We need to be teaching how to think, rather than facts. Everyone has all the facts that ever existed in their pockets or on their wrists from now on. People don't know how to discriminate between good and bad sources of information. They don't know how to extract a main idea. They don't understand how to think scientifically. They don't know how to communicate effectively.
Absolutely! This is going to require much smaller class sizes so there can be enough interaction between students and teachers.
From watching my mom work as a teacher:
Get rid of the stereotype that teaching (especially elementary grades) is an "easy" job and that teachers are basically babysitters.
Pay teachers a living wage, equivalent with other professional positions
Provide the appropriate supplies needed so that teachers can put together interesting, engaging lessons. Also, no teacher should have to beg parents to provide tissues and cleaning supplies or should have to pay for materials and supplies out of their own pocket. This should be a built-in line item at all schools.
Enough substitute teachers so that teachers can take time off without burdening their colleagues to cover their classes
Adequate funding for social workers, psychologists, special education teachers and other support for kids and families with specific needs
question for those mentioning year-round school, does anyone have children in year round school? I have a few friends with kids who are doing this and they generally dislike it.
Why? I haven't heard a complaint from the ones I know.
Well that's not true, one has a student in a different district, so their children have different schedules (which is terrible).
my friend's complaints are mostly just managing schedules and also finding things (they offer a lot of paid camps) to do with their kids the off track weeks. Also yes, they do know someone who has kids on two different tracks, even though the schools try their best to avoid it, it does happen. We grew up on the traditional school calendar so they are used to one chunk of time for summer camps, or vacation rather than smaller 1-3 week breaks during the year. While in theory it makes for more flexibility, the off weeks don't always match up with a slow time at my friend's job. I have two friends with kids on a year round schedule so obviously they don't represent the general population so I was curious how others found it to be beneficial.
And I'm not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but I'd like to see a greater focus on/inclusion of life skills along the way. "Home Ec" (as they called it when I was in HS) should be broader and not framed as an elective for only those not on the college track. And my school certainly never taught anyone personal finance basics; I think that belongs in the mix, too. More work on study skills, too. I remember a big focus on grades and scores, but less concern for actual learning and success in a less-structured environment.
Post by formerlyak on Jan 27, 2021 13:38:10 GMT -5
Pilsy, I totally agree with the study skills comment. DS is in 9th and when he started middle school, I started working from home. He is very smart, so he always got glowing report cards in elementary school. Our elementary schools does standards-based comments based on individual meetings between the teachers and students to assess whether or not they have learned the skill. Our school hires subs so that teachers can pull kids during regular class time to do these assessments. It's really awesome. But then they get to middle school, and tests and grades happen, and even the smart kids realize they don't know how to study for a test. Luckily I work from home, so ds and I have spent a lot of time and energy on figuring out how he learns best and how that translates into studying - and it's quite different for each subject. But I am definitely in the minority first in being able to work from home and second in being able to teach that to my kid. Some kids at our school participate in AVID which does teach some of these skills as well, but there is a huge majority of kids who really never develop personal study and organization skills.
Post by irishbride2 on Jan 27, 2021 13:40:29 GMT -5
I kind of like a hybrid year-round school. I do like the idea of summer to get a bit of a break and allow for travel. But it doesn't need to be this long. Maybe 6 weeks? It also allows for summer jobs and such. But 12 weeks is crazy.
I think so many hate year-round school because society caters to traditional school. If EVERYONE was on the same schedule, it would be fine.
In addition to a lot of things that have been mentioned, we need food-free classes. It's frustrating how many people find themselves homeschooling because teachers use food, especially common allergens, in classrooms.
My junior high didn't have a cafeteria, we had to eat in our homerooms, so I know keeping food out of classrooms isn't always physically possible, but we need to not be using Goldfish crackers as math manipulatives.
Along with that, ban birthday food. It turns into an expensive Pinterest competition for a lot of parents and then kids with food allergies are left out, put at risk, or the target of frustrated parents who can't imagine a birthday without sending trays of food to school.
Plenty of schools manage it just fine. Others, like the school we had to leave, are dangerously close to killing a kid because Karen insisted on handing out a snack with peanuts.
Our school still allows it (although not this year) but I agree...one teacher I worked with used to just let the birthday kid bring in a special book to read aloud (this was grade 1). I think stuff like that and maybe a trip to the office for a sticker or a pencil is plenty for elementary kids.
