passiton Posted January 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 and the curriculum is NOT interesting or relevant to the students lives. All things considered, i would say that's the biggest problem.. Agreed. The symposium I just went to was to get information and support for the school initiatitive that we are workingon: Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships. If it's not real and meaningful to a kid, it's pretty tugh for them to take it seriously. NOBODY here has a pass to blow out someone else's candle in order to make theirs shine brighter. TLDig[ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kneel Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 PS- check out "2 Million Minutes" Good stuff. It SHOULD be an eye-opener for folks but unfortunately will go mostly unnoticed by a nation who's number 1 export is entertainment. Though it doesn't quite expose the truths guiding the tragedy that is the NCLB act which should be public enemy number one. Kids shouldn't NEED to go to school all year round either. With all this emphasis on China and India, take a look at, of all places, Finland. Highest literacy scores in the world and yet they have a similar schedule as we have here in th US and their kids don't start school till AFTER their 7th birthday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishsticking Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 I know way back when I was in high school, the make up of the classes changed, instead of grouping students based on their abilities, each classroom had students of varying abilities. The result the teachers taught to the lowest denominator. My town schools now base classroom assignments based on academic ability and I think it is great. Our high school has 3 tracks for incoming students in the college preparatory program and the school has a very good record with seniors going on to and being accepted to the colleges of the students choice. My daughter is applying to Phillips Academy in Andover and if she gets accepted we will do what it takes to pay the tuition, but that said she will do fine in our local school system. I hope she does make our lives financially difficult and does get accepted to Phillips Academy, we will know soon enough ...... Just a couple of facts from the open house at Phillips Academy: They say they spend $66,000 per year per student Classroom size is typically 5 to 12 students depending on the subject. On a personal note, my daughter is required to complete all her homewrk before she is allowed to watch TV, go out and play etc after school. "meet our growth targets that put us on a pathway to growth." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HugeDinghy Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 and the curriculum is NOT interesting or relevant to the students lives. Agreed. The symposium I just went to was to get information and support for the school initiatitive that we are workingon: Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships. If it's not real and meaningful to a kid, it's pretty tugh for them to take it seriously. not seeing the relevance of coursework was in the top 3 reasons for dropping out...thats why work-based learning is so important, 'specially for gaining the skills necessary for competing in a 21st century economy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HugeDinghy Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 I know way back when I was in high school, the make up of the classes changed, instead of grouping students based on their abilities, each classroom had students of varying abilities. The result the teachers taught to the lowest denominator. My town schools now base classroom assignments based on academic ability and I think it is great. Our high school has 3 tracks for incoming students in the college preparatory program and the school has a very good record with seniors going on to and being accepted to the colleges of the students choice. My daughter is applying to Phillips Academy in Andover and if she gets accepted we will do what it takes to pay the tuition, but that said she will do fine in our local school system. I hope she does make our lives financially difficult and does get accepted to Phillips Academy, we will know soon enough ...... Just a couple of facts from the open house at Phillips Academy: They say they spend $66,000 per year per student Classroom size is typically 5 to 12 students depending on the subject. On a personal note, my daughter is required to complete all her homewrk before she is allowed to watch TV, go out and play etc after school. good luck to your daughter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
searchin Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 Dinghy, on a lighter note..."sweet tits"...classic!. Right up there with "twinkle toes", "numb nuts", ...Agree to disagree, agreed. Please just don't assume to know what kind of a teacher I am. You really can't assume to know the lenghths I go through for my kids both in the classroom and out. My kids. Most of them spend more time with me then they do with their own family. Shoot, I spend more time with them then my own family. I am with them 8 hours a day+. I am lucky if I see my kids awake for more then three hours a day during the week. The majority of educators out there go way above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to their students. I say this not for recogniton or credit, but to inform you that it is happening. There are some that need to get out, no doubt. But as mentioned earlier, I think that can be said about any profession. