Sen. DeMint thinks most DC public school students are gang members

[shk75]

its called a hyperbole

No its called making wild accusations without doing any research. I would respect him if he came out with some numbers and a plan and said we need to improve this problem. Nobody is dumb enough to say that DC does not have a problem with its public schools. But to just come out and say more people join gangs than graduate is just lazy and I do not like lazy politicians.

[Kilmer17]

Actually it does. IF you look at the FACTS...more than 50% graduate. Therefore he said more kids join gangs than graduate which means more than %50 must be in gangs right. Now how would you like your crow served.

Prove to me that less than 50 percent are in gangs.

[Kilmer17]

No its called making wild accusations without doing any research. I would respect him if he came out with some numbers and a plan and said we need to improve this problem. Nobody is dumb enough to say that DC does not have a problem with its public schools. But to just come out and say more people join gangs than graduate is just lazy and I do not like lazy politicians.

Right. Numbers like Obama used here-

And yet here, on the other side of the river, every other child in Anacostia lives below the poverty line. Too many do not graduate and too many more do not find work. Some join gangs, and others fall to their gunfire.

Numbers like "too many" and "some" and "others".

[The Brave Little Toaster Oven]

No its called making wild accusations without doing any research. I would respect him if he came out with some numbers and a plan and said we need to improve this problem. Nobody is dumb enough to say that DC does not have a problem with its public schools. But to just come out and say more people join gangs than graduate is just lazy and I do not like lazy politicians.

no, its called a hyperbole.

Hyperbole (pronounced /haɪˈpɝːbəli/ hye-PER-buh-lee; "HYE-per-bowl" is a common mispronunciation) comes from ancient Greek "ὑπερβολή" (meaning excess or exaggeration) and is a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is rarely meant to be taken literally.

Hyperbole is used to create emphasis. It is a literary device often used in poetry, and is frequently encountered in casual speech. It is also a visual technique in which a deliberate exaggeration of a particular part of an image is employed. An example is the exaggeration of a person's facial feature in a political cartoon.

He is trying to show how bad the DC public schools are.

[Toe Jam]

This isn't rocket science.

Good schools are in the 'burbs. Bad schools are in the city.

Bad schools=students gone nuts.

This goes for everywhere. My high school is considered a "dropout factory". Those exact words were used to describe it.

Meanwhile, the spoiled brats on the outskirts of town are getting a good education and are far less likely to be gang members.

So.. maybe the elected officials responsible for this blatant segregation that still continues today should just STFU and do something about it.

And parents should step up and do their damn jobs, too.

[China]

Prove to me that less than 50 percent are in gangs.

Do you really believe that more than 50% of DC public school students are in gangs?

DC police estimate that there are 3,000 gang members:

http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2003/violent-gangs-proliferate-in.html

DC public high schools contain more that 6000 students:

http://www.publicschoolreview.com/county_schools/stateid/DC/county/11001

[Kilmer17]

I dont think there is any way to know that number.

But Im not the one caught up on a semantic argument when it's clear what DeMint and Obama were both talking about.

[CrypticVillain]

Hard to disagree with this statement. Everybody wants to be a "thug," but that is some wack stuff. I dropped out when I was 14, but I mainly dropped out so I wouldn't join a gang or sell drugs. I got my GED and now I am in my sophomore year at UDC.

But like I said, it is hard to disagree with DeMint statement because it speaks some truth.

[NavyDave]

Sen. DeMint thinks all DC public school students are gang members

Really??

I guess he figured out that some kids thought that DC Public schoolin just hindered the quality time that could've been spent in CREWS.

[Predicto]

Three undeniable facts:

1) The DC schools are horrible

2) Gangs are a serious problem

3) Jim DeMint is still a moron

[twa]

Do you really believe that more than 50% of DC public school students are in gangs?

DC police estimate that there are 3,000 gang members:

That was 03 and growing fast

Besides they count funny there;)

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/apr/30/dc-anti-gang-effort-call-them-crews/

When is a gang not a gang? When it's based in the District.

D.C. officials insist on describing groups of young males as "crews," rather than gangs, even when they are held responsible for violent acts such as the wave of killings in the city last weekend. But police officials in other cities say the distinction is counterproductive.

..

D.C. police, lawmakers and community activists say the groups are not gangs because their members are mostly teens who band together for personal protection. That, they say, distinguished them from conventional gangs, which are created for a criminal enterprise such as drug dealing.

[Thiebear]

VOUCHERS are a fantastic idea. It's too bad only D.C. will get to participate.

[btfoom]

Three undeniable facts:

1) The DC schools are horrible

2) Gangs are a serious problem

3) Jim DeMint is still a moron

4) As long as people focus on dumb stuff like DeMint's quote and not the problem, #s 1 & 2 will remain in place.

[btfoom]

Hard to disagree with this statement. Everybody wants to be a "thug," but that is some wack stuff. I dropped out when I was 14, but I mainly dropped out so I wouldn't join a gang or sell drugs. I got my GED and now I am in my sophomore year at UDC.

But like I said, it is hard to disagree with DeMint statement because it speaks some truth.

ML, nice info from someone who has been there.

Congrats on the GED and getting into college, especially if you dropped out at 14. I'm sure you have had to work very hard to get where you are right now. Good luck in the future. Something tells me that someone who is willing to work as hard as you have will end up doing something great. :thumbsup:

[Predicto]

4) As long as people focus on dumb stuff like DeMint's quote and not the problem, #s 1 & 2 will remain in place.

