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I can't believe all the hate spewed at teachers on this board. My question--how many of you actually HAVE kids in the public school system now? I have 5. My kid's standardized test scores (and they are adopted, some from foster care, so it certainly isn't a genetic thing) can compete with kids from any private school--they're learning and achieving. We're in a small school district in a rural state, outside of a major metro area. Our teachers are unionized, and our school district is in amazingly good shape, despite major cutbacks in state funding. We have a smart superintendent who WORKS with our teachers union to find ways to improve education for our students in a cost efficient way, and the results have paid off. Our school is ranked one of the best in the state.
The difference? We're a middle class district with parents who CARE and are heavily involved in the school. That parental role isn't facilitated by the teaching staff--it comes from the school leadership who set the agenda. It's the perfect combination--great admin, parents who care, and teachers who have leadership and feel like they can contribute in a meaningful way to their jobs. When schools are failing, is it the problem of the teachers, or the parents and administrators who are content with just sliding by?
Lots of people quote that movie--Waiting for Superman--as an example of how all schools are failing. It focused heavily on urban schools where the districts are forced to deal with a host of social problems, in addition to getting down to the business of education. Do we need to make changes in those districts? Yes. Is that the norm? No. Is it the teachers fault? No.
It's easy to shift blame from yourselves and sink to the lowest common denominator--blaming the teachers who are in the trenches--but why don't you look at yourselves? I'm heavily involved in our PTA, and I serve on a number of school board parent committees. I work with my children's teachers if there's a problem, vs. immediately blaming someone else. Education starts at HOME--parents willing to get involved, make sure homework is done, and hold their children accountable for their behavior and academic outcomes. If you're not willing to step up to the plate and be a PARENT, no teacher on earth can help your child.
If teachers are doing such a good job then why does America have so many dumb people?
Of all the unions that should be abolished the teachers union has to be at the top of the list.
I am so sick of listening to the brainwashed mantra "they do it because they love the kids"
Sometimes I wonder if teachers do it because they feel inferior being with adults and love the feeling of power and superiority that teaching gives them.
Great point. It appears to be gross dereliction of duty.
One simply has to look at the college GPAs of many of those in education to understand why this is so.
When the ACT and SAT scores go up- pay them more. If not, then one has to question whether their job has been performed in a satisfactory manner.
I have taught residents and medical students. If we had turned out a product like the public schools have done,we would have been fired.
We need to be able to get rid of the bad ones. I agree.
Our school is unionized, and I've seen bad teachers fired here. The big myth is that somehow unions keep teachers from being fired--there is no protection from dismissal if you're a bad employee. Unions work for progressive discipline, meaning that the district can't just arbitrarily fire someone with tenure for no reason (like criticizing the admin if they're doing something wrong), and they push for giving employees opportunities to correct their behavior, but if you don't shape up, you're out the door. I've seen it happen in our public school district a number of times. If you have teachers with tenure who stink, that's the administration's fault for not getting rid of them earlier--they should have never MADE tenure. Up until the 5 year mark here, you can be fired for no reason at all--it's completely at will by the administrators. After you hit the 5 year mark, you have to be fired for CAUSE--meaning that you have poor reviews, you've violated school policy, etc. It happens all the time. Bad teachers don't last in our district because the expectations are high. We have a supportive environment for education, so good teachers WANT to teach here--have you ever thought that bad districts may not be able to attract good teachers because no one with top skills and qualifications wants to work there?
I think most of you who rant about this have no idea what so ever how the process actually works. Lots of assumptions and no real information.
Our district has many teachers that should have been gone. They have gotten rid of honors classes in the middle school thinking that mixing up the student population with the honors kids and the poorer performers together will impact the poorer performers. It has failed.
Our district has failed (this is the 3rd year in a row) and NOT ONE has lost their job. This is in a middle class suburb.
My kids are honors and AP kids. The work they are doing is laughable. Is it honors work - no way.
I also subbed for many years in these same schools. I have seen it up close and personal.
For some kids it is the parents that take no interest in their kid's education.
For other kids, it is the teachers that just want to collect a paycheck.
Great point. It appears to be gross dereliction of duty.
One simply has to look at the college GPAs of many of those in education to understand why this is so.
When the ACT and SAT scores go up- pay them more. If not, then one has to question whether their job has been performed in a satisfactory manner.
I have taught residents and medical students. If we had turned out a product like the public schools have done,we would have been fired.
When I was in school, we didn't have to take an additional (very costly) SAT prep course. We went to high school and signed up for the test and took it. Simple as that. Try that now and see what scores you get.
Our district has many teachers that should have been gone. They have gotten rid of honors classes in the middle school thinking that mixing up the student population with the honors kids and the poorer performers together will impact the poorer performers. It has failed.
Our district has failed (this is the 3rd year in a row) and NOT ONE has lost their job. This is in a middle class suburb.
My kids are honors and AP kids. The work they are doing is laughable. Is it honors work - no way.
I also subbed for many years in these same schools. I have seen it up close and personal.
For some kids it is the parents that take no interest in their kid's education.
For other kids, it is the teachers that just want to collect a paycheck.
Then get involved in your school board and parent groups. Are the teachers responsible for the elimination of the honors program? No. The leadership in a school comes from the TOP. If teachers aren't being fired, just whose fault is that? The teachers or the administrators? Hold them to high standards. If the parents raise a stink, I promise you--things will change. School board members like to keep their seats, and administrators respond to school boards.
When I was in school, we didn't have to take an additional (very costly) SAT prep course. We went to high school and signed up for the test and took it. Simple as that. Try that now and see what scores you get.
I have two who have taken the PLAN test (the ACT pretest for sophomores) and they've both done very well--most of our kids in the district did well. Again--is it the teacher's fault if the kids don't do well, or the Board and Administrators who refuse to demand excellence. Good school districts work with their teachers unions to identify problems from the people ACTUALLY DOING THE WORK AND TEACHING and go from there.
I would have loved to have been taught by Honors Teachers.
It's usually a budget issue--those programs are expensive.
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