KIPP on Oprah

Mea culpa, Oprah!  You rock!

 

After being a little disappointed with Tuesday's first segment of Oprah's two-part series on American Schools in Crisis, I sat down Wed. night to watch the second segment with a little trepidation, but was really pleased with what I saw -- in particular, the part about KIPP, which was AMAZING!  Mike, Dave and especially the kids knocked the ball out of the park!

 

If you wish, I can send you the transcript of both shows (the KIPP segment is on pages 28-34), clips of the 2nd show are at

http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200604/tows_past_20060412.jhtml, and I can make videotapes for anyone who wants them -- just send me your address.

 

This part was really sad, yet inspirational:

Mr. COOPER: Dave and Mike changed the rules and set high expectations. At KIPP, the school day starts at 7 and doesn’t end until 5. Every night, there’s at least three hours of homework, then half-days on Saturdays and summer school is mandatory.

 

Do you have friends in other schools who don’t have to work all those hours?

 

Unidentified Boy #3: Oh, yes.

 

Mr. COOPER: What do they say? Do they think it’s weird that you have to work so much?

 

PAULETTE: They tease me all the time because I stay at school so late. I tell them it makes me feel like I’m getting smarter by the minute.

 

Mr. COOPER: Just a year ago, 11-year-old Paulette was struggling in her old school.

 

PAULETTE: At my old school, my teacher asked everyone what they wanted to be when they grew up. I told her that I wanted to be a plastic surgeon. And that’s when our teacher said, ‘Girl, please, like you’re really going to become a plastic surgeon, you’re dumber than a bump on a log.’

 

Mr. COOPER: That teacher was wrong. At KIPP, Paulette’s on the honor roll.

 

PAULETTE: They teachers here, they push us hard and they give us really good encouragement. They tell us every day that we’re climbing a mountain to college.

 

Mr. COOPER: You’re already thinking about college? What, you’re in fifth grade.

How a teacher could be so cruel as to tell a child that she was "dumber than a bump on a log" is beyond me -- in my book, that's grounds for immediate termination (though I'm sure the union would grieve it for a decade...).

 

That being said, the teacher, sadly, was right about one thing: had she remained at that failing school, Paulette would have a greater chance of being struck by lightning than of finishing college, much less becoming a plastic surgeon (I exaggerage only somewhat).  But now that she's at KIPP, her chances of achieving that goal -- or doing anything else she wants with her life -- went up exponentially!