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View Poll Results: Who is really at fault for the terrible Inner City Schools in America?
The poor quality teachers 1 2.94%
Students who do not care and have no interest in learning 3 8.82%
The Parents who do not get involved in the school or the kids education 27 79.41%
The Administrators who do not know how to run a school 3 8.82%
The Mass Media for promoting Gangster Rap 0 0%
The Physical Condition of the Schools 0 0%
Voters: 34. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 08-07-2007, 07:17 PM
 
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,678 posts, read 41,509,172 times
Reputation: 41282

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Chamillionare (a hip-hop artist) has a rap in his latest song that deals with the problem with education: if u a parent get off the couch and go raise your son.

One time you can give rap credit.

My feeling: a combo of 2 and 3
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Old 08-07-2007, 07:53 PM
 
Location: Happy wherever I am - Florida now
3,360 posts, read 12,223,314 times
Reputation: 3907
My experience subbing in an alternative HS was that the students held tightly to the smallest midset I had ever seen. When I tried to get them to check out interesting international websites all they wanted to do was play cards on the net. One student asked if I had any tattos and said he was going to get one that night. When I suggested he was to young to grant permission, he said his mother was going too, and she was getting one at the same time!

My vote is for better parenting and to attempt to raise the bar on these's children's thinking so that it doesn't remain in the hood.
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Old 08-08-2007, 01:24 AM
 
72 posts, read 103,527 times
Reputation: 29
Wealth, as well as social status and education are generally inherited. Not biologically, but through the networks which usually surround a child from their birth. Education is one area where we hope positive change has a chance to occur, but in environments where such supportive networks are lacking, it does take something extra which cannot always be found within the existing community.
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Old 08-08-2007, 06:57 AM
 
Location: Chicago
38,707 posts, read 102,687,747 times
Reputation: 29966
It always amuses me that teachers believe they can separate themselves from the rotten parents they so often blame for the current, sorry state of public education. Those same parents vote for and fund the institutions that hired you, as if somehow they manage to abandon their schlubitude just long enough to create a system that miraculously selects wonderful teachers only to turn around and blame those same saintly teachers for their kids' educational shortcomings. Public education is systemically flawed from head to toe. There's a lot of blame to go around, and teachers share part of it.
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Old 08-08-2007, 08:02 AM
 
117 posts, read 505,789 times
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My answer is a combination of 1,2,3,4 and 6. The problems that confront urban education in today's society are way to complex to be attributed to any one factor. I agree that a competent teacher is paramount to students receiving high-quality instruction. Unfortunately, the best and the brightest candidates will choose to work in the better school districts.

Even when an urban school district is able to attract quality teachers, being able to retain them is an entirely different matter. They face a number of challenges. Some students aren't always interested in school. Also, many of these students also come from backgrounds where parental support is lacking.
These issues aren't always effectively dealt with in some teacher education programs.



Aside from attracting quality teachers, urban districts are also facing the challenging of attracting and retaining quality administrators. There was an article in the Chicago Sun-Times several months ago about the challenges of finding enough competent administrators in time for the start of the school year. The shortage of administrators is so critical that the Chicago Public schools launched efforts to recruit people from out of state. So not only is it a matter of attracting good teachers. A good administrator is equally important because he or she is the key to helping good teachers stick around.


And finally, students and staff need a physical environment that is safe, clean and inviting. I strongly believe that the physical environment can help lift the spirits of the staff as well as the students. Children can't effectively learn if their classroom is in a hallway or a lunchroom. At the very least, urban districts should work towards making each and every school more conducive to learning.
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Old 08-10-2007, 10:51 AM
 
Location: Da Parish
1,127 posts, read 4,992,209 times
Reputation: 1022
I used to teach in an inner city school, (pre-k to 6th grade). The conditions I had to work under were horrendous. The parents/grandparents were severely lacking in parenting skills. Little pre-K students would come to school dirty, unfed, tired, etc. Some of them were not even socialized; they would kick, hit, bite, and curse out the teacher and her Para. By the time they got to me (6th grade), many had already been to juvenile at least once, and visits by the police to my classroom were not unusual. There should be some kind of mandatory parenting class in every inner city school, even if it’s one hour once a year. Perhaps it could be part of an open house experience.

Classroom discipline was a joke when the behaviorally disabled kids came for instruction. No one accompanied them to my class; there were too many for the Para and teacher to keep up with so I struggled with them on my own. I had to disarm one of these kids once and ended up having to testify in court over the incident. The sad thing was that he wasn’t a bad kid; he was just schizophrenic. There is not enough personnel to handle students with special needs. Every district should have an alternate school site for students who are repetitive discipline problems.

Inner city classrooms are packed to the gills with students; one year I had 34 regular students and rotated 11 special education students throughout the day for a total of 45 students during math. Again, the special ed students were left to struggle without a Para. One teacher, 45 students and one hour thirty minuets to teach math. Do you think these kids got the quality time from me that they needed? Until school districts decide that there needs to be a low (20:1 or lower) teacher/student ratio for at risk students there is no hope.

You’ll see some of the best and some of the worst teachers ever in inner city school districts. The good ones burn out or leave, the bad ones hang in there like a bad penny. I remember one of the worst teachers I’ve ever seen “teaching” spelling all bloody day. She also lived on her cell phone in the classroom, and while doing duty. She knew her rights and with the help of the teacher’s union, held onto her job with an iron grip. The poor principal was writing her up constantly, and trying to get her fired, but it was literally going to take a novel and an act of God to get her out. The teacher’s unions need to recognize that there are bad teachers out there and needs to stop defending them.

