I mean, with an unlimited budget (which, LOLOLOLOLOL), I'd love to see schools act as community center. The ideal school for me would have a basic health clinic, night classes for parents, a daycare... it's been done in some rare instances, but I don't think we could ever do it here. If we could address an entire family's physiological and schedule needs in one building, that would solve some of the issues I see on a daily basis with my kiddos.
Post by W.T.Faulkner on Mar 18, 2016 10:15:07 GMT -5
I also want to echo what my fellow counselor killercupcake said about parent involvement. My experience with my students' parents is that the majority of them are invested as much as an overwhelmed single parent with two jobs can be. And on top of their tenuous financial situations, many of my students' parents are dealing with chronic health issues of their own, or of an elderly parent, without help.
I'm going to approach this topic from my personal thoughts based on my experiences.
I have had a crappy experience as a parent.
Never were the expectations for kindergarten outlined to me as a parent prior to my first child entering kindergarten. His play-based preschool didn't prepare him at all, for what was essentially first grade. And he's suffered due to that and a lack of ability of the school to "close the gap".
Also, his school has not retained any student for at least nine years. Some states have a make or break year, typically third grade, where students are assessed and then retained if they are not at a minimal level. CT does not. Some schools will offer a 12-month guarantee that a struggling student will be brought up to grade level in reading. A blanket policy that always socially promotes, to me indicates no subtle per-student judgment being made.
I think school sucks. From my vantage point it seems like my particular elementary is serving a very narrow category of student, neither exceptional or struggling. This middle of the road student is best served, but those advanced students and students who are "behind" aren't served that well at all.
There is social curriculum at our school and I think that is helpful and a good development from when I attended elementary, but I'm not sure it gets to the core of social issues that students might be facing.
Two out of three of my children have negative feelings regarding school. One feels that it is a place where a person is simply told what to do all day, just a place to be ordered around.
I mean, with an unlimited budget (which, LOLOLOLOLOL), I'd love to see schools act as community center. Â The ideal school for me would have a basic health clinic, night classes for parents, a daycare... it's been done in some rare instances, but I don't think we could ever do it here. Â If we could address an entire family's physiological and schedule needs in one building, that would solve some of the issues I see on a daily basis with my kiddos.
No, I definitely figured. Just the concept was so interesting so thought i would inquire.
Just curious, is tech ( basically, a school that offer tech programs like, haircutting, early-nursing, car tech etc.) in other states?
Out of everything, I thought our schools offering this as an alternative was amazing. Those in tech spent half the day in the classroom then was bussed out. They taught training in some many different areas and have to say a lot of my friends from high school who NEVER gave a fuck about high school, let alone college, benefited so deeply from this.
What are the educators and counselors in this thread going to do with their own children's education? killercupcake? @kirkette? tators?
My mom taught in an inner city school and can echoes so many of these stories. Buying pencils and notebooks, trying to help kids who's parents are nowhere to be found, always having a drawer of sandwhich bread and jelly on her classroom for kids who didn't have food, getting yelled at when calling parents to ask about a student being absent for two weeks, etc. So many kids have no chance to succeed in life. It's infuriating and so sad.
I currently live in Boston. Our boys are in private preschool now and we will be enrolling them into private elementary school. Schools in MA are rated pretty highly overall, but the city schools are not. I worry that even with involved parents like we would be, the boys would not get a decent education because of so many of the stories in this thread. Plus experiences that echo them told to me by people who have children in. public school here.
Even the stellar districts have their issues with over crowding and manipulation of data. Parents hire tutors even in those districts.
I was prepared for college but I went to a mix of private schools, schools abroad, and one of the top 100 public schools in the U.S. I was amazed at some of my fellow freshman who could not write a 5 paragraph essay. I was blown away and so naive about education back then.
I think a partial solution is Voc-tech schools. I have students that aren't going to college and a program to help them get a decent paying job is so much more valuable to them than taking trig in hs. You know?
At the younger level- bring back more outside time and less homework. That's not what kids need. They need to experience life- if that includes after school programs teaching them hands on experience, or maybe getting to spend more time with their families- I just think that's so much better than worksheets and busy work. Although- I do think reading should be encouraged at home at every level.
