An idea that might pay off 

   In my last column, I asked if anyone could tutor me on why schools are to blame for children being left behind when parents fail to put them on track to begin with. I find it perplexing that the same government that says parents are responsible for brain cell development also says that when kids with brain cell deficit risk being left behind in school, it¹s the teacher¹s fault. No one answered my question but readers did respond with observations. 

   One reader wrote, "My first thought is that the parents of those children are still lacking those needed healthy brain cells themselves; and that most of them probably aren't reading the paper to catch your pointed article either. More's the pity." 

   A former ESOL teacher said, "When I was resettling Russian refugees, they qualified for WIC and GAVE THE CEREAL AWAY TO ME to "pay" me for teaching them English. Their reasoning was as follows: hard, dry, crunchy things in a box were unfamiliar, not part of Russian culture, and definitely NOT anything they were going to put into their kids¹ mouths." She did note that these Russians bought lots of potatoes, which they knew were nutritious. 

   Another wrote, "Some possible reasons - no car, libraries are too far from their homes (so it isn't EASY enough) But I suspect that many of those really POOR people are poor because they are lazy. Too lazy to take advantage since it isn't handed to them on a silver platter." 

   Another reader response was "Perhaps some parents really don¹t believe that their child could possibly be one of the ones that need additional help After all, they are probably as smart as the parents." She then suggested parents might not be able to read the information. "I know it would be tons of work, but maybe actual phone calls should be made to these parents. They really don't know how to take the initiative." 

   This all brings me to the issue of how the Title I money is spent and the suggestion of a teacher who has taught in a Title I school. One reason these schools "fail" despite how much money the government throws at them is that kids don¹t show up for class, as was noted in Jaimie Sarrio¹s August 5 article. 

   "Pay the parents for their children¹s perfect attendance," the teacher said. "Give them $30 for each month their children attend school every day. Then give them extra money for each C, each B and each A. They¹ll understand that and their kids will perform." 

   The $1230 per student now allotted for tutoring could be stretched a lot farther and gain more results. Maybe a bit pricier than a "My child is an honor student" bumper sticker, but hey, the goal here is passing test scores. Whatever it takes to keep any child from being left behind is worth it, right? 

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