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.
I'm putting the blame on the parents, it's a parents job to see that their kid is in school not the teacher, it's the parents job to check on their kids, ensure the home works done, check their progress and to fix any problems the kids are havong, it's the parents responsibility to raise their children and guild them through life not the teachers.
If the child is a failure it reflects on the parent not the school system, Little Johnny wasn't left behind by the school he was left behind my his parents.
When is America going to wakeup and come to the reality that public education is failing? That more money dumped into public education is not working. We may lose our superpower status if this is not fixed.
When are we going to realize that we need to privatize education? We need to let the bad schools fail and let the good schools prosper. What happens when a shady business owner runs a bad business? No one does business with him and he goes out of business. That is the market correcting itself.
What we have now is bad schools staying bad schools b/c our politicians keep throwing money at them. Let the bad ones fail and let the good ones thrive and let the parents have a choice. Other countries have caught on and are passing us by.
Also let real professionals teach. Let business and science professionals from the "real" world teach our kids about real problems and real solutions. Also make it more difficult to become a teacher. This will reduce the supply of teachers and increase their pay. Also we'll be left with better more dedicated teachers.
It just amazes me that this system is failing miserably and no one will act. Is the govt that scared of the big nasty Teachers Union???
Don't our children deserve better?
Other than being anthetetical to everything this country's ever believed in with regard to education, this makes perfect sense.
the problem is not as easy as "it's the parents" or "the teachers are failing our students"
I see both everyday at the school I work at. There are definitely teachers who shouldn't be teaching, and the unions have made it nearly impossible to get a tenured teacher fired. But they are in the minority. Most teachers are dedicated and would teach the class differently if they weren't required to get through a certain amount of material before the semseter or trimester ends
But I have also seen many more examples of parents failing to be parents and the kids are a result of that parental failure.
In my nearly 10 years of teaching, i have been witness to:
A student getting D's and F's for failing to do any of the work that was assigned, getting poor grades on the tests. My team of teachers have multiple conferences with mom, and she tells us that he claims he has no homework. We provide her with a way to track what work he should be coming home with each night, and an easy way to communicate about any issues that arise. She agrees that there needs to be some sort of consequence for failing to complete assignments or lying to her about what assignments he has. Within a week, mom runs out and buys him a new dirt bike, brand new clothes, and takes him to Disneyland for dinner just because.
I have had parents write me letters calling me a "p rick" because I didn't call their sick daughter back from the nurses office to have ice cream with the class on the last day of school. The mother acknowledged that she sent the girl to school sick b/c she was so excited about the ice cream party.
Parents claiming that I grade too harshly and that I don't deserve to be in a classroom teaching b/c I gave their daughter a generous D on a month long project that asked them to write a 6 sentence paragraph about 15 topics that we had discussed in class, when I determined she copied the work from the internet, I was able to identify every website she copiedthe paragraphs, word for word, from. Dad felt that b/c she had spent time copying the information, that she must have learned it and that she should get an A because of her effort. (She got nearly perfect scores on the sections that didn't relate to the writing.)
Students who never were assigned any homework by the teacher I took over for, except for about 2 weeks prior to report cards. In this class, one student whose writing was barely legible, and rarely completed an assignment, was told that he would be honor roll. All the parents blamed me for the lower grades b/c when I came in, they got homework every night and actually had to work for grades and there were consequences for misbehaving in class. (nearly quit teaching after that first year)
I see the kids for about 6 hours a day, and I do what I can to teach the students everything I am expected to get through in a semester or trimester while having to deal with kids who are being abused at home, 13 years olds sleeping with the 30 year old neighbor down the street, kids that are more concerned with who is wearing what, who is going out with whom, whether they are cool, whether their good grades are keeping them from being cool, etc, etc, etc.
I have had parents come in and tell my team of teachers that they will be more aware of the kids work, and that they will get rewards when they show improvement, only to hear that the kid got to go to Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm or Six Flags before the kid has turned in another assignment.