Bring back field trips and art, music, whatever programs.
I just asked the question. More than half my class went to tech for most of high school and i can truly say that most of them are still working in the same field.
Post by killercupcake on Mar 18, 2016 10:55:03 GMT -5
We're planning on leaving the state, honestly. If we stayed here in Vegas, I'd push really hard for magnet schools if we couldn't afford private. Like I said upthread, the school I work at has a great math, science, and technology magnet. So I do know that good schools exist and I work at one, but in general, the state of education here is dismal at best.
There's no money, teacher turnover is high, and the number of unqualified teachers is going up.
Post by Doggy Mommy on Mar 18, 2016 10:55:44 GMT -5
A big problem in my district is that funding was cut when the economy tanked, but now that the economy is back up, funding is not back up. Schools try to make up for the lack of funding through fundraisers and auctions. My school is in a wealthy neighborhood and makes 150k at the auction and the school can still afford a lot of things other schools can't. But if your school isn't in the wealthiest area, they can't raise as much money and it has a direct impact on students.
For example I have a girl struggling in math. In addition to me working with her, we have an aide working with her an extra 30 minutes a day and it makes a huge difference. She wouldn't get that help at a school that can't raise 150 thousand dollars to hire extra help, or a highly impacted school where a kid struggling a bit in math is nothing compared to what many of the kids are going through. She is getting a better education due to living in a wealthier neighborhood. Income inequality starts very early in life.
Here's one solution... Get rid of the stupid testing and give that money directly to schools to lower class sizes and hire the help they need. I'm not saying that will solve everything of course... It's just a very tiny start.
Just curious, is tech ( basically, a school that offer tech programs like, haircutting, early-nursing, car tech etc.) in other states?
Out of everything, I thought our schools offering this as an alternative was amazing. Those in tech spent half the day in the classroom then was bussed out. They taught training in some many different areas and have to say a lot of my friends from high school who NEVER gave a fuck about high school, let alone college, benefited so deeply from this.
We have tech schools here. They're a great option for students who don't want to go down the traditional college track. But they're the same as all magnet schools here in that you enter what is essentially a lottery and you may or may not get in.
A big problem in my district is that funding was cut when the economy tanked, but now that the economy is back up, funding is not back up. Schools try to make up for the lack of funding through fundraisers and auctions. My school is in a wealthy neighborhood and makes 150k at the auction and the school can still afford a lot of things other schools can't. But if your school isn't in the wealthiest area, they can't raise as much money and it has a direct impact on students.
For example I have a girl struggling in math. In addition to me working with her, we have two aides who work with her an extra 30 minutes a day and it makes a huge difference. She wouldn't get that help at a school that can't raise 150 thousand dollars to hire extra help, or a highly impacted school where a kid struggling a bit in math is nothing compared to what many of the kids are going through. She is getting a better education due to living in a wealthier neighborhood. Income inequality starts very early in life.
Here's one solution... Get rid of the stupid testing and give that money directly to schools to lower class sizes and hire the help they need. I'm not saying that will solve everything of course... It's just a very tiny start.
Our state would've saved 51 million dollars if we didn't have the state mandated standardized testing.
That's how much the contract with the data corporation was.
It blows my mind every time I think about it. Which is often, because I'm the damn testing coordinator.
Our state would've saved 51 million dollars if we didn't have the state mandated standardized testing.
That's how much the contract with the data corporation was.
It blows my mind every time I think about it. Which is often, because I'm the damn testing coordinator.
Omgah with the fucking testing, data and push for technology bullshit. Our kids don't need that- they need a good lunch, fresh air, and some music programs or anything really. Ugh
That isn't even including PSAT or ACT. I have no idea what those contracts cost the state. I have a feeling it will make me physically ill if I found out.
I feel like I can't contribute to this thread because I'm so out of touch. I teach in an urban private school (pk-8) with an incredibly affluent community. My husband is the tech admin at a 6-12 private school down the street (where they provide financial aid for families making less than $250k). These are the schools our kids will go to. H and I were just discussing the other day, how mind-blowingly privileged our boys are to have these opportunities, which are largely accidental. Neither H nor I set out to find jobs in these schools, but this is where we landed, and it's where we'll stay until our kids are through the system. H and I are both products of mediocre public schools.
