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Well, I'm hardly a pioneer. And I have a niece who's a special education teacher, so don't even bother going there with your hyperbole.
The most important computer that your child will ever have is right between its ears. It would appear that due to dependence on computers to do their figuring for them, we're WORSE at math than we used to be when we had to do it by hand and even mentally (except for those students with excellent teachers who make a point of requiring that it be done that way). My husband used to have a customer who would come in and place an order and they would race, my husband with the calculator that he used daily and the customer with nothing but his brain, to figure out the complex charges of multiple orders of multiple items of different kinds, and the gentleman who'd been taught to do it mentally, always, pretty nearly always won and was accurate. That used to be common.
Again, the basics are math, writing, reading - and most importantly, how to learn. If you don't have that, the rest is useless. If you do have that, you have access to the rest of it.
but it's also not in as dire circumstances as some of the poorest schools on the east side of Austin
No, you're right, it's not that bad, but thankfully the principle started her career teaching in East Austin so she's pretty resourceful and has lots of good ideas on effective uses of the budget she has.
Well, we agree that they need to sell the property on 5th street. In the middle of a funding crisis, it boggles the mind why that hasn't been done.Private school can do more with less because they weed out the kids who need more resources. There are several schools in Austin who specialize in learning issues (Rawson Saunders for dyslexia/dysgrafia), St. Francis, even schools like Kabele and Kirby Hall that have very specific curriculums.You can't go to private school unless you are rich enough to afford it, or deemed worthy of the few scholarships they give out. What is wrong with merit based scholarships? I disagree- I know of many, many "average" kids with great partial scholarships to schools like St. Andrews, St. Stephens, and St. Michaels.Public school is forced to take everyone, the kids no one wants, the kids who actually need to be taught. If you took a school that only got the "elite" (LASA, for example), they would outperform the others, but I think most people are intelligent enough to realize that those kids were going to be successful no matter what building you put them in.
Again, I think ALL kids can be successful...even those at low performing schools. I think it's terribly elitist to think otherwise.
To some extent, it's every man for himself, which you clearly advocate. But on some level, we also try to create an equal playing field for the poor, or at least give less fortunate families a chance. We have welfare, medicaid, free lunch for kids who would otherwise starve. There is no such thing as an "equal playing field". You need to get over that idea.
Public education should attempt to provide the same for every kid, not allow the richest kids to be given advantage after advantage while the poorer children have bare bones. Your argument is flawed because what it will mean is kids who go to an AISD school on the west side of town will have their choice of dozens of music and art classes, while a child who goes to an east Austin school will have nothing. During the school day, everyone within the school district should be given the same, every child in a classroom afforded the same opportunities. They have enough disparity to deal with once they go home.
Am I the only one who finds it ironic that our test scores have actually gone DOWN, and we rank at the BOTTOM of math and science, even AFTER we've brought art, science, drama, music, football, drill team, etc., etc., into schools??? I'm not advocating the end of public school education, I'm saying lets focus more on the basics and cut out the 'extras' which only seem to be diluting our education. Let's let parents, if they want to, supplement for their kids after school, or NOT.
You are very naive if you are suggesting their PTA's have the means to subsidize those programs... those families don't have the expendable funds that you do. They don't have mommies with nothing better to do than come up to the school to volunteer. They don't have daddies who can write a big fat check for $1,000 like it's nothing. When you worry about where your next meal will come from, the idea of donating to the wrapping paper sale is ludicrous.
I find you to be terribly elitist. Who are you to say that "mommies" who work don't go to school to volunteers. And that "daddies" write the big checks? Many parents, working outside the home and not, rich or not, volunteer.
The point that's never adressed....we used to go to school in dirt floor one room school houses, and we built this country. Now we need stadiums and art class??
I don't know anyone in your area's Junior League, but the one up here in Northern Virginia does a lot of work with schools and homeless shelters providing things (food, school supllies, homework help, etc) for school students. You might want to contact them for help. I know I pulled up the Junior League of Austin page at one point just to figure out how a transfer would work when we do make our move.
The JLA does lots of volunteer work with the schools, especially the Hispanic mother daughter program, Coats for Kids, reading in the elementary schools, etc. It's a great group of women.
I find you to be terribly elitist. Who are you to say that "mommies" who work don't go to school to volunteers. And that "daddies" write the big checks? Many parents, working outside the home and not, rich or not, volunteer.
The point that's never adressed....we used to go to school in dirt floor one room school houses, and we built this country. Now we need stadiums and art class??
Exactly. Also computers and IT infrastructure are not critical for learning how to think. Math, science, reading, writing and history at the elementary school level simply doesnt change much from year to year. Why do we need new books?
No, I haven't heard that they're taking out any music/art programs entirely. There will certainly be cuts in those teaching positions, much as there will be in other areas.
"It's a little tough to get volunteers for things, but luckily we've had a very involved parent community the last few years."
Yes. The key is that some areas have an easier time getting parent volunteers. Some parents have to work multiple minimum wage jobs just to put food on the table. They don't have cars and have to take the bus to work. They scrub toilets and do the filthiest jobs and don't have the luxury of paying for a babysitter so they can come down and put up decorations for the PTA when they are living one month at a time. I won't pretend that Hutto is anywhere near Eanes, but it's also not in as dire circumstances as some of the poorest schools on the east side of Austin. When we start to rely on the PTA to provide the basics, it creates a very wide gap between the schools on the rich side of town and the schools on the poor side of town--even more than is already in place.
