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Wow, I am teaching in VA now, coming from CO and I go to bed most night in tears because my heart breaks for my kiddos because its so bad. I haven't met any teachers yet who think the school system is good- we are a good 10 years behind the rest of the nation. There is a good smoke and mirrors act too. I have a kiddo who dropped off the planet and instead of letting him drop out they got ahold of him and said if he came 4 days he could have his diploma. Its all about the numbers and litagation here. When I say RTI, they say "RTwhat". Progress monitoring is a foreign word to them. Not enough textbooks for the students either. My daughter is doing the same thing she was doing last year in CO. And talk about teaching to the test! They pride themselves in teaching to the test and have heard many times "why not teach to the test- you are only going to test what is important right?". OMG.
I have stories that lawyers would love to have because it would make them wealthy. I often consider hiring one for myself because of the emotional turmoil I am going through as I fight desperately for what my kiddos need and deserve.
It is all too sad to hear that so much of education is measured this way.
And the public blames teachers?
I have always said that education is basically the same everywhere. The only thing that changes is the amount of money one district has.
THANKS for sharing that teaching is more than BENCHMARKS, bigger than OBJECTIVES and way more important than STANDARDIZED TESTS..
It is all too sad to hear that so much of education is measured this way.
And the public blames teachers?
I have always said that education is basically the same everywhere. The only thing that changes is the amount of money one district has.
THANKS for sharing that teaching is more than BENCHMARKS, bigger than OBJECTIVES and way more important than STANDARDIZED TESTS..
VERY, VERY few people blame teachers. Most people that care enough about education realize that teachers are not the problem, most of the time. At the same time I also think that most people realize that there ARE some very bad teachers out there. I also don't think that standardized tests are the problem either. I do recognize that in the past they were set up for a certain demographic but I think they have been reevaluated in recent years. There has to be some way to measure students, so how else can they do this than by testing.
I think the problems are the dumbing down of classes. My son isn't even gifted but school is a piece of cake for him (2nd crade). Another big problem is the shuffling of kids through the system. There is absolutely no reason why someone should make it to Jr high school if they are reading on a 3rd grade level, that is ridiculous. They need to start seperating classes again at the very least by subject matter. It just doesn't seem like it is rocket science.
And the inability of the US to look at other countries is ridiculous. Many countries are very successful in education, why oh why can't we learn from them?
VERY, VERY few people blame teachers. Most people that care enough about education realize that teachers are not the problem, most of the time. At the same time I also think that most people realize that there ARE some very bad teachers out there. I also don't think that standardized tests are the problem either. I do recognize that in the past they were set up for a certain demographic but I think they have been reevaluated in recent years. There has to be some way to measure students, so how else can they do this than by testing.
I think the problems are the dumbing down of classes. My son isn't even gifted but school is a piece of cake for him (2nd crade). Another big problem is the shuffling of kids through the system. There is absolutely no reason why someone should make it to Jr high school if they are reading on a 3rd grade level, that is ridiculous. They need to start seperating classes again at the very least by subject matter. It just doesn't seem like it is rocket science.
And the inability of the US to look at other countries is ridiculous. Many countries are very successful in education, why oh why can't we learn from them?
Anyone who has ever taught will tell you that this is simpy not true. When something goes wrong in a classroom, the teacher is always blamed by admin as well as parents and, even, students.
What you are referring to as "dumbing down" occurs for various reasons. Private schools pass students through to appease parents; public schools pass students through b/c they are required by law to accommodate any and all students. In both cases, the school is always blamed (and the school always blames the teacher) when students are unable to perform at grade level, even when that student has a learning disability.
The completely ridiculous thing about such a situation is that teachers are usually required to accommodate students with learning disablilties (if a student in jr. high is reading at a third grade level, chances are that he/she has a learning disability) and, yet, are not required to have any learning disability knowledge or training to qualify for a teaching position. And yet, they are hired and then blamed when they do not know how and fail to accommodate such students.
