See, I'm totally okay with this though. Schools don't have enough money to give kids a good, quality education in the first place, if only the people that use it had to put money in it, it'd suck even worse than it does now! If we all stopped putting money it, it'd fall apart... I like the quote from earlier that it's an educational welfare system. Some people just can't homeschool, for any number of reasons, so we need public schools. But even though I plan to homeschool, I still would like to see the educational system get an overhaul to make it better for kids who aren't/can't/won't be homeschooled or have any other option than public school.
that is true, re they need the money but I wish they could do the right stuff with the money we give them haha!
LOL Yes I would much prefer that, but something is better than nothing I suppose. I'd still love to see reform though....
I dont believe that every ps is unable to give a quality education, that is a blanket statement and does not apply to all schools.
I agree! The portion of my property tax that is forcefully confiscated from me yearly and given to the local ps is only a fraction of what we spent on curriculum each year.
True, but it also depends on what your definition of "quality" is. My husband teaches in what is a "quality" school, and my 13yo can perform circles around his seniors!
True but if schools used reuseable materiels it would help, or printables like they did in my day. My teacher taught me and the I wrote in a notebook. if students did more of this it would save schools some money. I have seen a town that had millions ( no exageration) sitting in account while thier schools were failing the children. The teachers were not accredited teachers but folks just like us parents. That is not so bad but they got paid way better than I did when i was teaching, and yet they complained they needed more money. The students money is not going to the students in a lot of cases. I do have friends who are public school teachers and I know a lot of good does get done but I also hear about the background people who mess things up. I truely feel sorry for the students who are crammed into a class full of 30 students just because they really want to learn teh subject at hand. if they paid the teachers a smaller amount they could maybe afford to hire someone else to release some of their weight and allow them to do what they love--- teach children___
"quality" to me is not only what they learn, but being able to not be forced into the cookie cutter mold of what you have to learn and when. I understand PS will NEVER be able to offer the education you can offer through homeschooling. But they could def do better, even in the best school districts. And it's not just about how well they test. It's also about the kids WANTING to learn, making learning fun, ect. PS could easily do better in this area without upping the budget. It's about even in the best school districts, they keep pushing kids to do more and more stuff, younger and younger, and not letting them be kids, not letting them use their natural curiosity. It's about gaggles of teachers complaining about standardized testing, yet it's still required. It's about the schools cutting out the arts to save money. It's about the schools handing out furlough days like Halloween candy to save money. It's about a 5 year old only having a 20 minute recess everyday cause they don't find it important that they have recess, they must learn to read, write and do math. (not that those things aren't important too) It's about study after study showing 'homework' has no educational benefit, but that 5 year old is sent home with an hours worth every night. It's about "no child left behind" creating an atmosphere of "no child gets ahead", it's about the Race to the Top money creating ridiculous issues like Senate Bill 6 in FL. To me anyway.....
I am with you there. I was at the zoo Friday. I had a PS 8th grader ask me what area did polar bears come from ? We got talking about countries & she honestly didn't know where the easy ones were. I was shocked.
We are talking about apples and oranges here. Quality ps education vs. a quality hs education, apples and oranges. For those who are not fortunate enough to hs, they have no choice but to send their kids to ps. Ps is held to a different standard than hs-ers are. If kids perform well on their stand. tests, then in their view, they are doing well. I work for the local ps district as a teacher's aide and I also obtained my license to be a Substitute Teacher through our state. The teacher I work for in the am is a quality teacher and her students to well. I have been well received by the ps because they all know my kids and know that I am a good teacher, I am very busy being a sub. One of our teachers was out for nearly two weeks, thought she was going to be out for the rest of the year and she asked if I would take over her class. The superintendent talked to her and recommended me before he knew she had already chosen me. Nice compliment!
