” to describe certain altruistic beliefs held by upper-class elites that, when paired with public policy, actually severely damage lower classes. One such belief is opposition toOur family spent time on welfare, accepted church pantry food, and used free health clinics. We lived in tents, including one in aMy father was an extremist — a Mormon offshoot cult leader. Due to his mental illness, we also lived in sheds, motor homes, and houses.
The gym was our morning holding pen. Before school each day, while students lined up for metal detectors and bag searches, security ushered those vetted in until everyone finished. There was no gradual trickle of students into the classrooms — we were released simultaneously. Students frequently launched into scratching, screaming, hair-pulling, punching brawls. Usually, fights started with some accusation of disrespect or false judgment. Two or three per morning was normal.
Kansas City Public Schools, on the other hand, was legendary for its incompetence, despite huge per-capita student spending boosts. Even with generous taxpayer resources, they were so rotten that in 2000, KCPS becameof students achieved proficiency in math during the 2009-10 school year, far lower than the Missouri average of 53%, and 14% proficiency in reading/language arts, compared to the state average of 54%.classwork I’d seen in maybe second or third grade.