What a fun thing to think about. I agree with so many things already here, including the dumping of standardized tests that only further divide students and progress and year-round school.
I'll add (and join in on): *complete overhaul of teacher prep programs, including at *least* an entire year of student teaching and higher standards for admission and completion *class sizes in ES at 15, MS at 18, HS at 20 *complete elimination of school choice - education should never be a free market endeavor *self-administering schools - taking the focus off of traditional methods of evaluation and oversight to include more teacher voice *pay teachers like professionals and then trust them to be professionals - the elimination of tenure, and the ability to fire teachers who are not professionals *provide continuing education for teachers/staff - not the stupid one day PD days. I mean college courses and trainings that improve instruction. Pay for them. Most teachers don't take that stuff because they can't afford it. Plus, paying money to make more money is a stupid concept. *also, I'd love to see a society where "I pay taxes so I decide what happens in schools" isn't a thing. Trust the professionals to do the job.
Why? I haven't heard a complaint from the ones I know.
Well that's not true, one has a student in a different district, so their children have different schedules (which is terrible).
my friend's complaints are mostly just managing schedules and also finding things (they offer a lot of paid camps) to do with their kids the off track weeks. Also yes, they do know someone who has kids on two different tracks, even though the schools try their best to avoid it, it does happen. We grew up on the traditional school calendar so they are used to one chunk of time for summer camps, or vacation rather than smaller 1-3 week breaks during the year. While in theory it makes for more flexibility, the off weeks don't always match up with a slow time at my friend's job. I have two friends with kids on a year round schedule so obviously they don't represent the general population so I was curious how others found it to be beneficial.
If everyone did it, then this would be a non-issue in the way a giant summer break is now.
We really need to stop thinking of schooling as childcare and more of a place for learning. Giant 12 week breaks are not conducive for maintaining and retaining material.
Post by formerlyak on Jan 27, 2021 14:03:22 GMT -5
With year round schools, how does summer school work? Here, a lot of high school kids take a summer course to free up room in their schedule for an extra elective or to get a prereq done. I used to take PE so I could take an extra elective during the year, otherwise I couldn't fit my drama class in every year. DS is planning on taking Algebra 2 this year so he can qualify to take AP Physics as a junior. There are plenty of kids who also do summer school to review concepts so they can be successful in the next level.
I kind of like a hybrid year-round school. I do like the idea of summer to get a bit of a break and allow for travel. But it doesn't need to be this long. Maybe 6 weeks? It also allows for summer jobs and such. But 12 weeks is crazy.
I think so many hate year-round school because society caters to traditional school. If EVERYONE was on the same schedule, it would be fine.
My kids went to a year round magnet school for the few years after it started. It wasn't their favorite school, (too many of the kids and teachers came from a school in a snooty area, and it was very clique-ish), but it was definitely their favorite schedule. It seemed like everyone was ready for a break when it was time, and ready to work when they came back.
They had 5 weeks off in the summer, which was plenty long. The other breaks were great...we particularly liked the one in the fall, because I t was a nice time to travel, both weather wise and crowd wise.
With year round schools, how does summer school work? Here, a lot of high school kids take a summer course to free up room in their schedule for an extra elective or to get a prereq done. I used to take PE so I could take an extra elective during the year, otherwise I couldn't fit my drama class in every year. DS is planning on taking Algebra 2 this year so he can qualify to take AP Physics as a junior. There are plenty of kids who also do summer school to review concepts so they can be successful in the next level.
Summer school courses for high school are only 4 weeks, usually. I also think expanding the opportunity to earn credit in areas in non-traditional ways would be a great option. Like "I trained for a half marathon this spring, so can I get PE credit" or "I did an independent math study at the local CC, so I'm ready for the next class" kind of things. eta: 4 week courses are the model here, and in districts I have been in, for summer school.
With year round schools, how does summer school work? Here, a lot of high school kids take a summer course to free up room in their schedule for an extra elective or to get a prereq done. I used to take PE so I could take an extra elective during the year, otherwise I couldn't fit my drama class in every year. DS is planning on taking Algebra 2 this year so he can qualify to take AP Physics as a junior. There are plenty of kids who also do summer school to review concepts so they can be successful in the next level.
