Changes to the education system

[audtatious]

Where were the following when I went to school?

•Homework grades should be given only when the grades will "raise a student's average, not lower it."

•Teachers must accept overdue assignments, and their principal will decide whether students are to be penalized for missing deadlines.

•Students who flunk tests can retake the exam and keep the higher grade.

•Teachers cannot give a zero on an assignment unless they call parents and make "efforts to assist students in completing the work."

•High school teachers who fail more than 20 percent of their students will need to develop a professional improvement plan and will be monitored by their principals. For middle school the rate is 15 percent; for elementary it's 10 percent.

No wonder kids today have problems and can't find a decent job after school as they are not taught responsibility nor how to work. The above are changes made in the Dallas school district:

http://www.dallasnews.com/shar....html

[Marenta]

zomgwtfbbqhaxnato!

That's all bull****! If kids can't take care of themselves by doing school work, then what the hell are the parents going to do about it? You can't just beat the living hell out of them like my parents used to do to my brother. (I never had issues with school.) So, it's rather odd, and scary.

[Jesda]

I was very lucky and grew up in an excellent school district. I should also note that it wasn't at all a wealthy part of town. We lived in a $40k house in southern Illinois and most of the teachers and parents were low to middle class. No one was rich.

We had academic discipline hammered in early on, and no one got credit for work they didn't do. "Effort" wasn't sufficient.

But in exchange for stricter standards, teachers were also very involved. I remember in 6th grade some of my teachers got together, along with my parents, and checked out who my friends were and how I was spending my time when I almost got my first "C". My English teacher was quick to embarrass and lecture me in front of everyone for not being upset about it.

It was a different time too. Every year, she invited her homeroom class to spend a day at her house with her husband. We got to see how she lived, what she read, and what her life was like outside of school. I guess teachers don't do that anymore.

Last year I emailed the teachers who were still there and thanked them.

Its a good lesson -- excellent education comes from parents and teachers who give a crap. Money doesn't solve anything by itself.

[szh]

Its a good lesson -- excellent education comes from parents and teachers who give a crap.

Exactly right!

Without active roles by the parents and the teachers, there is no way that a child is going to understand why they need to do the best they can.

The world has become far more competitive than when I was young. To be more than average, you have to be prepared to put in more than average effort.

I find it very annoying that the school system is, in effect, cheating ... to give the kids the wrong message, rather than the hard reality-check of what the real world is all about.

Z

[Marenta]

Where in S. Illinois were you? My school was so backwater there that the only people who got special treatment were the jocks and preps. If you didn't fit into one of those categories, you got the bland, run-of-the-mill teaching as everybody else with no special learning provided from the teacher.

[wingFeather]

Is it any coicidence that ALL education employees I have ever spoken with are hardcore liberal Democrats?

[srellim234]

We've had a pleasant surprise here with the public grade school the girls just enrolled in. It was a very good school in the late '70s when our nephew went there. They experimented with the Dallas-style education in the early '90s and really messed up our son's education, among others.

Since 2000 the school has had two principals, both dedicated to some old style, tried and true methods. Late assignments don't count, tests can't be retaken, etc. This year the fourth grade's primary lesson is one word. RESPONSIBILITY. The students will learn they have a responsibility to do the work, when they are supposed to do it, or there will be consequences. They have responsibilities to family, friends, teachers and classmates, but most of all they have a responsibility to THEMSELVES. The sooner they learn that the easier life is going to be for them.

This month all the kids are having a tough time with such a cut and dried approach, but after only two weeks we can see them starting to respond. It's about time the public schools around here went back to the basics.

It sounds like Dallas is about 10-15 years too late with their "experiment." Jasper School in California has already proven the Dallas methods don't work

[wingFeather]

We've had a pleasant surprise here with the public grade school the girls just enrolled in.

A good school in Rancho Cucamonga? This country is improving

[AZhitman]

All good points... We're seeing a lot of the same here in AZ....

Now, take that same school and make it 85% ELL (stands for "english language learner", but what it really means is Hispanic / Latino student whose parents don't speak 2 words of English and neither does the child).

Now, figure out how to ensure everyone in the school passes standardized tests.

One more reason I hold GOOD teachers in the highest regard.

[audtatious]

All of this goes back to not wanting to hurt a child's feelings. In some parts of the country they don't count runs in little league baseball and each child gets a participation trophy. What kind of BS is that? It's similar to the above changes in that simply participating is enough and learning is a side-line.

Social engineering?

