Academics Fail

I noticed this over at Zomblog and I cannot decide whether to be amused or pissed off at this story.

Berkeley is so left-wing…

…that when 7th- and 8th-graders at an expensive prestigious private school are asked to design their own tiles for a permanently displayed mosaic, they draw a big hammer-and-sickle and declare as their message to the world, “Capitalism will fail.”

The story goes on to describe this mosaic that is on an outside public wall of this private school, so that the world can see how progressive it is and how its students are ever so smart, which is to say, they ape and mimic the rhetoric of the faculty and parents.

And do you want to hear the kicker in all this? Tuition at this tony institution is $17,100 for a ten-month session.

On Saturday night, I attended a fundraiser for Project Success, a non-profit whose goal is to ensure that the four Catholic schools in Santa Ana - St. Joseph, St. Anne, St. Barbara, and School of Our Lady - remain open and able to extend assistance to families in need so they can get a decent education for their kids. Santa Ana has the highest population of Hispanic immigrants in Southern California and many family incomes are low. Santa Ana Unified School District also happens to one of the worst nationally. So to these families, one of the Catholic schools offers more than a place for their kids to learn the faith - it's a place for their kids to have a chance at a future.

At the fundraiser, one of the parents got up and spoke. I know her daughter - she's in the same class as mine. This little girl is smart, smart, smart. Her mother spoke, in very broken English, that she and her husband will probably lose their house. But they have decided to go that route, if all else fails, and move into a small apartment because the tuition for their two kids takes priority. It was heartbreaking to hear her story, but it needed to be told because this is why tuition assistance makes a difference. This is not about a handout . . . it is an investment.

But meanwhile privileged Berkeley kids trot off to their private school and raise their fists high and shout, "Power to the people!" and draw a hammer and sickle without understanding the bloody history behind it. Or maybe they have been told but figured the Soviets, the Chinese, the Vietnamese, the Cubans, they all got it wrong and Communism just needs the right model.

BTW, if you are so inclined and wish to help Catholic school students, here is the website for Project Success.