IT depends on the district and the model. Some places have trimesters and the summer school is during the 6 week "summer vacation" or others where you take classes for 7 weeks at a time, which allows for students to take a whole ton of different courses, since they aren't a year long.
Post by ellipses84 on Jan 27, 2021 14:08:29 GMT -5
A bigger focus on ECE, like free preschool with options starting at age 2. This would also help solve some of the daycare issues in this country. Developmentally appropriate standards for Kindergarten.
Smaller class sizes for all, or full time teachers assistants (better teacher:student ratios).
I don’t mind focus schools like STEM or dual-language but I think due to budgets, it sacrifices all else. I’d like the return of a full curriculum - every school school should have music class, PE, science, a library, language options, etc. even if some isn’t weekly or daily exposure. I don’t like kids feeling like they have to choose a career or life path too early, and inevitably it means kids end up at schools that aren’t a great fit for them or never get the opportunity to experience things they may excel at.
This focus schools would need to be re-thought if we were going to get rid of choice/ waiver options. I’d definitely like to see it as the exception rather than the expected. I want to see equity and diversity in schools and I don’t know the best way to solve those issues, but they are still massive problems. I have mixed feelings about charter and private schools, because I don’t think one size fits all and options are good, but I don’t think they should have state funding and they should still have to comply with curriculum standards.
I don’t mind assessment tests, but I would get rid of standardized testing focused curriculum and funding based on test scores unless it’s to benefit those who need the most help.
Free before/after school care programs (our city has a program but the waiting list is huge). Ours also used remote learning as a chance to get rid of all the year round schools. Not sure the reasoning. I think it’s a challenge unless the whole city / large district is on the same schedule. I wouldn’t mind a 4-6 week summer break and other breaks during the year as long as camp options were available during off times (and could be tied to the free care programs for those in need). I also wouldn’t mind a longer school day if it meant more specials and more than kids just sitting at their desks.
Teach accurate history, not the whitewashed version. More diversity in all subjects. More useful life skills, like money management.
With year round schools, how does summer school work? Here, a lot of high school kids take a summer course to free up room in their schedule for an extra elective or to get a prereq done. I used to take PE so I could take an extra elective during the year, otherwise I couldn't fit my drama class in every year. DS is planning on taking Algebra 2 this year so he can qualify to take AP Physics as a junior. There are plenty of kids who also do summer school to review concepts so they can be successful in the next level.
Summer school courses for high school are only 4 weeks, usually. I also think expanding the opportunity to earn credit in areas in non-traditional ways would be a great option. Like "I trained for a half marathon this spring, so can I get PE credit" or "I did an independent math study at the local CC, so I'm ready for the next class" kind of things.
Here, summer school is 6-8 weeks depending on the class and if it is 1 semester or 2 semesters worth of coursework.
Post by gretchenindisguise on Jan 27, 2021 14:17:28 GMT -5
We have a modified year round and don't like it largely because of the hassle it causes in a two person working household and finding care during their off times.
Also our districts are weird here and our elementary schools are a district by themselves and the middle schools/high schools are in their own district.
They're on different schedules and once we have kids in both it's going to suuuuck.
So yes, if everyone was on the same and break period care was cheaper/easier to find it would be fine. But it's not currently and generally just makes my kids feel bad because their peers are traveling all over doing fun things and my kids are being shuttled between camps that are too expensive and with kids they don't know.
Post by DotAndBuzz on Jan 27, 2021 14:20:05 GMT -5
-year round schooling
-teaching home economics - not how to bake an apple pie, but actual HOME ECONOMICS. How to budget, what interest rates are all about, how mortgages work, how other loans work, explain taxes and how just because you make 40k/year, that's not cash in your pocket, etc. Not knowing how this works sets people up (especially people who don't come from generation wealth, or even generational financial security, not necessarily "wealth") to be taken advantage of, and perpetuates the poverty cycle.
-re-focus and value on vocational programs and training. There are lots of students for whom traditional college is not a good fit, or a financial option immediately following HS. they should be able to get training in HS to be able to immediately start a stable career when they graduate. Carpentry, electrician, child care, LPN... SOOOO many solid career paths could be started in HS, if we invested in these kids.