The public needs to be aware that there is money out there for mitigating these problems, but it’s being spent up top instead of on the students. At risk children want security, routine and normalcy. They are not going to get what they need by cramming them into a classroom with 30 some odd other kids of whom 10 are discipline problems. Any teacher worth his/her salt doesn’t need fancy programs and manipulatives. All they need are basic supplies, administrative support, and a lower student/teacher ratio, and just watch them turn things around. (Sorry so long, just had to vent.)

Last edited by Drouzin; 08-10-2007 at 10:52 AM.. Reason: spelling
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Old 08-10-2007, 12:34 PM
 
Location: FL
1,942 posts, read 8,470,243 times
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Parents are their child's first teacher. A good parent will recognize a bad teacher and fight for his child. I believe it comes down to the parents, overall.
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Old 08-10-2007, 01:05 PM
 
4,138 posts, read 11,440,552 times
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Many times the parents are the problems in the first place. Not to mention that over 80% of the parents I worked with wouldn't come to school because of fear. They were illegal and afraid they would be deported.

Dawn

Quote:
Originally Posted by mrshvo View Post
Parents are their child's first teacher. A good parent will recognize a bad teacher and fight for his child. I believe it comes down to the parents, overall.
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Old 08-10-2007, 01:08 PM
 
4,138 posts, read 11,440,552 times
Reputation: 1959
I hear what you are saying, but after 17 years of teaching in Los Angeles' inner city, I can tell you that getting any teacher to come can often be a problem and keeping only the good ones would leave many positions unfilled.

We used to joke that we got our jobs because we were warm bodies and breathing, but those of us who stuck around more than 5 years were truly dedicated to the inner-city kids. Sometimes you need some joking around to cope.

Here in Charlotte, NC, there are no unions. One school just fired 30% of its faculty in one fell swoop because of test scores. Now they are griping because noone wants to come and take the vacancies. They are even offering 15,000 dollar bonuses to take the jobs and still noone wants them. It is sad, but true.

Dawn

Quote:
Originally Posted by Drouzin View Post
I used to teach in an inner city school, (pre-k to 6th grade). The conditions I had to work under were horrendous. The parents/grandparents were severely lacking in parenting skills. Little pre-K students would come to school dirty, unfed, tired, etc. Some of them were not even socialized; they would kick, hit, bite, and curse out the teacher and her Para. By the time they got to me (6th grade), many had already been to juvenile at least once, and visits by the police to my classroom were not unusual. There should be some kind of mandatory parenting class in every inner city school, even if it’s one hour once a year. Perhaps it could be part of an open house experience.

Classroom discipline was a joke when the behaviorally disabled kids came for instruction. No one accompanied them to my class; there were too many for the Para and teacher to keep up with so I struggled with them on my own. I had to disarm one of these kids once and ended up having to testify in court over the incident. The sad thing was that he wasn’t a bad kid; he was just schizophrenic. There is not enough personnel to handle students with special needs. Every district should have an alternate school site for students who are repetitive discipline problems.

Inner city classrooms are packed to the gills with students; one year I had 34 regular students and rotated 11 special education students throughout the day for a total of 45 students during math. Again, the special ed students were left to struggle without a Para. One teacher, 45 students and one hour thirty minuets to teach math. Do you think these kids got the quality time from me that they needed? Until school districts decide that there needs to be a low (20:1 or lower) teacher/student ratio for at risk students there is no hope.

You’ll see some of the best and some of the worst teachers ever in inner city school districts. The good ones burn out or leave, the bad ones hang in there like a bad penny. I remember one of the worst teachers I’ve ever seen “teaching” spelling all bloody day. She also lived on her cell phone in the classroom, and while doing duty. She knew her rights and with the help of the teacher’s union, held onto her job with an iron grip. The poor principal was writing her up constantly, and trying to get her fired, but it was literally going to take a novel and an act of God to get her out. The teacher’s unions need to recognize that there are bad teachers out there and needs to stop defending them.

The public needs to be aware that there is money out there for mitigating these problems, but it’s being spent up top instead of on the students. At risk children want security, routine and normalcy. They are not going to get what they need by cramming them into a classroom with 30 some odd other kids of whom 10 are discipline problems. Any teacher worth his/her salt doesn’t need fancy programs and manipulatives. All they need are basic supplies, administrative support, and a lower student/teacher ratio, and just watch them turn things around. (Sorry so long, just had to vent.)
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Old 08-13-2007, 12:10 AM
 
Location: Da Parish
1,127 posts, read 4,992,209 times
Reputation: 1022
We are having the same problem in NOLA. A severe teacher shortage; it probably has something to do with the fact that they fired all 7,500 teachers after K. Many former employees, upset with being fired after years of service, have moved on to other parishes. The Recovery School District of NOLA are now offering a $10,000 sign on bonus to lure out of state teachers, but many of these new teachers are quitting after a few months on the job. The discipline problems are beyond anything they are trained to handle.
It's sad that people are losing their jobs over test scores, when there are better ways to evaluate teacher performance. Teacher unions should be useful and productive, but based on my personal experience, they are really ineffective.
Sigh, I just wish something could be done for these kids. They are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to a decent education. It's a fustrating and demoralizing job working with inner city kids, but the rewards were spectacular. I really miss my kids.
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