Letter: Future bright if you look for it

With so many negative articles about schools and wayward students, I thought I’d pass along a positive story which I found to be very encouraging:

A few weeks ago, Metairie’s Archbishop Rummel High School won the 5A State Championship in football. After the victory, the team ran toward the student section. In the midst of the excitement, an elderly lady was sitting in a seat squarely in the path of the torrent of people.

One of the football players, seeing the situation, rushed to the lady’s side and put himself between her and the oncoming flood.

Whether the school or his family (or both) are responsible for this charitable act, one can only guess. But I do know that the school he attends offers a “complete” education!

It seems that besides academics (the school was honored by the U.S. Department of Education as a “Blue Ribbon School,” one of the top high schools in the country), and athletics (winning the state championship), something else very special must be within the curriculum at this Christian Brothers-founded school.

There are many other “feel-good” stories out there, yet to be told. Thank God for good parents and good teachers. The future is bright!

Jean Rice

philanthropy consultant

Metairie

Comments

1) Comment by Noel Hammatt - 28/12/2012

@spqr makes a valid point as people want to talk about the quality of schools. Those schools that pick and choose their students will always had much "better" schools that those that do not choose their students, especially if measured by student achievement and/or behavior. To question that is to simply ignore reality. Almost every "Blue Ribbon School" is a school of choice, or a school otherwise drawing from the students with the most resources outside of school. Again, nothing earth-shattering there. The claims about how schools used to be so wonderful... total hogwash and selective attention to reality. Special needs students were ignored and had no rights. Students who misbehaved were simply sent home. And scores for remaining students, well, they have never been higher in our nation's history. FACT, not fancy or selective use of data. Having said this, I am always applauding the good acts of students wherever they are enrolled!

2) Comment by speakthetruth - 28/12/2012

OMK, if a liberal told me the sky was blue I'm sure it would only be because they were complaining that it is not blue for everyone and the people that live under the blue sky's need to pay for the people that don't so they can move to where they are. I can explain "how they did it", but it is very deep and most liberals only understand the date their check comes in the mail. Our schools were wrecked by telling a teacher everybody has to pass so we don't hurt anyone's feelings. Our schools were wrecked with affirmative action and busing that forced schools to hire unqualified teachers or lose federal funding. Our schools were wrecked when a student is allowed to shout at, and even strike a teacher, and then allowed back in school a week later. Our schools were wrecked when they stopped saying the pledge of allegiance every morning so not to offend those that don't believe in it. These are just a few reasons and the list is a lot longer, but due to lack of space I can't list them all or go into why all those are important, and I doubt most liberals would understand anyway.

3) Comment by Old Man Kensey - 28/12/2012

Speakthetruth, I suggest you change your logon to overlysimplistic. The world was all beautiful and utopian until those darn liberal democrats took it all away. Poveety has nothing to do with it? Population growth? Overcrowding in schools? No, not any of these. It is just those liberal democrats. Can you explain how they did it? I>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> It is apparent, that if liberal told you the sky is blue, you and the other overlysimplistic would argue till red in the face that the sky is any other color but blue.

4) Comment by speakthetruth - 28/12/2012

spqr, the public schools started out, years ago, like the private schools are today. They enforced dress codes, obedience to rules of conduct, proper conduct in classrooms, completion of class assignments, teachers were expected to teach and in return were respected for what they did, etc etc. The liberal democrats changed all that and made the public schools a breeding ground for political correctness. Now they are screaming foul because the public schools are horrible and they (democrats) want to attack any school that does enforce a conduct code. Public schools are nothing but day camps for the offspring of liberals. I'm sure there are some public schools that still teach with a conservative, moral curriculum. But they are few and far between.

5) Comment by [e-mail] - 28/12/2012

spqr seems to be upset that some students get to go to Rummel and some don't; however the quality of mercy is not strained, and "....a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". Pardon me Bard. Heroism is where you find it.

6) Comment by spqr - 28/12/2012

It is easy to offer a complete education when selecting choice students and discarding those who are not of quality, by the school's definition. Tell you what, Jean. Ask the fine folks at RHS if they would be willing to offer 200 students from East Jefferson, McMain, McDonough, John Ehret, and Bonnebel high schools a chance to be with those great teachers. If they accept, put the daily school activities on pay-per- view. We want to watch this "very special" curriculum at work.