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HugeDinghy Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 Dinghy, on a lighter note..."sweet tits"...classic!. Right up there with "twinkle toes", "numb nuts", ...Agree to disagree, agreed. Please just don't assume to know what kind of a teacher I am. You really can't assume to know the lenghths I go through for my kids both in the classroom and out. My kids. Most of them spend more time with me then they do with their own family. Shoot, I spend more time with them then my own family. I am with them 8 hours a day+. I am lucky if I see my kids awake for more then three hours a day during the week. The majority of educators out there go way above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to their students. I say this not for recogniton or credit, but to inform you that it is happening. There are some that need to get out, no doubt. But as mentioned earlier, I think that can be said about any profession. this discussion is one of my "blow my top" topics..I might have been a little too specific to you..I apologize..it kills me to see the effects of dropping out and youth left behind by school systems..I shoulda been more general and less specific to you...my bad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passiton Posted January 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 here in th US and their kids don't start school till AFTER their 7th birthday. Which is probably why they score so high. There's some pretty good evidence out there against all the emphasis we place on early reading. Age 7 is a general benchmark for when many kids are actually ready to cognitivley process all the nec. info that reading requires. NOBODY here has a pass to blow out someone else's candle in order to make theirs shine brighter. TLDig[ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
searchin Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 LOL, obviously it is one of my "blow my top" topics as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HugeDinghy Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 LOL, obviously it is one of my "blow my top" topics as well! we may disagree but both want the same thing..so weez kewl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_M Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 The work not being relevant is an excuse, not a reason for poor performance. How does a 12 year old know what is relevant? How does a school district get away w/out being relevant to the students anyhow? Isn't the school system under local control? Don't the folks paying school taxes, more specifically the parents of school age children that are paying taxes, have a duty to make sure they get what they paid for? (OTOH maybe they ARE getting what they paid for.) See you on the big one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
passiton Posted January 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 The majority of educators out there go way above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to their students. I say this not for recogniton or credit, but to inform you that it is happening. There are some that need to get out, no doubt. But as mentioned earlier, I think that can be said about any profession. The problem is that we are not in a service profession in which the customer has the option to seek another provider. Pubic school teachers who don't pull their weight need to have their walking papers handed to them. Period. We get observed a few times a year and have the opportuinity to correct what may be lacking in our performance. My school budget is aorund 22 million dollars. 80% or so of that is salary and benefits, as it is in all public schools. We need to find a way (or ways) to do a better job with that kind of $. I could name 10 teachers in my building who are just taking up space, building a pension. At 100k or mnore each in salary and benefits, that's a million dollars in wasted money and hundreds of kids with wasted time and opportunity. NOBODY here has a pass to blow out someone else's candle in order to make theirs shine brighter. TLDig[ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kneel Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 Which is probably why they score so high. There's some pretty good evidence out there against all the emphasis we place on early reading. Age 7 is a general benchmark for when many kids are actually ready to cognitivley process all the nec. info that reading requires. Actually age has NOTHING to do with it. There have been numerous studies on the subject and they all attribute it to Finnish TV. CLOSED CAPTIONING. Almost all of the TV shows, mostly American shows btw, are shown there with captioning on. Kids start reading early because they are exposed to words early. That's the key. How can a child be engaged in a subject if he/she hasn't been exposed to the words, in turn not providing them the tools to even have a CHANCEto be successful in math, science, etc. How successful is a kid gonna be in math if they can't read a simple math problem... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HugeDinghy Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 there is damn near a civil war going on in my town as they try and get the teachers union to freeze pay and contribute to thier health insurance and pay co-pays..it has gotten very very ugly..check the providence journal website if interested.. might want to google "shift happens" if interested as well..it and "2 million minutes" would make excellent classroom exercises in terms of a watch and discuss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_M Posted January 27, 2009 Report Share Posted January 27, 2009 The problem is that we are not in a service profession in which the customer has the option to seek another provider. Pubic school teachers who don't pull their weight need to have their walking papers handed to them. Period. We get observed a few times a year and have the opportuinity to correct what may be lacking in our performance. My school budget is aorund 22 million dollars. 80% or so of that is salary and benefits, as it is in all public schools. We need to find a way (or ways) to do a better job with that kind of $. I could name 10 teachers in my building who are just taking up space, building a pension. At 100k or mnore each in salary and benefits, that's a million dollars in wasted money and hundreds of kids with wasted time and opportunity. What is the $$$/child/year spent in your district? See you on the big one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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