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Edward KocheEdward Koche
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Session:         Page of 617

Well, you talk to a middle class parent -- and I've talked to them. They'll say, “Listen, I'm not going to sacrifice my kid to some cause of equality. I'm afraid my kid is going to be assaulted in the school, held up for a quarter on the way to school.” They tell you those stories, and I believe them. There's no question that any child who goes to the bathroom alone in a public school has got to be out of his or her mind. And I suppose that's the first thing a parent says to the kid: “Listen, Linda, don't go to the bathroom except if the teacher takes you.” And that's very good advice.

And then, of course, the education that's provided -- that is, the standards are low.

I think I told you that story: “I wouldn't tell a Jew how to bake a bagel.” Didn't I?

Q:

I'm not sure.

Koch:

Okay, maybe I'll repeat it. When I was a district leader, Eddie Costikyan and Hilda Stokeley, who's a black district leader, reported to the district leaders on their survey of the school system. And Eddie Costikyan, very erudite, talked about educational standards and so forth, failure to provide materials that are necessary in the schools, particularly in the black schools. And then Hilda Stokeley got up and said to this group of assorted district leaders, mostly white, “I want you to know that we're





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