It is similar to the situation in which soldiers are given an order, carry it out and are then charged with misconduct. In these instances, the people giving the orders purposefully generalize the order--they tell underlings what needs to be accomplished and purposefully do not tell them how to [specifically] accomplish it. Either way, in many instances, you're damned if you do, damned if you don't. If you don't accomplish the goal, you're dismissed. If you accomplish the goal but did not accomplish it according to certain standards, you are dismissed. And many times, if you do follow the standards, there is no way that you will be able to accomplish the goal. But why should a higher-up care about that? They just replace one underling with another, and for the most minimal of salaries at that. Such is the life of a teacher.
Anyone who has ever taught will tell you that this is simpy not true. When something goes wrong in a classroom, the teacher is always blamed by admin as well as parents and, even, students.
What you are referring to as "dumbing down" occurs for various reasons. Private schools pass students through to appease parents; public schools pass students through b/c they are required by law to accommodate any and all students. In both cases, the school is always blamed (and the school always blames the teacher) when students are unable to perform at grade level, even when that student has a learning disability.
The completely ridiculous thing about such a situation is that teachers are usually required to accommodate students with learning disablilties (if a student in jr. high is reading at a third grade level, chances are that he/she has a learning disability) and, yet, are not required to have any learning disability knowledge or training to qualify for a teaching position. And yet, they are hired and then blamed when they do not know how and fail to accommodate such students.
It is similar to the situation in which soldiers are given an order, carry it out and are then charged with misconduct. In these instances, the people giving the orders purposefully generalize the order--they tell underlings what needs to be accomplished and purposefully do not tell them how to [specifically] accomplish it. Either way, in many instances, you're damned if you do, damned if you don't. If you don't accomplish the goal, you're dismissed. If you accomplish the goal but did not accomplish it according to certain standards, you are dismissed. And many times, if you do follow the standards, there is no way that you will be able to accomplish the goal. But why should a higher-up care about that? They just replace one underling with another, and for the most minimal of salaries at that. Such is the life of a teacher.
WOW...someone has been in the classroom before, huh?
I am just amazed at how far education has come in the last 20 years...
plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose
As for looking overseas, most of these successful countries are using techniques pioneered HERE in the USA during the 50s and 60s--techniques the AMERICAN EDUCATION system abandoned in the 1970s and 1980s in favor of STANDARDIZED testing...
The Detroit Public Schools were world class in the 1950s and many European schools came to DPS to "learn" how education was done.
I would definately have to say that South Carolina is the best state for education. The reason why I am saying this is because when I was at USC, the University of South Carolina, my professors always mentioned that SC is number one in terms of teacher accountability.
I think it is way more important to look at the individual school district than the state as a whole. If you have that kind of flexibility, find a state that you like and find a school district within it. Every state has some very bad school districts and states not typically recognized for their education has some great school districts. My state is a perfect example, SC I think we can all agree is not known for the best public education but I happen to live in one of the best school districts in the country. And there is more than one school district that also lives up to that as well in SC.
::nodnod::
There are a number of states who fit that caution: North Carolina isn't usually on the top five lists, but Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools are quite good.
Are you basing this opinion on one teacher that you know? Certainly you have not met "most teachers in Fairfax".
What was going on that she couldn't handle?
No, but that was the general attitude from people from there when I was in graduate school at VT.
We had a student with Autism. She couldn't handle the situation, she could handle the mom at the IEP or the fact that mom brought a lawyer and she couldn't follow through with things. She started threatening to quit. She thought she was indispensible, but no one is.
and summary data. State Highlights Reports
Looking for detailed state data? The State Highlights Reports assemble findings on each of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia and compare individual state data to national data.
I would definately have to say that South Carolina is the best state for education. The reason why I am saying this is because when I was at USC, the University of South Carolina, my professors always mentioned that SC is number one in terms of teacher accountability.
You are joking.........right?
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