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So instead of praising the president for trying to reform public schools, you bash him.
I guess you would rather have a reason to complain and see children fail. I know a lot of conservatives here have issues with public schools so I do not understand why Obama wanting to reform it rises even more annoyance in you.
It seems like you can never please Conservatives.
So what do YOU want Obama to do?
You mean like when Bush tried to reform schools. It was the first major thing he did in office. Liberals bashed him. I guess you libs would rather have a reason to complain and see children fail.
Sure .. School reform would be a great idea, in as much as they need to get out from under all of those teacher workshop holidays, 3 day weekends, and maybe getting back to the basics, like teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic again.
Even better still ... reform the Department of education itself ... Over the years, the Dept gets more and more money, but nothing improves on the education scene.
Sending a kid to school for a longer period of time won't fix anything. It'll just subject them to more of the same, rather inept, educational system, we already have.
I would of rather privatize education and allow parents to choose their schools but I do like the Obama education plan (I do oppose the socialistic Obama government health care plan)... I like to point out the few things mentioned in the article...we should NOT be comparing other countries to our own... other cultures taking education very seriously whereas our culture does not... do not compare apples to birds...
1) Full year schooling: I like it! That's how schools should be run from the beginning... I understand back in the old days, kids were suppose to help harvest and stuff but we've grown beyond farming communities... Education doesn't stop at the beginning of summer... More is done with a longer period to study the material
2) Longer school days: I like this as well! Parents work 8 hour days 9-5... kids school days ends around 3 PM... that's two hours of time that parents don't get to keep an eye on their kids... besides that... the extra two hours can be EXTREMELY useful... imagine one hour devoted to "mentoring" where kids can help kids with various subjects... another hour could be devoted exercise regimen to help keep kids healthy! Or you could offer additional classes for kids who need remediation without holding them back a year... or offer advance placement classes for kids who are great in school and can take advantage of starting earlier...
3) Open weekends?: I am not so crazy about this one because there is less bang for the buck... who is going to supervise the kids? Weekends = increased taxpayer liability... I think if there is a weekend open, it should be community sponsored (ie local property taxes voted on by the community)....
The disadvantage would be of course, the cost ... teachers don't want to work for free and expect to be paid adequately for their time... Teacher's pay varies so much due to different costs of living in various regions... Considering they worked "six-hour" days and work only 3/4 a year... I would have to look at pay schedules more carefully so that they aren't way overpaid and aren't given the shaft either... Principals and Superintendents on the otherhand are grossly overpaid...
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,016,008 times
Reputation: 36027
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jill61
Unbelievable. So now extending maths and sciences and such is "indoctrination," but injecting the bible and creationism is just peachy.
Man, I hope we keep the Republican party out of control forever and ever.
The schools aren't focusing enough attention to the math and sciences so extending the school year will not change that fact. True reform means curriculum overhaul and more of an emphasis on sciences, math, writing, reading, critical thinking and other skills that are needed for higher education.
Please don't lump all conservatives into one box. I'm thankful that Obama is looking at ways of reforming our schools. I think disbanding the teacher's union would be a good start and revamping the curriculum to get children focused on the basics. Academic excellences also needs to be emphasized more instead of lowering the curriculum to meet the needs of low achievers as you can remediate them separately without holding the normal and high achievers back.
While the union has screwed up, I do not think it should be disbanded. I think the union should stop protecting inept members. Teachers are paid so poorly, they need some protections that the union affords them.
Focusing on the basics is also an overused slogan. Focus on the basics long enough and the kids are bored and climbing the walls and impossible to manage.
If you are going to staff classrooms of 35 with one individual, you are going to hold back normal and high acheivers. Shrink the class sizes and get the parents involved.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,016,008 times
Reputation: 36027
Quote:
Originally Posted by evilnewbie
I would of rather privatize education and allow parents to choose their schools but I do like the Obama education plan (I do oppose the socialistic Obama government health care plan)... I like to point out the few things mentioned in the article...we should NOT be comparing other countries to our own... other cultures taking education very seriously whereas our culture does not... do not compare apples to birds...
1) Full year schooling: I like it! That's how schools should be run from the beginning... I understand back in the old days, kids were suppose to help harvest and stuff but we've grown beyond farming communities... Education doesn't stop at the beginning of summer... More is done with a longer period to study the material
2) Longer school days: I like this as well! Parents work 8 hour days 9-5... kids school days ends around 3 PM... that's two hours of time that parents don't get to keep an eye on their kids... besides that... the extra two hours can be EXTREMELY useful... imagine one hour devoted to "mentoring" where kids can help kids with various subjects... another hour could be devoted exercise regimen to help keep kids healthy! Or you could offer additional classes for kids who need remediation without holding them back a year... or offer advance placement classes for kids who are great in school and can take advantage of starting earlier...
3) Open weekends?: I am not so crazy about this one because there is less bang for the buck... who is going to supervise the kids? Weekends = increased taxpayer liability... I think if there is a weekend open, it should be community sponsored (ie local property taxes voted on by the community)....
The disadvantage would be of course, the cost ... teachers don't want to work for free and expect to be paid adequately for their time... Teacher's pay varies so much due to different costs of living in various regions... Considering they worked "six-hour" days and work only 3/4 a year... I would have to look at pay schedules more carefully so that they aren't way overpaid and aren't given the shaft either... Principals and Superintendents on the otherhand are grossly overpaid...
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,016,008 times
Reputation: 36027
Quote:
Originally Posted by odinloki1
While the union has screwed up, I do not think it should be disbanded. I think the union should stop protecting inept members. Teachers are paid so poorly, they need some protections that the union affords them.
Focusing on the basics is also an overused slogan. Focus on the basics long enough and the kids are bored and climbing the walls and impossible to manage.
If you are going to staff classrooms of 35 with one individual, you are going to hold back normal and high acheivers. Shrink the class sizes and get the parents involved.
Instead of lumping all kids together, maybe the classes should be split up between high achievers, normal achievers and low achievers (to be remediated). If the curriculum is lowered to constantly meet the needs of low achievers, don't you think that the other students will be climbing the walls with boredom? This is precisely why so many high IQ students underperform because they are not receiving the intellectual stimulation that they need to thrive academically. I was one of those students who had high potential but graduated from HS with a 2.75 average as I was not motivated to try harder due to boredom. As soon as I got to college (Thank GOD I miraculously got into a university instead of community college), I began to notice a sharp increase in my GPA due to the added rigors of college work.
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