I'm horrified by what all of you are posting, not because I haven't heard these stories, but because they seem so widespread.
WOT?* , we have a ton of stuff-- primarily class sets of books-- that we are looking to donate. I'm also happy to help pay for a kindle. Do you have someone I can connect with to talk about books (or is there a need there? Some of them are older, but the literature and grammar textbooks are only 4ish years old)?
Oh, I forgot, but your post reminded me, looseseal , that she also said that she is now in a team teaching format with a coteacher. But she was frustrated by what she felt was its ineffectiveness. She thought she could easily manage 15 kids in a class, no matter what sort of personalized approaches any might need, but 30 kids with two teachers wasn't proportionally manageable in a direct conversion, if that makes sense.
We have this, as part of our inclusion model. Math and ELA grade level (so, not honors or gifted & talented) teachers get a special ed co-teacher. Their classes are small, around 25 kids (for middle school). However, that doesn't translate well into Science and Social Studies. We end up having 30-32 students in our classrooms, and I, personally, have no additional support. My co-worker, who has some of the lower kids in her Social Studies classes, gets 20 minutes a day with additional help - from aides that don't know the content. It's useless.
We're struggling now with a grade floor for individual grades. So, a kid doesn't turn in an assignment, they get a 61 instead of a 0. Kid cheats? They get a 61. Basically, they can do nothing, pass one test or assignment, and pass with a 70. I used to have maybe 5 or 6 students (out of 120) that I had to constantly hound for work. Now? I have at least 60 kids that aren't doing assignments IN CLASS. I don't even assign homework because they don't do it. My school also has the highest passing rates for a public middle school on standardized tests in the STATE, with very few kids living in poverty. I can't wait to see how badly our scores tank after this initiative. I had 5% of my students not meet the state standards last year, and I'm estimating that number will be closer to 20% this year. If the kids aren't required to do the work, they won't, and then they can't take a test that's used to grade ME and MY effectiveness as a teacher.
And then we wonder why students can graduate high school, get into college, and then drop out because they're illiterate. Or why teachers burn out in droves. Educrats are some of the worst people in the entire world, because they truly fuck up the future of our society.
sugarbear I'm doing a book drive at our school for the Title 1s in our neighborhood. If you want me to pick them up or we can meet in the middle somewhere. What they can't use I can donate to our Friends of the Library. I'll talk to my friend who is on the state PTA and active on the council as well, as well as our current President who was our council President last year. PM me with the details. The district is moving from paper to technology so I don't know what they'd want or need re: textbooks. Our drives are for classroom libraries for free/independent reading.
I'm hoping that the company I talked with will support the Kindles so fingers crossed. The young lady I spoke with sounded promising, and suggested I submit the request in writing, which I did yesterday (along with donating half the funds for the Scholastic News the class wanted, with bestschoolday matching.) I'm *hoping* they'll one-up and give them better or more than they're looking for. If I don't hear from them in the next couple weeks, I'll be sure to hit you up. 3:)
How did moot court go? I'm sure I missed it. Darn being sick and hacking for so long.
You've done an amazing job, considering the "mediocre" schools you went to. I know where you went to college, after all, and it's not mediocre. lol.
Post by DotAndBuzz on Mar 18, 2016 11:52:50 GMT -5
If we could address poverty, that would be a huge help. As others have said, so many problems stem from this, and it feeds into itself. Parents are working 2-3 jobs to pay for basic necessities, so yes, they're going to miss phone calls, and conferences, and no, the kids aren't going to be well behaved because the parent.isn't.home. Hell, I'm exhausted taking care of the house and kids, and I don't even have ONE job, let alone 3!
Another example - Kids don't have basic necessities at home, let alone "scholarly" tools like laptops, printers, internet access, etc. For many kids their only meals are the ones they eat at school, and they don't even have laundry detergent at home because that costs too much $$. Maybe they get a job when they're old enough to help with the bills, but it interferes with school hours/leaves them with too few hours to do homework and sleep, and suddenly education is a luxury that they literally cannot afford.