I have been told that I don't do my job b/c I don't cater to every learning disability that comes through my classroom when I see 120 a day, b/c I expect kids to come to me if they are absent to find out what they missed when mom and dad pulled them out for a skiing trip to Utah with a stopover in Vegas a week before the end of the trimester.
I completely understand the worry about sending the kids to school with the real possibility of someone getting shot at a school, but whose fault is it that the kid felt that his or her only option was to kill another kid. I have had the kid who teachers worry about being the kid who comes back with a gun, but if the parent refuses to let the student visit the school counselor, what can we do?
I think teachers do bear some of the responsibility for education, but I also believe that if parents were more concerned with the welfare and well-being of their children, and less concerned with which car they are driving or how big the TV is, or if the kid has the newest game system, then maybe more than a few of the problems that are laid at the feet of the public school teacher would be taken care of on their own.
BTW, I have also had kids who are absolutely a pleasure to have in class, who are responsible, who do their work, whose parents are supportive and concerned when the child misbehaves or does poorly. These parents and students make the job worth having, but on an increasingly, unfortunately regular basis, I wonder if the job is worth it.
I'm putting the blame on the parents, it's a parents job to see that their kid is in school not the teacher, it's the parents job to check on their kids, ensure the home works done, check their progress and to fix any problems the kids are havong, it's the parents responsibility to raise their children and guild them through life not the teachers.
There are parents that are forced to have 2 or more jobs just so they can put their kids through college. These people often don't have the time to raise their children because they are working.
Originally Posted by ThAdam
Quote:
the problem is not as easy as "it's the parents" or "the teachers are failing our students"
I agree that there are parents who keep 'harassing' teachers when they gave their kid a B instead of an A. I blame it on society, that we have compartmentalize our existence in so many different roles that we cannot be good at all of them; we simply want too much of everything. It simply is impossible to be the perfect parent, have a successful career and also have time for yourself. Children and careers often demand all your time (especially when the children are young) so trying to be a good parent and have a successful career is impossible (unless you already are wealthy and / or are the boss of your own company).
The school system will change when more people yank their kids out of the public schools. Many more. Right now, homeschooling is at an all-time high, and more and more parents join the ranks of taking responsibility for their kids' education themselves... while many parents would homeschool anyway, many are also removing their children from public schools because they are so awful, and mom and dad can't afford private school.
Helping kids to maximize their potential instead of drilling them full of useless and irrelevant information to regurgitate on "test day" would help as well, but I think it would take a miracle to undo that mess.
Originally Posted by Roaddog There are parents that are forced to have 2 or more jobs just so they can put their kids through college. These people often don't have the time to raise their children because they are working.
Originally Posted by ThAdamI agree that there are parents who keep 'harassing' teachers when they gave their kid a B instead of an A. I blame it on society, that we have compartmentalize our existence in so many different roles that we cannot be good at all of them; we simply want too much of everything. It simply is impossible to be the perfect parent, have a successful career and also have time for yourself. Children and careers often demand all your time (especially when the children are young) so trying to be a good parent and have a successful career is impossible (unless you already are wealthy and / or are the boss of your own company).
That's right... ONLY in USA(of first world countries) do many people have up to 3 jobs, NOT being able to pay for HC, and university, daycare for kid.
And "people have no time"... blame THIS on "flexible" work laws found in our supposedly great country.
That's right... ONLY in USA(of first world countries) do many people have up to 3 jobs, NOT being able to pay for HC, and university, daycare for kid.
THAT all comes down to choices. We live quite well on my husband's income, which is NOT large at all. Under $50,000 per year. We have two children, own a small 3 bedroom home, I stay home and homeschool, we take field trips, we go on nice vacations once or twice per year. I do not understand when I hear people say "it takes two incomes to make it" and they each make more than my husband does! It all comes down to priorities. Working double to pay for 2 large car payments and a huge mortgage at the expense of time spent with the children, making sure that they are succeeding, seems counterproductive to me.
When is America going to wakeup and come to the reality that public education is failing? That more money dumped into public education is not working. We may lose our superpower status if this is not fixed.