Wow, I would just love smaller classes and buildings that can accommodate the community. So many of our elementary schools are overcrowded, very old, and thus too small.
Expanding all of the art/music/PE/library/STEM to offer them more than just 1x a week each.
I would be fine with year round school if there was something offered on the off weeks for the working parents.
Post by Jalapeñomel on Jan 27, 2021 14:35:31 GMT -5
I'll reiterate that high schools should offer vocational options as you progress through the years. Not everyone needs to go to college...you should be able to get your HVAC certification when you graduate from HS, so you can get a good job and/or internship/apprenticeship working in the field.
question for those mentioning year-round school, does anyone have children in year round school? I have a few friends with kids who are doing this and they generally dislike it.
My son's MS is year-round (or it was, pre-COVID). There are 4 tracks, and at any given time, 3 are in session. My main complaints are that it doesn't align with DD's elementary school calendar, and while more frequent, shorter breaks are nice for retention, there aren't very many options for enrichment during those breaks. He's old enough to stay home alone, but there isn't much to do besides play video games and wait for the rest of us to come home. He also couldn't do some of the other fun camps in summer because he was in school until the end of June (most end at the end of May here).
When he was entering K, our assigned neighborhood school also had that schedule, so we opted to send him somewhere else. There was one option for child care, so it would've been a logistical challenge for us as working parents. When DD entered K, they opened a second elementary school, which allowed both elementary schools to use the traditional calendar. This will happen for the middle school, too, and my understanding is that's the administration's preference.
In addition to a lot of things that have been mentioned, we need food-free classes. It's frustrating how many people find themselves homeschooling because teachers use food, especially common allergens, in classrooms.
My junior high didn't have a cafeteria, we had to eat in our homerooms, so I know keeping food out of classrooms isn't always physically possible, but we need to not be using Goldfish crackers as math manipulatives.
Along with that, ban birthday food. It turns into an expensive Pinterest competition for a lot of parents and then kids with food allergies are left out, put at risk, or the target of frustrated parents who can't imagine a birthday without sending trays of food to school.
Plenty of schools manage it just fine. Others, like the school we had to leave, are dangerously close to killing a kid because Karen insisted on handing out a snack with peanuts.
The schools we're involve with have moved towards less food though not removing it. While we did have a teacher who gave candy as a treat I've never seen food used in math.
Birthdays and class parties were supposed to be more activity oriented at one school (bingo, dance party, stickers/crafts etc) and any food was supposed to be nut free and ideally prepackaged since you never know what cross contamination you might pick up in home cooking. Even if I cooked without nuts we still have them in the house.
At our other school parents can't come in for parties. We're supposed to send in $20 and that covers a monthly parties for the birthdays (with summer birthdays folded into the last month). This school also regulates home lunches and required there by no candy and no soda. At our public it was completely unregulated.
But it was an awesome system, assuming they still use it. Everything was broken down. So for example, lets talk about trianlges for ages 12-14. I'm totally making up these examples, but it would have everything related to trianlges broken down to a level. So Area and perimeter would be a level 1 topic. Level 2 would be basic trig. Level three would be law of cosines. Level 4 would be...
So for each topic, I would have to go through and state what level each child was at. But it wasn't hard with how specific the levels were. So instead of one math grade, each child got over 20 from me. I specified where they were on every topic we were covering, and every school had the same rubric. And because the rubrics allow for growth over several years, we could teach the topics in our own order at our own pace.
ETA: AND fluff grades like homework and participation were their own category. I would rate them on a scale of 1-5 on how they had completed homework or how they participated in class. Those were not part of their official transcript, just information for the parents.
Yes to so many of the things already mentioned. Let’s be innovative!
*Max class size of 20 *Free, nutritional lunches that actually taste good to kids *Free supplies and resources for teachers to teach and create *More arts...instruments, theater, dance, digital arts, hands on art, videography, etc *Life skills...coding, personal finance, retirement, shop/vehicle maintenance, home ownership, etc *No fees on library books, and no charges if not returned
I want parents with opposing views to schedule ufc like matches with each other so they can get their aggression out, while educators and admin continue teaching according to current best practices. For example the homework vs no homework crowd.
(I actually don't know what the current best practice is for that.)
