There were two items in the newspapers today that are particularly troubling and those are:
Wisconsin's black 8th graders rank worst in the nation in writing...
This article cited the latest tests that showed our black (African-American) students were actually getting worse than better so far as both reading and writing are concerned. Other states in the nation have posted improvements in the same time period, so we know this issue can be dealt with positively. Reading and writing are very basic skills without which these kids will fail in their quest to make it through this life.
This comes on top of the recent report that Milwaukee's public schools graduate only 47% of those who come in as freshman students. This speaks to virtually a complete failure in my mind. Yes, the breakdown of family units plays a significant role, but that needs to be overcome. The kids who grow up to a bleak life are more likely to perpetuate the family breakdown issue and make it worse than it already has become.
Finally, our state Superintendent of Public Instruction, Elizabeth Burmaster, issued this statement, "Our overall student achievement is improving and parallels what we see on other assessments. We must stay focused on raising achievement for all students, in particular our African-American students, and closing achievement gaps. We know what works: quality educators in every classroom and strong leaders in every school, early learning opportunities and small class sizes and shared responsibility by parents, schools and communities to support student academic achievement."
What a bunch of malarkey! It is this attitude that has exacerbated this problem. It is this attitude, in part, that has seen this problem worsen in the past decade. If she truly "knows what works", then why isn't it working? Is it that we need to pour good money after bad? Is it that we need ten students per classroom instead of twenty? What is it?
And, where are the rest of the political ruling class members? Strangely silent and strangely absent it seems. Why is school choice getting short shrift? Why are web-based schools such a threat? Is it because the "we know what works" group fears that choice would prove to be better? Would relaxation of the residency requirement bring better teachers into Milwaukee schools? Is it possible that we are failing these at risk kids and that they have no real alternatives?
Diabetes up 27% in state since 2005...
In two years, there are 27% more adult diabetics in Wisconsin. 419,870 adults were indicated to have diabetes in Wisconsin in 2007. And, the estimate is that about 1 million more are pre-diabetic. We have something over 5 million citizens, so the combination of diagnosed and pre-diabetic people accounts for about one of every four people in the state.
We have a health care cost crisis in our state and our country...and these statistics are evidence of why that is the case in very large part. Diabetes carries a huge human cost and a huge financial cost from onset to end of life.
Hospitalizations due to diabetes grew by 11% over the two-year period in this study. While the number of hospitalizations grew by 11%, the cost of those hospitalizations increased 48% to $2 billion; this can be attributed to the severity and number of cases as well as the general escalation of health care costs. The overall cost of diabetes among adults in Wisconsin now stands at some $5.2 billion per year. If the pre-diabetics were to be lumped into this cost today, we'd be spending $15 billion per year or more on the ravages of this disease.
We can be our own worst enemy so far as this disease is concerned, although that isn't always the case. But, for those who are able to control or moderate their disease through personal lifestyle changes, they need to do that...for themselves and the rest of our citizens. This disease threatens to bankrupt our state...both in the human toll extracted as well as pure cost.