Then there's the politics and focus on test scores, and the fact that testing companies are making BANK on the huge push for "accountability" and "data," and that they are a huge lobby behind this political movement. States/districts buy their test, buy their books so kids can pass their test. Then the company changes the name of the test, tweaks a few things, and now the districts have to buy all new shit....yeah.
Throw in a side of institutional racism, and kids who come to kindergarten unable to point to A letter or A number (not even a specific one) because there's piss poor workplace and early childhood support for parents and kids ages 0-5 (unless you can pay for it), and yes, it's bad.
Sure, there are always going to be parents who think that their little angel would NEVER pick a fight, or whatever, but the majority of problems with public education do not originate with the parents or teachers.
Post by formerlyak on Mar 18, 2016 11:55:16 GMT -5
I think my perspective is different than some here, because I am not in a district where people are working multiple jobs to put food on the table, etc. In my district, the parents are around. Even two working parents, which is our situation, the parents are around. They help with homework. They volunteer in the classrooms. They coach the teams. But they do too much! I know many who actually do their kid's homework for them because "they got home so late after sports practice there was just no other way. Don't the teachers understand their kids have sports or dance or whatever?"
Our district isn't short on money. In fact, our city recently voted for two different tax increases to pump more money into the schools - and that's before the PTAs and Ed Foundation put that money in. We have awesome teachers.
I have friends who live in neighboring districts who are thinking of renting a studio apartment in my city to the tune of $1200+ per month so their kid can go to our public high school (it is the only way to get in because we are so full they aren't granting any permits).
But so many of the parents aren't letting the kids make mistakes. Aren't letting their kids do the work. Aren't letting their kids actually LEARN. They go into the classrooms and critique how the teachers are teaching long division (I kid you not a friend of mine did this last week, and when she was telling me about it it was clear that she simply didn't understand the math so she assumed the teacher was doing it wrong).
And the parents are so involved and their kid is so wonderful, that the district will no longer separate out the gifted and talented kids except for one 8-week class after school like they did when I was a kid (I went to school in this district), because parents complain that it makes their special snowflake fell bad to not be in the GATE class. So those kids, many of whom do put in the work and are frustrated in their classes, start to slack. So the over involvement of parents is hurting other students.
Luckily, as DS gets older and they have more actual tests they have to study for and do on their own in the classroom, it becomes more and more apparent which kids do their own work and which kids have parents doing their work. And our new grading rubric only allows teachers to give a top grade in any area to a student who can actually explain the concepts to peers (though some teachers fudge this one out of fear of parents complaining).
So yes, that was my long winded way of saying the system needs help - but the reasons are different depending on where you are at.
@kirkette can likely chime in on the type of district I am speaking about.
Never were the expectations for kindergarten outlined to me as a parent prior to my first child entering kindergarten. His play-based preschool didn't prepare him at all, for what was essentially first grade. And he's suffered due to that and a lack of ability of the school to "close the gap".
Also, his school has not retained any student for at least nine years. Some states have a make or break year, typically third grade, where students are assessed and then retained if they are not at a minimal level. CT does not. Some schools will offer a 12-month guarantee that a struggling student will be brought up to grade level in reading. A blanket policy that always socially promotes, to me indicates no subtle per-student judgment being made.
And THIS? This makes me rage. Because if a kid isn't reading by 3rd grade, teaching him the same 3rd grade material isn't going to do jack. If schools want to focus on meeting a minimum standard by a certain point, there needs to be a MUCH earlier point of retention, smaller class sizes, and/or loads more access to early childhood education. Not every child needs to be reading fluently when they enter Kindergarten, but if they're not able to read in 2nd grade, don't keep pushing them forward to waste another year, and set them up to fail the high-stakes test.
And so much this- I cringe when people say, "it's a top rated school, they have this many stars" ratings don't mean anything besides they have an admin good at distorting numbers and if we're talking about high graduation rates- they are probably good at pushing teachers Into passing the failing kids.
Former US Education Secretary Arne Duncan, said it best (all though it likely cost him his job),
"It's fascinating to me that some of the [Common Core Standards ] push back is coming from, sort of, white suburban moms who -all of a sudden- their child isn't as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn't quite as good as they thought they were, and that's pretty scary. You've bet your house, and where you live and everything on, 'My child's going to be prepared.' That can be a punch in the gut."
