Do you teach in Mississippi? (Cleveland, Shelby: renting, attorney, house)

[sassyfrass]

Well I taught at a school (and entire district) that is a 5 on MS report card (which is a bit of a joke to me) which is the best score a school can get. It was terribly sad... No accountability or standards...

[albion]

It's parents that should hold failing schools accountable. If what i've read on many of these blogs is true then most Mississippi kids have no chance of a decent career when they leave school/college. It's a terrible state of affairs. Do parents in mississippi care about their childrens grades?

[Terry37]

I agree it is the parents who must fight for our kids. Reading these boards has be quite afraid. If the schools with a level 5 are not really the best then what hope do I have other than to place DD in a private school. I am looking at schools in Madison and Rankin counties and these are all level 5 schools. I am weary now of checking into them.

[albion]

You obviously know more about the teaching system in Mississippi than I do.
I read a piece in a magazine Last year concerning a guy head hunting graduates in the southern states
At "Ole Miss" 44% of graduates thought Washington DC was on the west coast, over 60% could'nt name 6 american writers, 50% could'nt say who Robert Oppenheimer was.

[duck hunter]

Well let me try this again, since my first post hurt some feelings, alright not attacking you personally but may I ask do you not think it is hard to believe that a college graduate does not know what side of the country our countrys capital is. That being said I have seen videos from reporters from up north that attempt to make Ole Miss students look bad, for instance a nice young looking girl goes around and buys drinks for certain guys and when the bars close they are very drunk, she turns out to be some kind of reporter and asks very easy questions that most people would know if they were 8, however because of the drunkness of all these kids they dont even know what they are saying. Im guessing this is how that study was done. But seriously try not to believe everything you hear, cause it aint true.

[nancy thereader]

Do not know who Robert Oppenheimer was.

Schools have not taught history correctly in many years . I hate to say this , but I would doubt that my own son who works for PBS and is 35 knows who Robert Oppenheimer is.

A show of hands, please???

[ggluvbug]

I teach in South Mississippi. I have taught reading and math at the elementary level for 8 years. One thing that I see more than anything else that affects student performance is lack of parental support. Too many in Mississippi seem to have an attitude that it is parents versus schools. In the mean time, students suffer. Sure, there are bad teachers, but you will find bad teachers everywhere. I would say that most districts in my area are very top heavy and are always looking for the next "quick fix" without giving things time to work. Because we are a less educated state, the homes that some of our students come from are not exactly an ideal early learning environment.
As a kindergarten teacher a few years ago, I was having difficulty with a student in my class. Over time, she began to think I was picking on him. I invited her to observe in the classroom so she could see what kinds of things he was doing. Her comment to me was that it was not her job to come to my class to watch her child. Unfortunately, her sentiment is not a rarity. I have seen it time and again. This isn't to say that there are not parents who do care. I have had the opportunity to work with many parents who are loving and supportive and will do anything to help their children be successful. Guess what, about 98% of the time those children are.

To anyone who is looking at a 1-5 level system, this is going to be done away with soon anyway. There are schools in Mississippi that are level 5 that did not meet the federal "Adequate Yearly Progress" standards established by No Child Left Behind, and there are level 3 schools that did. So, 1-5 isn't the most important thing. I teach in a low income school and I believe that children can get a very good education at my school. A parent has to stay involved to make sure that happens, though. Too many times, they don't.

[khakibecca]

I teach art and we have a 15 cent/student budget for the entire year. I know you didn't want to hear "poverty" as a reason, but it is the major one I have seen.

[NCN]

Originally Posted by khakibecca

I teach art and we have a 15 cent/student budget for the entire year. I know you didn't want to hear "poverty" as a reason, but it is the major one I have seen.

Your answer makes so much sense. If a person came to your school and asked, "What can I do to help the children; give money, volunteer time, get on the back of the school board, etc." what would your answer be?

If one donated money to you for your classroom would it be a tax deductible donation or would it just have to be a gift.

I find it in my heart to want to help the local elementary school where I live but am not sure how to start. I want the help to be to the teacher and child and not be wasted by the administration. Any suggestions?

[ggluvbug]

Originally Posted by khakibecca

I teach art and we have a 15 cent/student budget for the entire year. I know you didn't want to hear "poverty" as a reason, but it is the major one I have seen.

At least your school has art. My district has no art program. In my area, we have plenty of materials. The district wastes money on programs year after year. Like I said in a previous post, there are too many administrators in Mississippi. Also, there are way too many districts. We have around 150 districts in our state. Why not let some of the smaller districts consolidate to save money? That goes back to what another poster said about politics, though.