Recent American political and commercial "leadership" decided two decades ago to give up superpower status and take advantage of short-term profits from utilizing cheap foreign labor and dissolving our industrial base. The American middle class is evaporating and employment is suffering. The devalued dollar and tremendous foreign debt (mostly due to Bush's war) now have our economy on the verge of recession.
Our public schools can do nothing to reverse that damage.
Quote:
When are we going to realize that we need to privatize education?
Cite an example of privatization working well.
Quote:
We need to let the bad schools fail and let the good schools prosper. What happens when a shady business owner runs a bad business? No one does business with him and he goes out of business. That is the market correcting itself.
An apples/oranges analogy.
Schools do not operate like a business. Schools must serve all children. They cannot cater to a select clientele.
Quote:
What we have now is bad schools staying bad schools b/c our politicians keep throwing money at them. Let the bad ones fail and let the good ones thrive and let the parents have a choice. Other countries have caught on and are passing us by.
With the current test-mania, a detailed analysis of public schools shows the obvious: each school performs as well as the demographic it serves.
Other countries don't force students into a one-size-fits-all approach. They allow the less academically inclined to pursue a vocational education. Most US parents would throw a fit if their kids were placed in a vocational program. Many parents are absolutely certain that their kids are solid college material.
Quote:
Also let real professionals teach. Let business and science professionals from the "real" world teach our kids about real problems and real solutions. Also make it more difficult to become a teacher. This will reduce the supply of teachers and increase their pay. Also we'll be left with better more dedicated teachers.
Your "real professionals" are not prevented fom teaching. They simply won't put up with the tremendous drop in salary and big increase in hassles. Reducing the pool of teachers already occurs continually. Most new teachers leave the profession within the first five years.
Quote:
It just amazes me that this system is failing miserably and no one will act. Is the govt that scared of the big nasty Teachers Union???
This statement exposes your ignorance. Pick up a recent copy of the monthly publication by either the AFT or the NEA. Check out their positions on education issues. Get your information from another source besides the talk radio blabbermouths.
Quote:
Don't our children deserve better?
Most of the problems with America's school systems come from noneducators. Each state's legislature, as well as our congress, is filled with all kinds of farmers, shopkeepers, insurance agents, and lawyers. These folks pass the legislation that shapes our education establishment.
It's clear that our schools need to be improved. It's not so clear that a significant portion of the public or the government is inclined to do so. One of the most commonly heard complaints from the public at most school board meetings is about taxes being too high. The most common edict from the feds is unfunded mandates, requiring higher taxes at the local level. School boards have a very limited range of motion.
THAT all comes down to choices. We live quite well on my husband's income, which is NOT large at all. Under $50,000 per year. We have two children, own a small 3 bedroom home, I stay home and homeschool, we take field trips, we go on nice vacations once or twice per year. I do not understand when I hear people say "it takes two incomes to make it" and they each make more than my husband does! It all comes down to priorities. Working double to pay for 2 large car payments and a huge mortgage at the expense of time spent with the children, making sure that they are succeeding, seems counterproductive to me.
Should something, God forbid, happen to your OH, say he falls very ill...
WOULD you be able to pay for HI for all? All the expenses of illness?
Do you know for sure he wouldn't be cheated by insurers and denied claims?
Do you have enough savings that, if smth happens, you won't end up on street?
Could you start working, and pay for daycare for your kids(most likely would be close to your salary)?
Would his illness be a "choice"?
Would you then choose between food, HI, working 3 jobs or what? Calculate in the prices for HI, daycare, copays deductibles etc.
See, this happens to people a lot... I've seen it.
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.
There are parents that are forced to have 2 or more jobs just so they can put their kids through college. These people often don't have the time to raise their children because they are working.
It simply is impossible to be the perfect parent, have a successful career and also have time for yourself. Children and careers often demand all your time (especially when the children are young) so trying to be a good parent and have a successful career is impossible (unless you already are wealthy and / or are the boss of your own company).
When will we really fix our education system?