This describes some moms in my district. They don't take the time to understand the Common Core standards - they just complain because their child isn't doing as well as they think their child should.
I think a partial solution is Voc-tech schools. I have students that aren't going to college and a program to help them get a decent paying job is so much more valuable to them than taking trig in hs. You know?
Our district has this and has had it for decades. Actually I think students from several districts in the area can participate. They take their "core" classes at their high school in the morning and then go to the vocational school in the afternoons. I have friends from high school who went this route and are doing quite well for themselves now as adults.
Former US Education Secretary Arne Duncan, said it best (all though it likely cost him his job),
"It's fascinating to me that some of the [Common Core Standards ] push back is coming from, sort of, white suburban moms who -all of a sudden- their child isn't as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn't quite as good as they thought they were, and that's pretty scary. You've bet your house, and where you live and everything on, 'My child's going to be prepared.' That can be a punch in the gut."
This describes some moms in my district. They don't take the time to understand the Common Core standards - they just complain because their child isn't doing as well as they think their child should.
Aaaaaand this is why I'll be working in city schools until I die, lol. I don't encounter this at all. Give me kids who are academically behind or rowdy or whatever. I'll take them any day. But parents like this? Noooooo no no no no.
If we could address poverty, that would be a huge help. As others have said, so many problems stem from this, and it feeds into itself. Parents are working 2-3 jobs to pay for basic necessities, so yes, they're going to miss phone calls, and conferences, and no, the kids aren't going to be well behaved because the parent.isn't.home. Hell, I'm exhausted taking care of the house and kids, and I don't even have ONE job, let alone 3!
Another example - Kids don't have basic necessities at home, let alone "scholarly" tools like laptops, printers, internet access, etc. For many kids their only meals are the ones they eat at school, and they don't even have laundry detergent at home because that costs too much $$. Maybe they get a job when they're old enough to help with the bills, but it interferes with school hours/leaves them with too few hours to do homework and sleep, and suddenly education is a luxury that they literally cannot afford.
Then there's the politics and focus on test scores, and the fact that testing companies are making BANK on the huge push for "accountability" and "data," and that they are a huge lobby behind this political movement. States/districts buy their test, buy their books so kids can pass their test. Then the company changes the name of the test, tweaks a few things, and now the districts have to buy all new shit....yeah.
Throw in a side of institutional racism, and kids who come to kindergarten unable to point to A letter or A number (not even a specific one) because there's piss poor workplace and early childhood support for parents and kids ages 0-5 (unless you can pay for it), and yes, it's bad.
Sure, there are always going to be parents who think that their little angel would NEVER pick a fight, or whatever, but the majority of problems with public education do not originate with the parents or teachers.
YES. Have you read A Framework for Understanding Poverty (Ruby Payne)? Based on your post, you probably have...or at least you get it.
sugarbear I'm doing a book drive at our school for the Title 1s in our neighborhood. If you want me to pick them up or we can meet in the middle somewhere. What they can't use I can donate to our Friends of the Library. I'll talk to my friend who is on the state PTA and active on the council as well, as well as our current President who was our council President last year. PM me with the details. The district is moving from paper to technology so I don't know what they'd want or need re: textbooks. Our drives are for classroom libraries for free/independent reading.
I'm hoping that the company I talked with will support the Kindles so fingers crossed. The young lady I spoke with sounded promising, and suggested I submit the request in writing, which I did yesterday (along with donating half the funds for the Scholastic News the class wanted, with bestschoolday matching.) I'm *hoping* they'll one-up and give them better or more than they're looking for. If I don't hear from them in the next couple weeks, I'll be sure to hit you up. 3:)
How did moot court go? I'm sure I missed it. Darn being sick and hacking for so long.
You've done an amazing job, considering the "mediocre" schools you went to. I know where you went to college, after all, and it's not mediocre. lol.
I'll go up to our store room in a bit and will send you pictures / titles of everything we have. I'll PM you. Also, do you know what grade levels? Should I make a school-wide request? The ones I have access to are all 5th grade to 8th grade.
