LAUSD schools are underrated.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by genjy

I think most little kids are good students--they listen, they do their work, and they work well together.

Once the kids turn into teenagers, that's when the parents have to step up and support the value of education. If the parents never had a good education or didn't grow up respecting it, then their children most likely won't either.

This is mainly why schools in small affluent areas and districts produce higher test scores... they have more parents and children who care about education.

Los Angeles is a really diverse city, so many middle schools and high schools have children from all types of socioeconomic backgrounds, and unfortunately, this diversity can cause a lot of problems in the learning environment. LAUSD schools have are a lot of children who don't care about school, and then there are some who do--and it's the one who care about school who lose.

And that's why the comprehensive school model is such a failure beyond the elementary level - because it assumes all kids are alike from families that are alike. It is a product of an era when America was more homogenous with less economic disparity, and is thus outdated.

That's also the reason why charters and magnets always produce better results than public comprehensives. Even in those in which the test scores are no better, at least there is order.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by skyway31

It's not really the schools themselves or the teachers. It's the students that destroy the learning environment. Many kids growing up in difficult circumstances either do not care or do not understand how a classroom should operate. The result is you see classes plagued by countless disruptions by students, which destroys both lessons and overall morale. The teachers on the whole are every bit as qualified as those anywhere else.

The bureaucracy, the rules, and the general ideology of LAUSD (and other districts) encourage that. As well as the way teachers are trained and the prevailing cultural norms in education departments. How the Schools Shortchange Boys by Gerry Garibaldi, City Journal Summer 2006

[silverkris]

Anybody have any experience with Hobart Elementary School, where Rafe Esquith, a 5th grade teacher, teaches? Esquith is the author of Teach Like Your Hair is on Fire, apparently he's been able to get pretty good results with a largely minority, ELL, low-income student population.

[skyway31]

Originally Posted by genjy

I think most little kids are good students--they listen, they do their work, and they work well together.

Once the kids turn into teenagers, that's when the parents have to step up and support the value of education. If the parents never had a good education or didn't grow up respecting it, then their children most likely won't either.

This is mainly why schools in small affluent areas and districts produce higher test scores... they have more parents and children who care about education.

Los Angeles is a really diverse city, so many middle schools and high schools have children from all types of socioeconomic backgrounds, and unfortunately, this diversity can cause a lot of problems in the learning environment. LAUSD schools have are a lot of children who don't care about school, and then there are some who do--and it's the one who care about school who lose.

Yep.