[srellim234]

My sister taught in some of those ESL grade schools, teaching grades K-3 over the years, in the west San Gabriel Valley. While those students pose a different set of problems, her major problems came from kids who did not have a strong family unit, regardless of language. She also found that the ESL kids worked much harder at school than the majority of "English only" kids.

They would talk to the kids on campus in English, both in the classroom and socially, explaining in Spanish later, one on one, if the kid truly didn't understand. It brought the kids up to speed quickly because they were motivated to find out what was going on. Very effective at the lower grades where the kids are still eager to please.

Upper grades are a totally different situation.

[AZhitman]

We're ALL integrated here. No Spanish is to be used in the classroom, and the ELL thing is based on "immersion".

While I'm sure it works, it's HELL on teachers.

[Jesda]

Where in S. Illinois were you? My school was so backwater there that the only people who got special treatment were the jocks and preps. If you didn't fit into one of those categories, you got the bland, run-of-the-mill teaching as everybody else with no special learning provided from the teacher.

Grew up in Belleville, IL. Some of the schools there weren't so great. I just lucked out.

[AZhitman]

Jesda got preferential treatment because of his status as an "Adopted Biafrian Refugee".

...and he wore the same pants as the Principal.

[dusred]

I went to a Public School for first and second grade; after that our family switched to a Private School which was the best thing that ever happened to us.In the private school every teacher was a volunteer. They volunteered 100%, they were not paid a dime. Tuition was $300 per student per year. Most of the teachers were new and only a few were actually College educated to teach school. I don't think paying the teachers $5000 per month to teach would have made them any better teachers.

All of my teachers were very devoted and involved with me during and after School. They would come to my house to help me out on an assignment if I needed and I could always call them on the phone if I had questions.

All I know about the Public School system is that it isn't working as well as it could be, and I don't think dumping more money into the system is going to do any good.

I think the problem is going too far overboard when it comes to "hurting their feelings". Teachers can't correct students properly for fear of hurting their feelings or embarrassing them in front of the class.

[Marenta]

Belleville isn't that bad of an area. But, for every 1 good teacher there are at least 5 crummy ones.

I believe that English should be the only language that is used to teach in America, since we speak American English. I'm not saying that we have to neglect the history or culture of said children who don't speak English as their first language; but, I am saying that if any American child went to any other school in the world, they'd be required to learn that language to go to school.

Our education system isn't doing so swell, but we're trying. And, if you put forth enough effort, you'll be going to one of our collegiate level schools which are by far the most prestigeous schools in the world. Very few can claim that our colleges and universities don't hold higher education to the uptmost pinnacle.

I'd be a teacher, but, I'd have to actually teach something that I loved to students who wanted to learn. If the children showed no aptitude to want to sit in my class and watch me be silly and crack jokes while giving them information; then they need to take another class and waste that teacher's time.

[wingFeather]

I believe that English should be the only language that is used to teach in America

[Encryptshun]

•Homework grades should be given only when the grades will "raise a student's average, not lower it."

•Teachers must accept overdue assignments, and their principal will decide whether students are to be penalized for missing deadlines.

•Students who flunk tests can retake the exam and keep the higher grade.

•Teachers cannot give a zero on an assignment unless they call parents and make "efforts to assist students in completing the work."

•High school teachers who fail more than 20 percent of their students will need to develop a professional improvement plan and will be monitored by their principals. For middle school the rate is 15 percent; for elementary it's 10 percent.

These changes can be attributed to the following miscarriages of our educational and legal system:

1) In most states, individual school funding is a combination of overall enrollment, graduation rate, performance on standardized tests, and average student GPA

2) Schools don't have the money to defend themselves against lawsuits filed by parents who use their kids as an opportunity to win the legal lotto

3) State boards of education are primarily composed of people who have TONS of background in educational theory, but comparatively no teaching experience

4) School administration is primarily a political role and not a Management role -- the compensation gap between Administrators and teachers also breeds resentment

[Marenta]

These changes can be attributed to the following miscarriages of our educational and legal system:

1) In most states, individual school funding is a combination of overall enrollment, graduation rate, performance on standardized tests, and average student GPA

2) Schools don't have the money to defend themselves against lawsuits filed by parents who use their kids as an opportunity to win the legal lotto

3) State boards of education are primarily composed of people who have TONS of background in educational theory, but comparatively no teaching experience

4) School administration is primarily a political role and not a Management role -- the compensation gap between Administrators and teachers also breeds resentment

Well thought out and informative post, Encryptshun. I applaude you for your insight.