Moot court was awesome, although we acquitted Jackson (it's Martin Van Buren's fault, after all, since he was ACTUALLY president during the Trail of Tears. All the jurors basically said that Jackson was a horrible person and this was a shameful event in American history, but that legally, they couldn't hold Jackson responsible.). I love the whole project, but it sure is a relief when it's over. Now my students are writing letters to the publisher of our history texts because the chapter on slavery is completely white-washed.
I did go to a good school, but it's because-- as we've seen in this thread-- I had family who supported me and who had high expectations and high involvement.
If we could address poverty, that would be a huge help. As others have said, so many problems stem from this, and it feeds into itself. Parents are working 2-3 jobs to pay for basic necessities, so yes, they're going to miss phone calls, and conferences, and no, the kids aren't going to be well behaved because the parent.isn't.home. Hell, I'm exhausted taking care of the house and kids, and I don't even have ONE job, let alone 3!
Another example - Kids don't have basic necessities at home, let alone "scholarly" tools like laptops, printers, internet access, etc. For many kids their only meals are the ones they eat at school, and they don't even have laundry detergent at home because that costs too much $$. Maybe they get a job when they're old enough to help with the bills, but it interferes with school hours/leaves them with too few hours to do homework and sleep, and suddenly education is a luxury that they literally cannot afford.
Then there's the politics and focus on test scores, and the fact that testing companies are making BANK on the huge push for "accountability" and "data," and that they are a huge lobby behind this political movement. States/districts buy their test, buy their books so kids can pass their test. Then the company changes the name of the test, tweaks a few things, and now the districts have to buy all new shit....yeah.
Throw in a side of institutional racism, and kids who come to kindergarten unable to point to A letter or A number (not even a specific one) because there's piss poor workplace and early childhood support for parents and kids ages 0-5 (unless you can pay for it), and yes, it's bad.
Sure, there are always going to be parents who think that their little angel would NEVER pick a fight, or whatever, but the majority of problems with public education do not originate with the parents or teachers.
YES. Have you read A Framework for Understanding Poverty (Ruby Payne)? Based on your post, you probably have...or at least you get it.
I have not, but I went to a large urban school district where, with 2 teacher parents/incomes I was considered "really rich" My parents worked for the same district, and were not raking in suburban school level pay by any means, but in comparison to a lot of my classmates, I was. A lot of friends and relatives still work for that district, so I continue to hear how things have spiraled down, and it's heartbreaking. The passion that educators have is still there, despite what politicians (coughKASICHcough) tell you. But in so many cases their hands are tied by regulations and testing expectations, and when that's compounded with the cycle of poverty, the system is setting kids up to fail.
I started in an affluent district and now work in an urban district. They are both messed up. Yes poverty impacts educational performance but we all need to realize that the education system is fucked. There's too much testing, too little play and exploration, too many people with zero experience ad educators making policy, and too few people listening to the very concerned voices of educators.
I don't know where to start to improve things. Some days I feel like improving pat and supports for teachers is the starting point. Other days I think providing resources for families is the starting point. Sometimes class size looks like the issue and other times it's curriculum. It is depressing to work in education. I'm seriously considering getting out but then I feel like I become part of the problem by leaving.
I think a partial solution is Voc-tech schools. I have students that aren't going to college and a program to help them get a decent paying job is so much more valuable to them than taking trig in hs. You know?
At the younger level- bring back more outside time and less homework. That's not what kids need. They need to experience life- if that includes after school programs teaching them hands on experience, or maybe getting to spend more time with their families- I just think that's so much better than worksheets and busy work. Although- I do think reading should be encouraged at home at every level.
Bring back field trips and art, music, whatever programs.
I could not agree with you more re: vocational programs. The district I work for has the most incredible programs that train kids in welding, auto tech, building trades, cosmetology, and so many other areas so that they are prepared to find a good job after graduation.
I think it's a huge mistake to expect that every child will go to college and to try to educate with that as the end goal. There are so many kids who aren't "college material" for whatever reason, but that certainly doesn't mean that they can't be incredibly successful people. I know a master welder who was trained in a high school vocational program who makes nearly $100K a year.
