Who is teaching what to Nebraska kids? (Emerson: sale, day care)

[roots'nbulbs]

As alumni banquet season approaches, I'm jarred loose to think about last year's touristy group that came back to town for their reunions.

I thought the conversations among the 20 year and under groups indicated that they had had a good basic education. Excellent grammar, great careers and trustworthy values were prevalent.

So, do we still have great schools and teachers?

[Dave1215]

Some great schools some not so great.
Some great teachers some really bad teachers.

Even in a single school district there are some schools I would choose and some I would avoid and in a single school some fantastic teachers and some that should not even be employed.

Much like it always was.

But enough with the generic response. I think the schools in Nebraska are generally good.

[itsMeFred]

Speaking as a teacher, I think that's exactly it.
My school district, as a whole, is mediocre. (We literally plan our school year around State Track Meet in the spring as our sup't is also head coach)
However, even in our mediocre school with mediocre administration, we still have some excellent teachers wandering around. (And some not so excellent ones, which is why my third grader is home schooled. lol)

[SCGranny]

Wow. I came from a state whose motto was, "Thank God for Mississippi!" - because my state and MS constantly vied for 50th in education. Sending my kids to school there - even in a rural part - was sending them literally into hell, where teachers were not allowed to stop drug dealers from selling their wares on campus or bullies from beating up smaller children. When my son in the second grade had his property destroyed and was attacked, the Juvenile Justice officer told me that I "owed those poor children" who attacked him, because they didn't have what he did. (DH and I worked 3 jobs to pay the bills and give our kids what they wanted). I had to put my kids in self-defense courses for 6 years just so that they could learn to survive. Our county passed an ordinance making wearing ones' pants lower than one's hips, or wearing gang colors openly, against the law (Yeah, THAT worked). There was a day care center on every high school campus - for the students' children. If the students had more than two children, they were not allowed to use the "free" daycare facility any more. One employee I had as a supervisor at Wal Mart could not read, write, or speak intelligently nor effectively. She came up to me one day and told me she was quitting, she had a new job. She was going to be the new English teacher at the high school - a woman who couldn't even read the side of a box for a customer to tell them what was inside... I was President of the local Rotary club that gave out scholarships to children based on their grade point average and evinced on their ability to write on essay topics. I received a phone call from a mother who demanded that we rescind the rules for her daughter who wasn't able to understand the question, nor write the essay, but who insisted that her daughter was a nice girl whose grades wouldn't get her into college, so we should foot the bill.

Then I moved here and started to work for a school district. I have never met so many polite and well-educated children in my life. They are funny and friendly and open and honest. Even the "bad" kids are not that bad! Yes there are some teachers who don't seem to enjoy their jobs or who are in the schools for their own reasons, and don't relate well to or interact well with children. Some have their own problems. There's no drug dealers openly displaying their wares on campus without fear of police intervention. There's no squealing tires or boom boxes when school lets out - and I live across the street from the school! There's no vandalism, no graffiti sprayed everywhere or gangsign. The kids wear BELTS on their pants; and don't have ANY children in tow. They don't expect anyone to cater to them or do things for them, and demand literally nothing that they haven't worked for and earned. They are all involved in SOMEthing - art competitions, drama, and sports, and keep their grades up to do so. Their reading lists consist of Emerson, Shakespeare, and Vonnegut. They can converse intelligently, and 'get' puns and identify quotes.

I guess it's all based on what your comparisons are...

[roots'nbulbs]

I was afraid that the NCLB act would leave behind some of the progressive programs that teachers had instigated. But, I'm finding that we are surviving it even though so much formerly, creative classroom time is being taken up with testing in the computer lab.

One of our science (biology) classes used to be a wild conglomeration of surgeries on dead animals found in the ditch and trips to the sale barn to analyze different manures. The kids also trekked to the river and lake and ponds.

Much of that is still going on due to an ambitious teacher. But, her predecessor taught what turned out to be a pre-med program without worrying about comparative grading and evaluation.

Our English teachers chose literature that would reflect current events and interests. A history program was devised as a magnet program relating the 20th century to the evolution of Rock and Roll. Now, the students go to the lab and test on the same books that are read in Maine and Louisiana. There is merit to that, but some things are lost, of course.

That's been the reality of standards testing. I worried that just because other states had failing school systems, congress would rip into our excellent school systems. The argument was that NE tested highly because we tested a narrow demographic . Well, that is fast disappearing. Texas and Arkansas, et c. will have to find a new excuse.

You cannot keep smart people from learning new things, but it is wise for a population to prioritize their school systems.