And, for the record, I agree. Standarized tests are a crock anyway. I can take tests like mad, but my brother can't sit down and look at a test without his brain exploding. Not everything should be laid on the line with a test.The graduation rate is rather scary. Perhaps if we let people who are more inclined toward mechanics or farming go into some sort of Journeyman training instead of having them go into 12-13 full years of classroom education. Such, that if they complete the 10th grade they can be allowed to perform a job to learn that skill and become accredited.Parents have always been black or white. Either they care too much, or they care too little. Where were the parents when the child was struggling through middle school and then when he/she gets into Jr. High, they just now decide to care about their child and the way that their teaching was going? Every responsible parent should take an active roll in their child's education, regardless of the fact they like the teachers or not.Nobody should be allowed to bring up a lawsuit against a public education system. Now, if that teacher does something unscrupulous and molests a kid, or something far outweighing the norm; then they should persue the teacher, not the system.A degree does not a teacher make. Enough said.

[AZhitman]

Brilliant post, Encryptshun. I have a cute little school administrator here who concurs with your every word.

[Encryptshun]

I have the honor of being the progeny of 3 prior generations of public school educators. Mother, grandfather, and great-grandmother taught to retirement in the state of Missouri.

My grandfather (as like a great many other rural teachers) farmed and drove a bus in order to provide for his family because his teaching salary was next to nothing.

My mother paid into Social Security her entire working life, but doesn't get to collect a dime of it because she also paid into Missouri State Teacher's Retirement. While this might be understandable, this also means that she can't collect a dime of my deceased father's social security or his veteran's benefits (which any other woman would be able to do).

Her "Missouri State Teacher Retiree Health Plan" insurance premium just went up to $595 per month WITHOUT any prescription drug coverage. That pretty much covers her monthly retirement income after taxes, and that is with over 34 years of teaching, grant-making, and career ladder projects. This month, she is going back to work so she can afford gas, utilities, and food.

Sorry for the thread-jack and belly-aching, but I wanted to give some perspective on how well teachers are treated by our suit-wearing f*ckwits who run the show.

I went to college to be a teacher and changed programs after 2 years of hearing the bull they try to get teachers to teach. "Whole Language" is my personal favorite.

That means you teach a kid to read by showing him or her a word over and over again but never showing them how to break it down and pronouce it.

/end rant

[Jesda]

"Whole Language"? Elaborate please. It sounds like vocab without definitions or context.

And Greg, I recently dumped the gf. Send cutie here. I can offer bacon and a Tivo.

[Encryptshun]

"Whole Language"? Elaborate please. It sounds like vocab without definitions or context.

That means you teach a kid to read by showing him or her a word over and over again but never showing them how to break it down and pronouce it.

[Jesda]

That means you teach a kid to read by showing him or her a word over and over again but never showing them how to break it down and pronouce it.

So literally, they just write or speak, and have the kid repeat, and call it good? How far do they take this kind of teaching? 3rd grade?

[Encryptshun]

So literally, they just write or speak, and have the kid repeat, and call it good? How far do they take this kind of teaching? 3rd grade?

Well, when I was in "Educational Theory and Psychology" (required course at the time for a M.A. in Ed), it was the "preferred" method for teaching reading at all levels. And yup, you got it right, Jesda. It's literally showing a kid "MOON", saying "MOON" and asking them "what word is that?" until the kid gets it. As one might assume, it becomes a bit problematic when teaching something like "antidisestablishmentarianism".

This is based on the theory that phonetics inbues a word with artificial meaning (ie. the meaning of a word could be different than the sum of its phonetic parts). A good example of this is "inflammable", which means the same as "flammable" but would, if you broke it down, look like its opposite.

See Wikipedia for more details:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_language

[audtatious]

I somewhat remember "flash cards" like that when I was not even in school. Once in school they started teaching based upon the sound of the letters and its syllables which worked quite well.

Maybe this "new" teaching style is why kids have so many issues with pronouncing words they have never seen before as they are not taught to break the word down.

[Encryptshun]

^ Fortunately it's falling out of vogue. Which is another cancerous tumor on the anal-sac of education -- teaching methods should not be based on TRENDS. But when someone on your state board of eduction decides that they want to justify their PhD dissertation by requiring the teachers in their state to move his/her theory into pedagogy, that's what happens.

a$$.

[srellim234]

I have yet to see a study that indicates that the more advanced the degree, the more capable you are of communicating with the masses. Many of our teachers are being rewarded for more and more advanced degrees and they can't even talk to their students.

I find it apalling that we were able to put a man on the moon using slide rules but to do a three digit multiplication problem in grade school now requires use of a calculator or computer.

Kids should learn the basics before electronics enter into the classroom.