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A comment on Life as a public school teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2021. Parent comment

Re:Life as a public school teacher in the San Francisco Bay ... by A4ET8a8uTh0 on Sunday June 20, 2021 @10:06AM (#27570103)
But isn't it a good thing where birds of feather flock together? Just not being dragged down from low scoring kids is worth it. Why can't they select for criteria they are looking for?
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Re:Life as a public school teacher in the San Francisco Bay ... by teachrdan on Monday June 21, 2021 @02:02PM (#27581811)
In practice this means discriminating against students who are non-native English speakers, students with learning disabilities, etc.

> Just not being dragged down from low scoring kids is worth it.

It depends on the kind of society you want to live in. I would rather live in a society that prioritizes decreasing inequality rather than exacerbating it.

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/success-academy-charter-sc...

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Re:Life as a public school teacher in the San Francisco Bay ... by throwaway894345 on Monday June 21, 2021 @03:57PM (#27583587)
I could equally (and accurately) argue that in practice public school means discriminating against people by wealth, using zip code as a proxy.

And anyway, why would "discriminating based on competence" exacerbate inequality? Shouldn't competence-based discrimination lessen inequality e.g. by giving bright, poorer schools a shot at more prestigious institutions while financially-but-not-intellectually privileged kids move to more middling institutions?

Given the choice between wealth discrimination and merit discrimination, I would prefer the latter.

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