Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A month or two back Oprah had a show regarding a movie called Waiting for Superman, about the public education system. I brushed it off and thought surely it can't be like this. But now after reading through this thread and after speaking with Mr. X regarding our child's education I am strongly leaning to homeschooling with a co-op. OP march into that school and demand to see the principal. I would. I really would. I don't care how long I would wait but if the shoe was on the other foot, if your child was unruly or horrible they expect to see you same day.
A month or two back Oprah had a show regarding a movie called Waiting for Superman, about the public education system. I brushed it off and thought surely it can't be like this. But now after reading through this thread and after speaking with Mr. X regarding our child's education I am strongly leaning to homeschooling with a co-op. OP march into that school and demand to see the principal. I would. I really would. I don't care how long I would wait but if the shoe was on the other foot, if your child was unruly or horrible they expect to see you same day.
Waiting for Superman is a hyped up movie touting charter schools. It does not tell the whole story, not even half of it.
Here's what you see in Waiting for Superman, the new documentary that celebrates the charter school movement while blaming teachers unions for much of what ails American education: working- and middle-class parents desperate to get their charming, healthy, well-behaved children into successful public charter schools.
Here's what you don't see: the four out of five charters that are no better, on average, than traditional neighborhood public schools (and are sometimes much worse); charter school teachers, like those at the Green Dot schools in Los Angeles, who are unionized and like it that way; and noncharter neighborhood public schools, like PS 83 in East Harlem and the George Hall Elementary School in Mobile, Alabama, that are nationally recognized for successfully educating poor children.
You don't see teen moms, households without an adult English speaker or headed by a drug addict, or any of the millions of children who never have a chance to enter a charter school lottery (or get help with their homework or a nice breakfast) because adults simply aren't engaged in their education. These children, of course, are often the ones who are most difficult to educate, and the ones neighborhood public schools can't turn away.
You also don't learn that in the Finnish education system, much cited in the film as the best in the world, teachers are—gasp!—unionized and granted tenure, and families benefit from a cradle-to-grave social welfare system that includes universal daycare, preschool and healthcare, all of which are proven to help children achieve better results at school.
In other words, Waiting for Superman is a moving but vastly oversimplified brief on American educational inequality. Nevertheless, it has been greeted by rapturous reviews.
And this is to make me think and feel what? It doesn't change my opinion of the US education system whether public or charter. It just cements my feelings that I should strongly consider homeschooling or private school.
US rankings in education are abysmal. There are going to be horrible parents not interested in their child's life and there are going to be horrible teachers as the one the OP is currently facing. But there are also success stories of teachers, parents and even students themselves who go above and beyond. They invest time and money into their students/children/themselves with money from their own pockets with hopes of succeeding.
Overall though, I feel the system is to blame and needs an overhaul. Yes the Danish make have universal this or that, so does the UK, so does many other countries and their children OUTRANK us! Why because they have to teach and teach well in order to make sure that their check is waiting for them at the beginning of the month. A nation as a whole needs to revamp the system and fund it. I find it sad, very sad and shocking that the OP can't even have a textbook for her child and that other parents have experienced the same thing. We are too focus on testing just for the sake of testing instead of educating and creating lesson plans that are beneficial. Our priorities as a nation is bail out banks, motor companies, and other whatnots by cutting back on all things education. That is a tragedy.
And this is to make me think and feel what? It doesn't change my opinion of the US education system whether public or charter. It just cements my feelings that I should strongly consider homeschooling or private school.
We started our son in public school and that lasted for about two and half years. We ended up pulling him out and are homeschooling him now. The problem with public education right now is in its quest to leave no child behind, it is all about standardized tests. Spending days drilling on worksheets so everyone passes means that kids that are ready to move on are stuck doing the same thing over and over again and becoming increasingly bored and turned off to schooling. Additionally, the homework they would send home had questionable merit and they'd already spent seven hours sitting still, with just one recess, and now another half an hour at home doing busy work?
Eight year old children need to play and explore to develop their full potential and with the increase in the school day and an increase in homework, there is increasingly less time for that.
I cam across the following video of an abridged speech that Ken Robinson gave about the reform of education:
In it he discusses how people need to think more creatively and to become more divergent thinkers so that they may be employable in the future, yet the way we now educate children, strips them of those qualities. Something to think about.
My girls go to public school, and while I too don't see the merits of standardized testing, my daughters have never sat still for 8 hours (the school day doesn't even last that long). They have art, music, recess, p.e., and even in their academic courses, their teachers have always emphasized holistic, hands on learning. The only time that the teachers focus on worksheets and test prep was the 3-4 weeks before the tests, other than that, my girls' classroom are lively places with plenty of active learning.
That's not to say that the public school system doesn't need an overhaul, it does.
My girls go to public school, and while I too don't see the merits of standardized testing, my daughters have never sat still for 8 hours (the school day doesn't even last that long). They have art, music, recess, p.e., and even in their academic courses, their teachers have always emphasized holistic, hands on learning. The only time that the teachers focus on worksheets and test prep was the 3-4 weeks before the tests, other than that, my girls' classroom are lively places with plenty of active learning.
That's not to say that the public school system doesn't need an overhaul, it does.
Well, it really depends on where your daughter goes to school. When we were in WA State, the school day was an hour less than it is here AND the kids had two recesses. Here, in Austin (within AISD), school starts at 7:35 and ends at 2:45 - that's over seven hours and the kids only get ONE thirty minute recess. The rest of their time they are controlled by adults telling them what they are to do, when they are to do it, and how they are to do it. Since my kid had an average of an hour a night of homework in the first grade (I kid you not) he was having to sit still almost eight hours a day. They start practicing for the standardized test they will be taking in the third grade, DURING THE FIRST GRADE.
That was our experience and I stand by my comments.
Well, it really depends on where your daughter goes to school. When we were in WA State, the school day was an hour less than it is here AND the kids had two recesses. Here, in Austin (within AISD), school starts at 7:35 and ends at 2:45 - that's over seven hours and the kids only get ONE thirty minute recess. The rest of their time they are controlled by adults telling them what they are to do, when they are to do it, and how they are to do it. Since my kid had an average of an hour a night of homework in the first grade (I kid you not) he was having to sit still almost eight hours a day. They start practicing for the standardized test they will be taking in the third grade, DURING THE FIRST GRADE.
That was our experience and I stand by my comments.
Wow! I don't blame you for making the choice you did. More and more I'm realizing how good my girls' schools are. Our elementary school was ranked best in the state, which surprised me because we aren't in the most affluent community. My oldest daughter is in a different school now, but she still gets lots of independent learning time. You've made me appreciate our school system all the more. It's not perfect, but it's much better than many others I hear about.
We started our son in public school and that lasted for about two and half years. We ended up pulling him out and are homeschooling him now. The problem with public education right now is in its quest to leave no child behind, it is all about standardized tests. Spending days drilling on worksheets so everyone passes means that kids that are ready to move on are stuck doing the same thing over and over again and becoming increasingly bored and turned off to schooling. Additionally, the homework they would send home had questionable merit and they'd already spent seven hours sitting still, with just one recess, and now another half an hour at home doing busy work?
Eight year old children need to play and explore to develop their full potential and with the increase in the school day and an increase in homework, there is increasingly less time for that.
I cam across the following video of an abridged speech that Ken Robinson gave about the reform of education:
In it he discusses how people need to think more creatively and to become more divergent thinkers so that they may be employable in the future, yet the way we now educate children, strips them of those qualities. Something to think about.
I really enjoyed that video. Thanks for posting!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
