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List:       publib
Subject:    Re: [PubLib] Literacy is not a right for children in Detroit?!
From:       Valerie Long <valeriedlong () GMAIL ! COM>
Date:       2016-11-29 18:07:54
Message-ID: CALGAT4cgKgoM60VM6h-ZFeeGzOF148qz==uc2YSoznmQsjQo7w () mail ! gmail ! com
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Jimmie,

Okay, that makes sense. I can see why a judge would say no under those
circumstances, but man it's disappointing. :(

Valerie

On Tue, Nov 29, 2016 at 11:33 AM, Jimmie Epling <jimmie1701@yahoo.com>
wrote:

> Valerie,
>
> You make some valid points.
>
> One issue that is often noted is the Declaration of Independence, often
> cited because what it says, is not a legal document in the sense it is a
> ruling by a court or law passed under our current Constitution.
>
> Note that the 14th Amendment's states "All persons born or naturalized in
> the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of
> the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make
> or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of
> citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of
> life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any
> person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
>
> Now you may note the "pursuit of happiness" has been replaced with
> "property" in this amendment.  The 14th amendment insures equal protections
> under the law.  It does not assure equal outcomes.  What I go back to is
> who was responsible for the Detroit education system?  Local governance,
> not state governance was ultimately responsible.
>
> Do not get me wrong, I believe every child should have a great education.
> States and the Federal government spend billions of dollar on education in
> an effort to establish some degree of equal outcome.  The problem rests
> often on the local governance level.  Look closely at how the funds are
> spent locally.  Of the funds expended, how much actually makes it into the
> classroom?  You might discover a good part of the problem goes back to the
> local administration's priorities.
>
> Jimmie
>
> Jimmie E. Epling
> 1337 Clyde Road
> Hartsville, SC 29550
> 606.923.1576
> jimmie1701@yahoo.com
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Valerie Long <valeriedlong@gmail.com>
> *To:* Jimmie Epling <jimmie1701@yahoo.com>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, November 29, 2016 10:58 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [PubLib] Literacy is not a right for children in Detroit?!
>
> Unfortunately, at least one court here in Michigan, has already stated
> that while the state must provide education, it does not have to provide a
> *quality* education (or something very similar. I can't find the exact
> quote right now). This was after the ACLU brought a similar suit about
> Highland Park School district.
> I wonder why it doesn't fall under the "pursuit of happiness" in the
> Declaration or equal rights under the 14th amendment. It's mighty hard to
> pursue happiness if you are illiterate. I don't understand how equal rights
> doesn't include quality educations. If the predominately white students in
> Bloomfield Hills get a quality education, why doesn't predominately black
> Detroit have the right to have the same?
> Just things I've been thinking about since the suit came out.
> Valerie Long, MLIS
> Desk Clerk & Interlibrary Loan
> Ann Arbor District Library
>
> On Nov 28, 2016 3:09 PM, "Jimmie Epling" <jimmie1701@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> At the risk of being flamed, I have to point out there is no fundamental
> right to literacy in the Constitution and therefore the government is not
> obligated to insure literacy.  Now this said, the Constitution does provide
> for equal protections within the confines of the law, so if a government
> agency provides educational services to children, it cannot discriminate as
> to who receives those educational services, unless there is a clear and
> compelling reason they cannot be provided.
> It is tragic what has happened to the educational system in Detroit.
> Decades of local mismanagement are to blame for the decline of the Detroit
> and the local school system.  In many places across the country, state
> authorities have had to from time to time step in to correct the failings
> of a local school system.  The state of Michigan is attempting to right a
> wrong brought on by local mismanagement.
> The truth is the success of such a lawsuit goes far beyond Detroit.  If
> the lawsuit succeeds, then the state of Michigan is required to insure
> literacy, however it is defined, across the state.  It, like other states,
> already sets educational standards.  To insure literacy the state must take
> over local school district to insure compliance with state regulations.
> This will set a precedent for the whole nation.  The end result is local
> governance of school ceases to exist.
> What is tragic is that Detroit has come to this point where the state must
> step in to provide some assurance of a quality education.  The suit brought
> by the seven children (or more correctly adults on their behalf) should
> target the former school administrators, board, and municipal government
> officials who allowed the school to fail its students.
> In any case, sadly taxpayer funds will be diverted away from improving
> Detroit schools because of this lawsuit.
> Jimmie            Jimmie E. Epling 1337 Clyde Road  Hartsville, SC 29550
> 606.923.1576 jimmie1701@yahoo.com
> Subject: Literacy is not a right for children in Detroit?!
>
> After taking over the school system in Detroit, the state of Michigan is
> fig> hting a lawsuit by seven Detroit schoolchildren who say their schools are
> ho> rrible, by countering that "there is no fundamental right to
> literac> y." Michigan's attorney general made the bizarre argument
> in> requesting that a federal judge toss the kids' lawsuit, Fox News
> in> Detroit reported. Please sign and share this petition to send an email to
> G> overnor Snyder and Attorney General Bill Shuette and demand that children
> in> Detroit and across Michigan are taught the most fundamental skills they
> nee> d for success in life.
>
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>


--
Valerie Long, MLIS
valeriedlong@gmail.com
https://valeriesmusings76.wordpress.com

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