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Whoa boiseguy -I don't see that in this thread - Although I have seen that in some of the other "parrot" knee jerk liberal bashing threads.
I think the problem lies partly with an outdated teacher's union that protects a lot of dead wood (not all teachers, but they are out there); partly with an education system that has gotten ridiculously bureaucratic and CYA and that is concerned more with testing well on the national tests to bring in more revenue and also to protect themselves from lawsuits, than with the well being of the kids; and partly with parents that are too busy or too lazy or too missing to get involved with their kids' education. Also I see kids that need to work to help their families survive and don't see the value of completing their education. Plenty of blame to go around.
This is a good read: Dallasblog.com, the Dallas, Texas news blog and Dallas, Texas information source for the DFW Metroplex. - DALLAS BLOG - We Don’t Need Any More Tonys and Ralphs (http://www.dallasblog.com/200710301000880/james-reza/we-dont-need-any-more-tonys-and-ralphs.html - broken link)
About an hour ago, the noon news did a piece on this. The data presented was "Raw" data. In other words, 40% of the students that started the year, are not there at the end of the year. Nobody sorted out how many moved to a new town, switched to a new school, died, etc. Strickly, how many started and of those, how many finished. It didn't even account for people coming into the school.
Also, as the above post mentioned conservatives and liberals. I was wondering how long this thread would have a good discussion before somebody started bashing one party or the other.
Thank you and ArizonaBear for clarifying the point. I did work with young children when I was young myself, and did observe that some ethnic/cultures promoted education more than others. But an observation is not quantified or qualified, and extra thanks for the book reference.
I tried to find a simple qualifier for those of the Jewish faith, but the links/articles went way beyond the issue of education and it seemrf as if they would have taken us off-topic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sooner_Nation_60
Asian Americans make up 4% of the U.S. population, but represent 20% of the students now attending America's elite Ivy League schools. They are not more intelligent or gifted than non-Asian students. The reason they outperform their peers in the classroom has everything to do with how they are raised. While many American parents encourage their kids to have as many extra-curricular activities as they can handle, Asian parents usually don't do that. Asian families, most of them, make sure that the number one priority is education. So they tend to limit (not restrict) a handful of extra curricular activities. If you have so many (like so many American families do), it's going to detract.....
From the book ~ Top of the Class: How Asian Parents Raise High Achievers and How You Can Too.
About an hour ago, the noon news did a piece on this. The data presented was "Raw" data. In other words, 40% of the students that started the year, are not there at the end of the year. Nobody sorted out how many moved to a new town, switched to a new school, died, etc. Strickly, how many started and of those, how many finished. It didn't even account for people coming into the school.
Also, as the above post mentioned conservatives and liberals. I was wondering how long this thread would have a good discussion before somebody started bashing one party or the other.
its been proven time and time again in this forum that most people who have a bone to pick with the public education system are conservatives..
I as a teacher welcome criticism, because nothing is a perfect system.. but we can work together to make it the best we can. If you don't like the way it is.. then get involved to change it. its more than just going to the polls and doing your duty in respect to funding. Blaming teachers is one thing.. but you know.. like anything else.. you get what you pay for.. if there weren't so many of us that actually chose teaching as a profession because of non-monetary rewards.. your statistics would be even worse... bottom line is.. if we pay teachers more.. then sure.. impose higher standards.. but you have to be realistic in where you place blame on a students failure or success...
It just outrages me that such NATIONAL publications are made broadcast on the news as fact.. having thousands if not millions of people react to it..
it is just not productive and is absurd... if you're going to acurately fix the problems.. then you need to be acurate in your studies and assessments..
its been proven time and time again in this forum that most people who have a bone to pick with the public education system are conservatives..
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I haven't seen the posts you're referencing that show this, but I'll take your word for it. Generally most in the education field lean left and vote Democrat. No hiding that fact.
The system certainly has a lot of problems but a study like this doesn't do anyone any favors. You don't have to dig up misleading data to prove there's something wrong with our Public Education System. Plenty of true stories out there for the taking.
For those of you who blame teachers, I'd simply ask you to take one day and sit in on standard level classes all day and see what these people have to deal with on a daily basis before passing judgement.... I am one who would have been interested in teaching for a career if I didn't know myself so well and know that it would only take one smart-mouthed child to catch me on a bad day to end my career....
NO ONE is on the teachers' side these days. The parents blame the teachers and the administrators have to placate the parents so the local school board doesn't put pressure on the Superintendent to fire them because these parents somehow think, "Oh MY child couldn't have done that!!!!! " .... It is one of the most thankless professions out there right now because many of our youth have been raised with zero discipline and zero drive to accomplish anything other than catching the high rampage score on the latest version of "Grand Theft Auto" on their XBox 360s....
