Prometheus 6   

Too bad there's no money on the city, state or federal level to address this

From the NY Times
Students in a Fog
By RICHARD ROTHSTEIN

Federal law now demands that schools close the achievement gap between middle-class children and those from low-income or minority families. But all the money, teacher education and standardized tests in the world aren't going to help if students are at home sick or falling asleep in class.

That is why educators should be alarmed by last week's report from Harlem Hospital medical researchers who found that 26 percent of children in central Harlem had asthma. This is not only a health crisis but also an educational one. Asthma is the chronic ailment most responsible for school absences of low-income children nationwide. Even when they make it to school, asthmatics, drowsy after a sleepless night of wheezing, have a tough time paying attention.

… Asthma is not the only urban environmental scourge that depresses school performance. Lower birth weights � more likely with newborns in minority, low-income neighborhoods � are also associated with greater exposure to pollutants and can lead to lower I.Q.'s.

Likewise, we've long known that lead poisoning can cause cognitive damage that inhibits children's abilities to learn. Nationwide, lead poisoning rates declined once lead was removed from gasoline in the 1970's, but the improvements were less dramatic among low-income urban children. Congress banned use of lead-based paint in home construction in 1978, but low-income children are the group most likely to live in buildings constructed before that date. Children can ingest lead from peeling paint or from dust generated when windows are opened and rub along their frames.

In 1999, New York City weakened its lead control law; landlords are no longer required to remove lead paint that might cause dust, but only peeling paint.

… There are many reasons that children from poor households struggle academically: inferior schools, health care, housing and nutrition; financial insecurity; and exposure to pollutants. Each has only a small effect on education, , but combined, the impact is huge. All need to be addressed if we want to close the test-score gap.

posted by Prometheus 6 at 4/25/2003 10:15:06 AM |