LA Students Drive Home the Message of Success in Education at Law School Conference
The speech by Raj Vinnakota and the panel discussion from this conference can be viewed by clicking here.
Raj Vinnakota and Rafe Esquith have some real differences in how they approach educating children who come from backgrounds that are connected with low success rates in education. Each has taken decidedly different paths to becoming a nationally prominent figure in pushing for greater success for such children. Vinnakota is involved in national reform efforts. Esquith is a teacher whose message focuses on the great things that can happen between teachers and students.
But the two certainly share one major belief: It can be done. Children growing up amid poverty or in homes where the circumstances are not conducive to success in school can become big successes. Teachers and schools can lead them there. And it can happen a lot more frequently than it has been happening across the nation.
If there was a key take-away from “High Success with High-Need Kids,” a conference Tuesday at Marquette Law School’s Eckstein Hall, it was that Vinnakota and Esquith, as well as four leaders in Milwaukee education, differed on styles of education, attitudes toward testing or teacher unions, and a variety other issues. But they each had a charge to the 230 people who attended: