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Spanish language MANDATORY since jobs require it later on....(even tho it is almost 1st language here)
Moderator cut: personal attack
I dont know a lot of spanish speakers here in FL personally, but I know a lot of people, all of whom are employed. Can you offer an explanation for that, or am I lying now?
If you can get away with lying, calling you a lier is not a personal attack, it is merely stating fact.
Here's my opinion on standardized testing. It is not perfect, but we have to use something to gauge how the student's are doing and provide a goal for things they must learn. Standardized testing has been used for decades. The SAT and ACT are standardized tests that significantly influence a kid's options for school's to attend and the qualification for scholarships. Many professional and finance jobs require you to take a standardized test before you can get licensed to perform that job (insurance, finance, lawyers, etc.) You have to take a standardized test to get your Driver's License. Standardized testing is a part of life, it is about the only way you can truly verify what people have learned. I would much rather have my children taught to pass the FCAT than watch films or movies during the day.
How do you propose we verify that the kids are learning what they need to learn in school?
Unfortunately many parents do not work with their kids at home. They expect them to do all the work in school and if they do bring home homework they help little, if any. I am sure there is a direct correlation to more affluent homes spending time with their kids on homework than less affluent homes. I would expect this is because better paying jobs often allow either A) one spouse to stay home or only work part time, allowing more time to work on homework with the kids B) Those in less affluent homes have a greater chance of working odd hours and 6 days a week. Some work two jobs, restricting/eliminating the amount of time they have to work with their kids.
My family makes sacrifices so DW can stay at home and be here when they get home from school. If they do not have any homework she finds something for them to work on at home (math exercises, spelling, reading, hand writing, etc.).
Thanks for the idiot remark. I like your idea of having the administrators spend time in classes and interacting with students and teachers to see how things are going. I do see a coupe of issuesthough.
Typically you have supervisors that help manage groups of 20 or so. You have a manager who typically manages... let's say 5 - 10 supervisors. So I guess the Manager(s) would report directly to the principal of the school.
Now the principal of the school must report to the administrative building, which would basically be like reporting to a "supervisor" at that level, which in turn the "supervisor" reports to their manager who in turn reports to a managing director (top boss).
I;m not sure but that looks like a lot of additional salaries (which would be higher than teacher wages) to do it this way. Oh wait... what.... education is receiving budget cuts? There goes that idea.
It would be great if teachers could be evaluated by having their classes monitored on a regular basis. Unfortunately I think it's nearly impossible to do with the constant cutting of staff and funding.
Ok. I love the post, but have a few comments. I don't know the solution to Standardized Testing, but one needs to be found. I don't want to sound conceited, but I am smarter than the average bear. I have a decent IQ (above 140), and am able to learn new ideas very quickly. I love to learn. I am constantly reading. I read novels, non-fiction, anything I can get my hands on. I have very serious issues with standardized testing. I refused to take my SATs because I knew how badly I did at tests. I had to take entrance exams for admission to college. I failed spectacularly. I will admit that math is my biggest weakness, so I didn't expect huge scores in math. However, I did expect decent scores in reading. I was reading on a college comprehension level at age 9. I failed the reading section of the test. I only got 2/100 right. Tell me how someone with an above average reading ability only gets a 2% on a reading test? When the test administrator saw my score, she gave me another test. This one was a completely different style test. I got a 58% on this one. It was the same test. It was written a bit differently, but the same test. She told me that she knew my scores were off, but that was all she could do. I had to take all remedial classes before fall term started. I was able to complete all of the Reading classwork in one hour. Btw, I went on to graduate from college with a 4.0 GPA. Based on my tests, I shouldn't have been admitted to college.
I hate standardized tests. I don't think they give an accurate reading of the student at all. They are a waste of time and money. They force teachers to focus on a very limited set of things. These kids aren't getting a well-rounded education. I don't believe in letting them watch movies, but we are too focused on passing one test and not on getting them ready for the real world.
I agree that not enough parents work with their kids at home. Too many think that all learning should be done at school, and it is not their job to teach their kids. Of course there are others that are working 2 jobs and don't have the time to spend with their kids. I make sure to sit down with my daughter and go over her homework with her. I want to make sure she understands the directions and that she knows I am available to help explain things to her if she gets stuck. She also gets bored with her homework, so we also get workbooks and we have educational tools to use at home. The teacher doesn't have time to make individualized lesson plans for each child, so I have to make sure that my daughter doesn't get lost in the shuffle. It is up to me as a parent to make sure she is getting the education she deserves. If the schools aren't equipped to push her to a higher level, it is up to me. I will not blame the schools if my child isn't educated enough to compete in the workforce. It is my job to make sure she is ready. I can go on and on here, but I think you all get my point.
As I said before, I don't know how to fix the mess that is Standardized Testing. I really wish I did. I also wish someone else could come up with an idea that would work. I don't think it is fair to give raises based on these completely flawed tests, but at the same time I don't think people should get raises just for showing up. We do need to find a solution though and I hope we find one soon.
There you go lying again. This is a downright, blatent, absurd lie.
I dont know a lot of spanish speakers here in FL personally, but I know a lot of people, all of whom are employed. Can you offer an explanation for that, or am I lying now?
If you can get away with lying, calling you a lier is not a personal attack, it is merely stating fact.
Exactly. Spanish is nowhere near becoming the primary language in Florida.
I have no problem with giving teachers raises based on merit. I question the wisdom of introducing yet another test in order to evaluate teacher performance.
For one thing, it costs a lot of money to develop these tests, and the money for this is supposed to come out of the budget that is already shrinking by 1.7 billion (half of that was federal stimulus money, half is state money). The merit pay is also completely unfunded and is mandatory despite the cuts.
For another thing, imo too much time is already spent "teaching toward the test". This is not exclusive to Florida, but is a nationwide issue. Increasing standardized testing has not improved the quality of education, and it may be a contributing factor in making it worse. There is so much pressure to do well on the test that other important things are overlooked. I've recently started teaching at the college level and some of the papers that are turned in to me just blow me away. I can't understand half of what they're writing! How in the world did they get through school?
Lastly, as the parent of an autistic child who's school program gave him the opportunity to go from being "unable to be educated", from running away and having massive meltdowns multiple times a day, to a (mostly ) sweet young man who makes Principal's List and loves school, I wonder if there are exceptions made for special education teachers? Clearly their students are not going to score as well on these tests, no matter how much time and energy they put into it. Will exceptional special ed teachers also be able to receive merit pay? And will their jobs be at risk when their students don't score well?
On the subject of parents helping kids at home. Yes, I completely agree this is a necessity. Hey, if I can do it while running my own business and teaching on the side, with my hubby working 70 hours plus, and 6 kids, probably most other people can pull it off too. However (!) I have to admit I don't know what I would do as a single parent. That would throw in a whole new level of difficulty.
The ENTIRE staff (MD included) at one of my kids pediatrician office is Hispanic.
In Miami you will not get by well unless your circle is made out of 5 ppl without speaking Spanish, same in Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and soon in Tampa too. Don't think for a moment we're exempt.
Normally, Spanish should be taught in EVERY school and be mandatory to graduate just like English, that would produce more educated people and less welfare people! Plus, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with speaking a second language. (or a 3rd, or a 4th)
At my school we started English and French in 5th grade, and had one class a week for both until we graduated high school (12th grade) & we had it at our exam for Baccalaureate and had to pass it, essay and all. But other schools had German and Spanish along English and French more times a week starting in 1st grade. ALL schools back there have it as part of the curriculum, not as an "extra"!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spring Hillian
I'd be happy if the schools could teach the kids how to read/write in English before worrying about learning another language.
I don't see Spanish as a required skill for any jobs except SOME customer service jobs. I personally don't know anyone who speaks Spanish. My 6 year old speaks more Spanish than everyone else I know combined, and she learned her 10 Spanish words from Dora. lol. I think that it would be nice to have a second language offered in schools, but if they are cutting on the budgets I don't see them adding a second language at the elementary level. Besides, I would rather my daughter learn Mandarin than Spanish. I think it will give her more of an edge on the global scale.
I also believe that Spanish will grow in FL only if we allow it or encourage it.
Yeah anyone who thinks tying teacher pay to tests score is going to help our children is an idiot. Those "bad" teachers will just teach to the test: "Okay class, open up your FCAT review book, and do pages 1-10 in class and 11-20 for homework. That Biology stuff can wait until you can pass your practice tests."
It also provides a huge disincentive for the high quality teachers to want to teach the most at-risk students. Few people, including many very good-hearted people, are going to run the risk of a 50% pay cut (maslow's hierarchy- gotta make enough to pay rent/mortgage, car, and keep food on the table) in the inner city Title 1 school when they can earn a safe and consistent amount in the predicatable middle class burbs that come with good parental involvement in local education.
So you're going to churn teachers in those high risk areas- as soon as they can those teachers will head for more stable pastures, leaving the kids to be taught by another crop of inexperienced teachers.
As for whether teacher merit pay increases education achievement among students, there was just a big study out of, I think, New York that said it didn't.
What this comes down to is the legislature setting the system up to fail in hopes that they can spend less on teacher salaries because they've set the standards in such a way that large numbers of classrooms are going to fail, reducing teacher salaries.
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I like your idea of having the administrators spend time in classes and interacting with students and teachers to see how things are going. I do see a coupe of issuesthough.
) sweet young man who makes Principal's List and loves school, I wonder if there are exceptions made for special education teachers? Clearly their students are not going to score as well on these tests, no matter how much time and energy they put into it. Will exceptional special ed teachers also be able to receive merit pay? And will their jobs be at risk when their students don't score well?
