Schools

Family Talk: Bloomberg and College

This week's column is on the mayor's advice for "average" students.

This article was written by Liliana De Jesus.

Proud parents of your just-about-to-be high school graduates, tell your kids not to listen to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s advice.  

The mayor told listeners on his radio show last week that average students should opt out of attending college and possibly become plumbers instead.  

"The people who are going to have the biggest problem are college graduates who aren’t rocket scientists, if you will, not at the top of their class,” Bloomberg told the New York Daily News.  

Just before highlighting a number of benefits to saying "no" to college and "yes" to the plumbing trade, Bloomberg went on to say: “Compare a plumber to going to Harvard College — being a plumber, actually for the average person, probably would be a better deal.”  

For one, it is absurd for Mayor Bloomberg to dub the “average person” as someone who has sub par intellectual ability.  

It is also insulting to those who have built careers as plumbers for Mayor Bloomberg to offer up the profession as one for those “who aren’t rocket scientists.”  

Many times, intellectual ability and academic records do not have a direct correlation.  

Such factors as a child’s home life, learning style and economic standing play major roles in a child’s ability to perform academically.  

To say that a high school student who may not have stellar grades should take that as a sign they will do poorly or will just be “average” is a dangerous stance.   No one person, of any status, not even the mayor of New York City, should have the right to try and keep a willing student from attending college.  

Mayor Bloomberg’s sentiment that some students should give up before they get a chance to start is appalling and scary.  

I wonder if Bloomberg would have given George W. Bush the same advice. President Bush is a self-admitted C student, yet he became the president of the United States twice. Should the fact that he had a different social and economic status than all of the high school students within the New York City public school system mean something different?  

It is bad enough that Mayor Bloomberg continues to fail the kids of the elementary and secondary public education system. He has no right to tell those same kids that they should not strive for the best, to be the best and to apply themselves once they are out of his grasp.


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