Many of these have already been listed, but it's not just one thing, so I'll add everything I think needs to be changed: 1. Invest in struggling neighborhoods and work to end generational poverty. 2. Trauma-informed schools 3. All class sizes capped at 20. Higher-needs classes lower than that. 4. Physical education daily 5. End yearly standardized testing, especially for elementary 6. Provide teachers with an adequate budget for curriculum and supplies they need, then let them teach. 7. Every school has a full-time counselor, nurse and social worker 8. If teachers must be evaluated, evaluate them on their hands-on, project-based learning and how well students are able to implement skills in real-world situations. 9. Provide teachers with the resources to actually DO hands-on, project-based learning 10. Put play back in kindergarten 11. Provide teachers with a wide and regularly up-to-date classroom library (or better yet, resources to buy their own) of diverse texts for students to read.
I want parents with opposing views to schedule ufc like matches with each other so they can get their aggression out, while educators and admin continue teaching according to current best practices. For example the homework vs no homework crowd.
(I actually don't know what the current best practice is for that.)
I think having levels within subjects in each elementary grade would be great. I was an "advanced" reader, which meant that I had the regular assigned reading which was boring to me, and then I had additional assigned reading. As a kid, that felt like a punishment (extra work). At the same time, I struggled with math but just got pushed through and never really learned the material. It would have been better if I could have been given the same amount of work but with more difficult reading and slowed down/more help in math. Dreamworld for me would be modular content and no grade levels at all, so students could flow seamlessly through the material at the pace that works for them and get individual support. That would continue all the way up to college-level courses in high school (which was not an option at my HS).
In addition to a lot of things that have been mentioned, we need food-free classes. It's frustrating how many people find themselves homeschooling because teachers use food, especially common allergens, in classrooms.
My junior high didn't have a cafeteria, we had to eat in our homerooms, so I know keeping food out of classrooms isn't always physically possible, but we need to not be using Goldfish crackers as math manipulatives.
Along with that, ban birthday food. It turns into an expensive Pinterest competition for a lot of parents and then kids with food allergies are left out, put at risk, or the target of frustrated parents who can't imagine a birthday without sending trays of food to school.
Plenty of schools manage it just fine. Others, like the school we had to leave, are dangerously close to killing a kid because Karen insisted on handing out a snack with peanuts.
The schools we're involve with have moved towards less food though not removing it. While we did have a teacher who gave candy as a treat I've never seen food used in math.
Birthdays and class parties were supposed to be more activity oriented at one school (bingo, dance party, stickers/crafts etc) and any food was supposed to be nut free and ideally prepackaged since you never know what cross contamination you might pick up in home cooking. Even if I cooked without nuts we still have them in the house.
At our other school parents can't come in for parties. We're supposed to send in $20 and that covers a monthly parties for the birthdays (with summer birthdays folded into the last month). This school also regulates home lunches and required there by no candy and no soda. At our public it was completely unregulated.
I didn't see the original post by @hiphopanonymous, but this one is so hard. Not banning birthday treats, that's fine and we should ban cheap birthday crap too - nobody wants another crappy cat pencil or a plastic tub of slime. But the no food in classrooms at all is hard. We have a major problem in the US with food scarcity and insecurity in students, especially younger ones. So many schools have free breakfast in classrooms every morning b/c their students don't get breakfast at home and they don't want those who are hungry to be separated from those who have no food problems. I just looked it up and over 30-million kids in the US rely on the schools for food right now. That's staggering. I guess with so much extra funding and in this hypothesis of endless school funding there could be breakfast/lunch rooms that are easily accessible for those with life-threatening allergies and those without and you could teach in both the areas with and without food at the same time.
And in the schools we are in - all public in two different states, they definitely were aware of nut allergies and accommodated that easily, no nut tables, no nut meals, etc. Both tree and peanut allergies. However, my friends' kid who had an anaphylactic milk/dairy allergies had it much harder and their kid had two hospital visits from public school exposure (and that doesn't include the 3-4 times from home or public exposures). I wasn't aware that there are schools where that isn't common yet - I've been out west, so that might be why.
I want parents with opposing views to schedule ufc like matches with each other so they can get their aggression out, while educators and admin continue teaching according to current best practices. For example the homework vs no homework crowd.
(I actually don't know what the current best practice is for that.)
Isn't this already happening... the cage matches are on NextDoor and Facebook and the teachers just keep teaching around all this.