Yes, homeschoolers are held to a different standard, but why is that? Because the PARENTS have that standard. The MAJORITY of ps parents are quite content with the low standards that ps has; when the teachers try to adhere to a higher standard, they meet opposition from the students AND the parents. I believe that MOST ps teachers are quality teachers; I know the ones I've worked with are. (OK, I can think of one in particular who was't, but she's an exception!) But when the government keeps superficially raising the standards without taking a REAL look at what the problem is, what is one to do? My husband is actually flunking 60% of his seniors this year. Is that because he's a lousy teacher? No, it's because the students he has 1) doesn't have the prerequisite skills for his class, 2) won't bother doing the work involved, whether that be homework, in-class work, or even showing up to class, 3) the administration keeps returning the screw-up kids back to class when he writes them up and won't follow through and 4) parents refuse to follow through when he calls them (the kid improves for a few days, and then they're back to the old behavior). So how does the government want to deal with the problem? By telling the school that if they don't improve their graduation rate, all the teachers will get reassigned; by giving "merit pay" to the schools with the highest graduation rate. So teachers won't apply to the schools that need the most help. Why would they? Would you?
I love this http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/no-dentist.html it explains why the "no child left behind" is unfair to teachers (and students).
Very good! Coming from Central Ohio, where everyone is idiotic over Ohio State Football, the football version of NCLB is very popular.... http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/nclb_sports.htm
I agree JAckie! I see a lot of kids who have a total lack of interest in learning. One girl had to make a scrapbook for FBLA and I asked how it turned out, she replied, "IT SUCKED!" I thought wow, what a nice choice of words. She told me that she didnt care about it and just got it done and over with. Some kids have lost their enthusiasm with learning, dont know why, but some have lost it. I had a teacher tell me that after CSAP's in April, there isnt much learning going on. What?
I think the problem with public school began when people started thinking education was a right. It isn't. It's a privelage. Kids think - that's YOUR JOB. Teach me. Uh, yeah. That's not how it works. What we need to do is change the perception of education. Universal access to anything makes it CHEAP. Perceived value tells us that CHEAP things are worthless and we can take them for granted. While I agree that all children should be given access to the privelage of education for a certain amount of time, being "educated" is not a right. And if the parents can't keep them in line then they should lose their privelage to access the public education system. You get the opportunity to become educated for free and if you screw it up - then you're out. In addition parents should not be allowed to dump their child's education, after all the children are the product of their famiy and we all know you can't choose your family. So parents should be required to provide a mandatory alternative education for a fee. Hefty enough to make the family uncomfortable, yet not enough to make them homeless. A sliding scale, as long as it is not too low, would be acceptable. This raises the perceived value of education immediately. Could you imagine the outroar? Punish me for bad parenting? How DARE you? Punish my kid for bad behavior? How DARE you! Funny how bad behavior seems to have no consequences these day...yet the entire idea of a "civilized" society is based on them. Where does that leave us?
______________________________ Well, if you are required by law to attend school, then it kinda becomes a right, not a privilege. I think a LOT of the problem is our society has placed the responsibility of educating our children ALL on the teachers. The parents think they don't have to do ANYTHING. It's the teachers' job. Yes, it is the teachers job IN PART but even if your kids go to public or private school it is STILL the PARENT'S job too. Many parents also seem to think since their kids spend so much time at school that it's the school job to raise their kids too. But then get mad when the school wants to punish them! It's a crazy world we live in. LOL
NO, kids are not required to attend school. Parents are required to provide them with an education. You bought into the myth. That's too bad. Our society provides ALL children with the PRIVELAGE of a FREE education if they so choose. It IS the teachers JOB. The teachers, just as much as the parents and students, are the problem. The underlying issue is that this system in place doesn't work. Plain and simple. It isn't even fixable.
Here, here Nicole. I'm with you. I don't want anyone's handout. When I need charity, I'll ask for it and I am 100% certain that I will be helped by friends and neighbors should that time ever come.
The parents have the final responsibility to see that their child has what it takes to make it in life. Education falls under that. Is an education NECESSARY to make it in life? SHOULD an education make it necessary to make it in life? Public school, imo, is nothing more than the parents DELEGATING that area of training to another person, in this case to the government. By doing so, the government has taken over more and more of it, to where parents have decided that, rather than it being their (parents') responsibility with the System being accountable to them, it has become the goernment's responsibility and they are accountable to NO ONE. And I see that happening more and more. I see the health care bill as the government taking the responsibility of health-related decisions away from the parents. Even things like requiring car seats for children to me is the government telling parents that they (government) knows better, that the parents simply aren't capable to make good, informed decisions.