I agree.

I suggest that no one pay any attention to Jim DeMint at all. :laugh:

Actually, I really do agree.

[NavyDave]

I remember way back in the day how some go go bands glamorized belong to CREWS in your neighborhood some of which weren't entirely thuggish.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Lmao, I love how South Carolina, DeMint's state, has a worse high school dropout rate than DC. And actually worst in the entire nation. What a tool. (I'm at work, on my phone, so I can't post a link but the info isn't hard to find.)

I also love how people with limited knowledge of DC and zero knowledge of the what's going on in the streets, are sitting here pulling numbers out of their asses and passing judgement. Just like DeMint.

[Sticksboi05]

Lmao, I love how South Carolina, DeMint's state, has a worse high school dropout rate than DC. And actually worst in the entire nation. What a tool. (I'm at work, on my phone, so I can't post a link but the info isn't hard to find.)

I also love how people with limited knowledge of DC and zero knowledge of the what's going on in the streets, are sitting here pulling numbers out of their asses and passing judgement. Just like DeMint.

Are you trying to refute the fact that D.C. schools are generally poor and that their isn't too high a youth population joining gangs in not just D.C. but every major city...You don't need a medical degree to realize D.C. schools are subpar, I'm not speaking of the students but the system.

[Vicious]

I dropped out and joined also.. i think it qualifies as a gang now..')

they do give you a gun and send you off to where the drugs are

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Are you trying to refute the fact that D.C. schools are generally poor and that their isn't too high a youth population joining gangs in not just D.C. but every major city...You don't need a medical degree to realize D.C. schools are subpar, I'm not speaking of the students but the system.

I'm speaking to two things: Sen. DeMint and what Sen. DeMint said, I.e. what this thread is about.

And I guess also the people agreeing with what he said.

You will not see a single person here disagree with the fact that D.C. schools have issues and that gangs are an issue. But what DeMint said isn't true. And I believe he's already issued an apology or a clarification.

[dcoles11]

VOUCHERS are a fantastic idea. It's too bad only D.C. will get to participate.

Yes, school vouchers are a great idea if you like de facto segregation.

If you are a parent that spends $15,000 to send your kid to private school now, what are you going to do when the government sends a voucher to the parents of kids that you are spending $15,000 a year to keep your kid away from?

It's simple, that $15,000 a year private school will now be $30,000 or whatever, enough to price the kids with vouchers out.

Parents send their kids to private school for a reason, smaller class sizes and to get their kids away from kids they don't want their kids exposed to are two reasons.

They aren't going to just sit back and welcome all these public school kids to their private school with open arms. Class sizes will increase for one.

Now someone will say, "well with the voucher system their won't just be one private school and a public school, their will be 3 or 4 private schools and they will have to compete for the vouchers"

Sounds good, but how many years is it going to to take to build those schools? Who is going to invest in these school building projects?

What if there are 3 private schools in area and one goes out of business? Now you're back to 2 schools, so what has changed? Before there was a private school and a public school, if you got 2 schools you can call them both private schools until you're blue in the face, doesn't change anything, one will still act as a public school.

In the end, even if there are 3 or 4 schools, they will find a way to seperate. The worst school will be the one that has the tuition that is fully covered by the voucher, the next school will be a few thousand more, the next one a few thousand more, and finally the elite school.

That voucher only tuition school will have the lowest paid teachers, which means simply, the teachers with no experience. The higher tuition schools will grab up all the good teachers because they will be able to offer a higher salary.

If you are going to turn education over to the free market you have to expect free market results.

Which means some kids are going to get a Wal-Mart shoe, Kia car, education.

Others will get a standard Nike shoe, Chevy,Ford car education.

And the top will get a top of the line Nike shoe, Lexus, Cadillac car education.

I'm not saying public schools don't have problems, they certainly do, I taught in one, but to think this voucher idea is a quick and easy solution is wishful thinking.

[PokerPacker]

very interesting post, dcoles. I was having a similar discussion and touched on some of the points you went over, but you explained them in a much more thorough fashion.

[dcoles11]

very interesting post, dcoles. I was having a similar discussion and touched on some of the points you went over, but you explained them in a much more thorough fashion.

I apprecite it Pack. I will admit up front, i'm no expert on the subject and as I said before, i'm not claiming in the least bit that public schools aren't struggling.

I just think if you ask a few basic questions, you start to see some flaws in a voucher system.

[CrypticVillain]

ML, nice info from someone who has been there.

Congrats on the GED and getting into college, especially if you dropped out at 14. I'm sure you have had to work very hard to get where you are right now. Good luck in the future. Something tells me that someone who is willing to work as hard as you have will end up doing something great. :thumbsup:

Thanks. It was hard but I refuse the be another "statistic"

It sucks that DC schools is the way it is. What even makes it worst is that nobody is not trying to to do anything to fix it. Oh and Charter Schools = DC public Schools in my opinion. I went to DCPS for 5 years went to Charter Schools for 5 years and to me there is no difference. Well maybe besides the uniforms, but that is it.

[Bang]

Thanks. It was hard but I refuse the be another "statistic"

It sucks that DC schools is the way it is. What even makes it worst is that nobody is not trying to to do anything to fix it. Oh and Charter Schools = DC public Schools in my opinion. I went to DCPS for 5 years went to Charter Schools for 5 years and to me there is no difference. Well maybe besides the uniforms, but that is it.

This post speaks volumes. Loud and clear.

~Bang