I haven't read the whole thread, but I wonder how many of these issues are due to common core. I graduated from high school in 1999 (dear God!). I was in all honors and AP classes at a blue ribbon high school, got a 1500 on the SATs, and was in the top 10% of my class. I went to college on an academic scholarship and was in for such a shock. I did horribly my first semester! Some of that was due to being away from strict parents for the first time, but I was never really taught how to digest large amounts of information. I was awesome at rote memorization and taking tests, but I had no idea how to read large amounts of text in multiple courses, and remember them all. I was also surprisingly weak in reading comprehension, and tying concepts together.
I'm sure things are much worse with teachers feeling like they have to teach to these tests, but I remember feeling like high school doesn't really prepare kids for college or real life. I would love to see required financial management and basic home ec courses.
I haven't read the whole thread, but I wonder how many of these issues are due to common core. I graduated from high school in 1999 (dear God!). I was in all honors and AP classes at a blue ribbon high school, got a 1500 on the SATs, and was in the top 10% of my class. I went to college on an academic scholarship and was in for such a shock. I did horribly my first semester! Some of that was due to being away from strict parents for the first time, but I was never really taught how to digest large amounts of information. I was awesome at rote memorization and taking tests, but I had no idea how to read large amounts of text in multiple courses, and remember them all. I was also surprisingly weak in reading comprehension, and tying concepts together.
I'm sure things are much worse with teachers feeling like they have to teach to these tests, but I remember feeling like high school doesn't really prepare kids for college or real life. I would love to see required financial management and basic home ec courses.
In theory, this is exactly what Common Core is supposed to help prevent. If it is implemented correctly, Common Core should allow students to learn to better digest material, apply what they learn across subjects/disciplines and problem solve using previously learned skills.
The problem here, as I see it, is Common Core is new and schools are learning how to best implement it. There are tons of curricula out there to be used, but not all are created equal. Add to that parents who don't like change and see it as scary, instead of doing the research to see how their child might actually benefit from many of the Common Core principles. And then in districts like mine, add in parents with either too much time on their hands or nothing better to worry about, and Common Core becomes the devil because they don't immediately understand it.
I haven't read the whole thread, but I wonder how many of these issues are due to common core. I graduated from high school in 1999 (dear God!). I was in all honors and AP classes at a blue ribbon high school, got a 1500 on the SATs, and was in the top 10% of my class. I went to college on an academic scholarship and was in for such a shock. I did horribly my first semester! Some of that was due to being away from strict parents for the first time, but I was never really taught how to digest large amounts of information. I was awesome at rote memorization and taking tests, but I had no idea how to read large amounts of text in multiple courses, and remember them all. I was also surprisingly weak in reading comprehension, and tying concepts together.
I'm sure things are much worse with teachers feeling like they have to teach to these tests, but I remember feeling like high school doesn't really prepare kids for college or real life. I would love to see required financial management and basic home ec courses.
I always wonder about colleges saying how the high school kids come in totally unprepared. How much of it is really academically unprepared vs. kids going a bit crazy at their first chance of freedom? I graduated in the 90's from what is now considered a great high school, but back then it was known for being a bit of a dump and people avoided sending their kids there. I took 1 AP class and 1 college prep class my senior year, then some of my other classes were things like ASB (cheer) and being a TA. I kicked ass at college. My college GPA was higher than my high school GPA, and this was at the top public university in the state. I felt totally prepared. Anecdotes, I know, but still.
I'm a teacher an my daughter attends my school. It is not our neighborhood school, but I brought her here to save $ on daycare. Plus this is the neighborhood we would ultimately like to live in.
If money was no object (hahahaha) I think a lot of school issues could be fixed with smaller class sizes. Even just dropping from 25 to 18-20 kids would make an amazing difference in what I could do and how much time I could spend with each kid. The problem is that now on paper it looks like that's what the class sizes are here because they include the ELL and Resource Teachers. So basically, they take the total number of kids and divide it by the total number of certified teachers in the building, and boom! We have a class size of 17 kids/teacher on paper. But in reality I have 25 kids with groups of 2-3 kids that get pulled for 20 minutes sporadically throughout the day. It would be totally different if there really were enough teachers (and classrooms!) to actually have 17 kids per class.
OK, I think I'm rambling. It's been a long week with second graders...