Re: What do they Teach in our Schools..??

Posted by john d - Gotta say this.. on February 19, 2004 at 06:22:36 from (157.91.115.43):

In Reply to: What do they Teach in our Schools..?? posted by Ron on February 18, 2004 at 09:48:15:

I generally try to stay out of discussions like this, but since this one's been pretty civil so far, I'll participate.
I've been a public school teacher for 37 years. I've loved it. The days have been long, the pay low, and the rewards are many. Summers have been enjoyed, but have been filled with work to make ends meet.
Public schools have lots of problems in many places across this country. Public education has become a political football. Standards-based assessments are put in place, but funding is often not there to remediate those who need the help. Class sizes vary greatly, and DO affect the teacher's ability to connect with all students, but an even greater problem is the wide range of kids' needs within a single class.
In some districts, many kids get their one decent meal a day in the school cafeteria. It's hard to get the attention of a kid at 8:00 in the morning when he hasn't eaten much since yesterday noon.
Lots of kids (more than when most of us were in school) don't have the guidance and supervision from two parents at home. Most have never had the structure of daily chores like we farm kids had, hated, and benefitted from, decades ago.
It takes very little these days for a teacher to suddenly find himself/herself in a lawsuit. Many teachers join teachers' unions simply for the limited protection they provide in these circumtances. If the teacher is sued for something, the chances of having a sprited defense by the school system is often minimal.
I'm fortunate to be teaching in a system where parent support is pretty good, kids are well fed, and test scores are high. This "No Child Left Behind" debate needs more discussion, but it certainly doesn't amount to lowering standards to guarantee success. It generally amounts to doing more with less. Our system typically leads our state in test scores for schools our size. The pressure to do more is still here. We're adding a foreign language REQUIREMENT for all 6th, 7th, 8th graders starting next year, and putting in one more period of English per day. This results in fewer chances to take electives, including my Tech Ed classes. Wise choice? Maybe, maybe not; but it's reality, so we deal with it.
Part of the problem with public schools is that EVERYONE who ever went to school is an instant expert. Unfortunately, many of the experts haven't been to a school for anything other than an athletic event since they left the place. Even more unfortunate is the propensity of these people to get elected to state legislatures and Congress!
If you don't do anything to support your local schools except pay taxes, find a way to get involved in some additional manner. Simply call your school and ask if you can visit sometime. See for yourself what is going on, and find out what the daily problems are. Schools are for more than the kids who attend and the people who work there. If you generally approve of the way your local schools are functioning, tell the folks in charge, and then find out what needs to be done to make them even better. If your local schools are a mess, make some reasonable effort to find out WHY, and push for change. Don't fall back on the excuse that you don't have time....when we're all closer to being out of time, those kids in the schools are the ones that will be paying the taxes, building the roads, growing our food, and taking care of us.

Follow Ups:

• Re: Re: What do they Teach in our Schools..?? Mark 13:02:05 02/20/04 (0)
• Re: Re: What do they Teach in our Schools..?? Steve from TN 19:34:46 02/19/04 (0)

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