I haven't seen the posts you're referencing that show this, but I'll take your word for it. Generally most in the education field lean left and vote Democrat. No hiding that fact.
The system certainly has a lot of problems but a study like this doesn't do anyone any favors. You don't have to dig up misleading data to prove there's something wrong with our Public Education System. Plenty of true stories out there for the taking.
For those of you who blame teachers, I'd simply ask you to take one day and sit in on standard level classes all day and see what these people have to deal with on a daily basis before passing judgement.... I am one who would have been interested in teaching for a career if I didn't know myself so well and know that it would only take one smart-mouthed child to catch me on a bad day to end my career....
NO ONE is on the teachers' side these days. The parents blame the teachers and the administrators have to placate the parents so the local school board doesn't put pressure on the Superintendent to fire them because these parents somehow think, "Oh MY child couldn't have done that!!!!! " .... It is one of the most thankless professions out there right now because many of our youth have been raised with zero discipline and zero drive to accomplish anything other than catching the high rampage score on the latest version of "Grand Theft Auto" on their XBox 360s....
well there are plenty of examples where conservitives have issues with the public education system because the bible is not a text book.. or because ethnic and sexual orientation diversity is promoted... the list goes on...
and you're right... many in the education system do lean left and democratic.. but you have to ask yourself.. why is this the case? I would challenge conservatives to get more involved rather than sit back and be disgusted by it and attack it... but getting involved requires a democratic process, where you must be open to the possibility of your ideals not being accepted or implemented... Many parents who are upset with that choose to just send their kids to private schools.. and that is fine.. that is what they are there for...
From what I see day and day out... there are some very important social issues in our society today.. that are not being addressed by the parents.. therefore the responsibility is placed on the school to ensure that everyone succeeds. sometimes it is not what you would think either. Many children from conservative homes are not talked to about sex... or pregnancy.. or diversity.. and when confronted with the issues in a public school setting are not given proper tools to function in it. In a private setting where they are in a controlled setting around whatever political or religious views are the norm.. they are not subjected to such diversity, therefore it is easier to just focus on education... whether that is good or bad is a matter of who you ask. The public school system believes that education is the great equalizer... that EVERYONE having access to education, and skills to succeed in the society is good, so that generations are not victims of the own undoing.. I understand that some would argue that what the schools impose is victimizing as well, but I can assure you that nothing is taught or brought up in the public schools that isn't an issue in the greater society. Perhaps we can fix our schools by fixing our society... just a thought..
but don't blame me as a teacher.. because I'm forced to fill in the gaps of parenting... that you as parents do not do properly.. while you're at work.. trying to pay for their wellbeing... many of us are faced with solving personal and social dilema's... that frankly are none of my business.. and destract from what I should be doing... but again it goes back to education being the great equalizer... and if I lose my job.. or my school loses funding because little susie.. is pregnant or little jimmy is beaten up because he's gay thus causing their grades to suffer and it being my responsibility... then I for the sake of my job and school... I guess we need to tackle it as well... afterall.. test scores are a direct result of a teacher...
For the first time in 40 years, two new studies show, more than half of public school students in the South are eligible for free or reduced lunch – a watershed moment in a 15-year wealth slide that comes amid resurging racial and economic inequalities in the former Confederacy. The rise is part of a nationwide surge: Low-income students now represent 12 percentage points more of the student body than in 1990.
In response, schools from the Delta's cypress region to the Carolina pine flats face a struggle: How to continue to improve test scores, attract good teachers, and reduce dropout rates amid growth of a group of students whom studies show have greater difficulty reaching grade-level benchmarks?
"Measuring low-income students' success is now measuring the majority of students' success," says Steve Suitts, co-author of "A New Majority," a study released Tuesday by the Southern Education Fund (SEF) in Atlanta.
Nationwide, two overarching factors seem to be driving public-school woes, experts say: In recent years, the erosion of middle-class, blue-collar jobs has led to more people working for lower wages, and many parents who can afford private school have taken their children out of public schools altogether. This skews the average income of remaining families lower. The South in particular has been hard hit by the closing of textile plants in South Carolina and the changing coal economy of the Appalachian highlands. Another reason for the shift, some experts note, is the influx of poorer Latinos at least into the Carolinas and Georgia.
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I had many wonderful teachers and I cannot thank them enough.
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" .... It is one of the most thankless professions out there right now because many of our youth have been raised with zero discipline and zero drive to accomplish anything other than catching the high rampage score on the latest version of "Grand Theft Auto" on their XBox 360s....
