Comments on: In it for the Money: Getting Schooled

By: Bryan Johnson

Bryan Johnson — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 19:53:20 +0000

Excellent article. I also graduated from AAPS and have a rising second grader at Bryant. I LOVE Bryant school and the Bryant community. I’m happy that my daughter is has been in such diverse classes and interacted daily with classmates from Iran, Mongolia, China, Japan, and more. I recall my best friend in 1st grade was from India and I remember having similar interactions with my classmates as my daughter has today.

I agree with Mr. Ezekiel (who was a teacher at Forsythe when I attended, hey Mr. E!). My time at AAPS helped me interact with people from different cultures in college and subsequently in my career. It’s great to get such a good education in a public school.

By: Dan Ezekiel

Dan Ezekiel — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 14:33:28 +0000

Thanks for another fine reflection. I graduated from Ann Arbor public schools, and so did both my kids, and I have taught middle school there for 25 years.

I have some anecdotal evidence to support your thesis. When former students, now attending elite colleges, stop by to chat, they usually share two ideas:

One is that they were completely prepared for college academically. Many have said their senior year at one of the high schools was more challenging than their freshman year at college. In the past, when Forsythe students attended Pioneer, many specifically mentioned the Humanities class as having made sure they were ready for college coursework.

The other is that Ann Arbor schools’ diversity prepared them for college (and life) in what I would call a social sense. My former students laugh at the way their peers, often educated at elite prep schools, “freak out” when they meet students from different backgrounds than themselves; they are self-conscious, fearful, don’t know how to behave. My students laugh and say, “we learned about all that in elementary school”.

By: Barbara Carr

Barbara Carr — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 23:59:07 +0000

Thank you for this wonderful, positive essay. I am an eighty year old Ann Arbor resident whose children left the system long ago. Consequently, I don’t know much about what is “happening” today. I worry about public schools because it seems to me that they are under siege by pressures advocating charter schools and schools of choice that force one community to compete against another. Meanwhile public support and funding is constantly reduced. Historically the public schools educated ALL, creating a knowledgable citizenry, and integrating newcomers. That’s what we should be doing. We are on the wrong track today.
So, it makes me very happy to read this essay and to know that there are good things happening in our schools and parents who appreciate their importance.

By: Alan Benard

Alan Benard — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 05:39:08 +0000

Another slice of life and another cogent analysis of that slice here in our town. Thanks for this. I’m an Ann Arbor Open parent and while it is less diverse, that school and AAPS are the reasons I have not abandoned Michigan.

Next time, write about class.

By: Liz Margolis

Liz Margolis — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 19:25:48 +0000

I know some may scoff at my posting because of my job, but I too am a Bryant/Pattengill parent. Having graduated two of our sons from high school and my third now venturing into high schoool, all three of are “graduate” of Bryant/Pattengill! I was also the first PTO President of the joint B/P PTO. It is true that when B/P students enter Tappan you will frequently hear Tappan teachers able to recognize which students are B/P students because of their ease of transition and ability to associate with all students. Academically I know my boys thrived at the lower el/upper el model that allowed them to be taught by excellent teachers who excel at their jobs. And yes, the diversity is “real world” for students and the families. I fondly remember the International Nights at Bryant and the vast amount of languages spoken at both schools. And the economic diversity is to be highlighted as well! I am a fan of B/P for what it did for our family in preparing them for middle, high school and college! Thanks to Che’ and Roberta for their leadership in making it that much better!

By: Suswhit

Suswhit — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 15:38:49 +0000

Nelson’s columns are brilliant reads. I am never disappointed. I am going to spend some time today trying to figure if my kids are on a path to change the world or just make money. Thank you for that.
(Ugh. The whole Santa/consumerism thing…)

By: Anne Laurance

Anne Laurance — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 11:37:06 +0000

I like this essay. It speaks to my experience trying to raise children the way this young boy is. I’m now a Grandmother and it’s not so bad, really. Mostly, members of our younger generation are seriously engaged in trying to bring a better world.

I had the same question about “Santa” Clause so, when our Christmas came around, I never mentioned him at all. We just went for the traditional Christmas stories including “Amahl”. We still sing this each year in the dead of winter.