In response to other comments, I agree that parents need to provide for their kids, but at some level it's unfair to suggest that the kids be punished for their parents' poverty and that's really what we're talking about when we suggest that art/music be removed from the schools unless the PTA pays for it. No one asked the kids if they wanted to be born into a wealthy family in a rich neighborhood or a poor family on the other side of town. Public school owes it to all the kids to provide an equal opportunity for success, at least to what extent they can while they have the kids in their care.
Again, who's punishing whom? Look at the latest figures on math, reading, and science literacy. Average mathematics literacy, reading literacy, and science literacy scores of 15-year-old students, by sex and country: 2006
One interesting article focuses on Finland, which is the highest performing country world wide. Global grade: How do U.S. students compare? - Academic skills | GreatSchools Of particular interest is that all schools in Finland have the exact same curriculum, and they all receive the exact same amount of funding. Of course, we're not Finland, but I think there are lessons there. My goal would be that the GENEROUS funding public schools receive here in Austin be better managed, with more emphasis on the basic skills, more intervention for at risk kids (because of poverty, disabilities, etc.) and less on the extras that make school fun- those should be provided by parents or donations.
You know, elementary schools once didn't have art and music (except for band) as separate classes, and we managed to learn them nonetheless. Partly through our parents, and partly through including those in other subjects so that they seemed more a part of every day life rather than something completely separate from them.
Did we get extensive instruction just in art, or just in music? No, but we were exposed to them enough so that those who were interested could find ways to pursue them.
Believe it or not, neither art nor music are "the basics". The basics is really, beyond reading and writing and arithmetic, is about HOW to learn and a hint of what is out there in the realm of possibilities to learn. That's what's going to serve the children, rich or poor, later on in life. Without that, none of the rest of it means anything.
How far back are you going with this? Art and music were among my elementary school classes in the 1960s. We had a very small school district, and not a wealthy one. In an indirect way, I believe the fine arts contribute to growth and brain development in other areas. Rhyme, rhythm...language, oral or written. Art...shape, perspective, interpretation, problem-solving, following directions, fine motor skills. imo, children's brains should have a variety of input, and it is interconnected. Something's lost when it is just a here and there topic.
Exactly. Also computers and IT infrastructure are not critical for learning how to think. Math, science, reading, writing and history at the elementary school level simply doesnt change much from year to year. Why do we need new books?
The truth is that corporations and government are making money off of education. Look at the industries that spring up- publishers, training programs, technology, even food services that provide less than healthy lunches. In fact, I'd love to see AISD save some money there. Anyone over 40 has to admit that our cafeterias were nothing like they are now. We had ONE entree and milk or water. That was it. AISD's menu is ridiculous- it reads more like a restaurant: Austin Independent School District : Lunch Menus
Tomorrow's lunch: Pepperoni Pizza (5 pts)
Cheese Pizza (5 pts)
Yogurt Plate w/turkey sw
(6 pts)
Yogurt Plate w/PBJ
(10 pts)
Corn Cobbette (1 pt)
Carrots & Celery Sticks
(0 pts)
Tossed Salad (0 pt)
Fruit Cocktail (1 pt)
Fresh Fruit Variety
(1 pt)
Milk, Chocolate Skim
(3 pts)
Milk, 1% (2 pts)
Milk, Skim (2 pts)
Ranch Dressing
How far back are you going with this? Art and music were among my elementary school classes in the 1960s. We had a very small school district, and not a wealthy one. In an indirect way, I believe the fine arts contribute to growth and brain development in other areas. Rhyme, rhythm...language, oral or written. Art...shape, perspective, interpretation, problem-solving, following directions, fine motor skills. imo, children's brains should have a variety of input, and it is interconnected.
Psst- we had money back then. Of course fine arts are great for all those things you point out. There is no question as to their benefits. What I'm saying, and I realize how unpopular I am, is that in the era of recession, some things have to go. Should we keep the fun extras and cut boring stuff like English, math, science....? Bigger classes? Fewer teachers? Shorter hours? Raising taxes to fund a champagne budget is only going to eventually reduce the tax base.
Wow, if you want to talk "elitist" then please just take a look in the mirror. Do you realize that those breakfast menus you so snidely make fun of are used to serve the kids on the free and reduced lunch program? Studies have shown time and again that when a kid is sitting there hungry because they didn't have breakfast or dinner the night before, they can't learn. (Not that hard to figure out.) So yes, we feed those kids who live in poverty when they get to school so that they can at least have a full stomach while we attempt to teach them Algebra. I guess that makes us wasteful. We should let that kid starve while they sit next to your kid. No problem as long as your kid is well-fed, right?
My point with the volunteering is that you are painfully naive if you think that a community's socio-economic status has nothing to do with how many volunteers they can get. Yes, there are volunteers from every walk of life, but anyone who has ever set foot in a school realizes that the more affluent parts of town have numerous volunteers, donations from families any time the school has a pet project or fundraising, while the poorer side of town is just scraping by. You can ask for donations all you want, but it's a lot harder for them to find extra to give when they're on food stamps to begin with.
So yes, the result is that the PTA's in affluent neighborhoods are well-funded and have numerous volunteers, while the PTA's on the other side of town are not nearly so well-funded. We can debate what should and shouldn't be cut from schools, but pretending that the poor families "just don't work hard enough" to get their kids outside art/music instruction is insulting. What you suggest ends up punishing the very kids who have the least while elevating the children who already had the most.
None of the children were given a choice which type of family they would be born into.
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