sick for a year prior. She was 55.