Two signs of school stupidity...

[rbell]

1. Requiring (!) Arabic classes of Mansfield TX students, since that is "the language of the future." STORY
2. Teachers from cash-strapped Chicago schools go to Vegas on the taxpayer's dime...and miss teacher-parent meetings for report cards to boot: MORE

Wow...and we let morons like this "educate" our kids? So in Mansfield you have stunning ignorance...and in Chicago, you have thievery. Nice choice.

My fellow believer Public School teachers, you have my prayers. Ya'll work in some tough joints.

My fellow believer Public School Administrators, you have my prayers too--withstanding the temptation to beat the stupid out of folks would be too much for me.

 

[glfredrick]

I am of the opinion that teachers are not largely at fault in our public education debacle. It is the school administrators who pull down larger salaries, construct office buildings, dictate almost every aspect of classroom activity from textbooks to teachers, and who contrive every excuse in the book to justify their own existence that are the real problem.

Until we start electing common people with common values and common sense to represent us on local school boards (who have the power to re-arrange or dismiss administrators!) we will not solve any of the huge issues we are facing in our educational system.

With that, the NEA needs to be broken... They are like liberal gods in the education industry, and in large part dictate that our children are taught a Marxist/socialist agenda that matches their own. We are paying for the privilege of having a Marxist/socialist union dictate to us that our children will be raised according to THEIR values instead of our own.

All this takes is local citizens raising up on the local level to do what is right, but what typically happens is that those already steeped in local liberal politics gravitate to the positions and run the show. Where are all the regular people? :BangHead:

 

[Aaron]

It's the fact that the schools are government run. It ain't the teachers, it ain't the administrators, it's the political correctness and defacto atheism.

 

[davidmore70]

I remember the craze in the 80s and early 90s to teach kids Japanese since they were going to take over the world and have America bow to their glory..

That turned out great, huh?

 

[mets65]

Teaching is just a paycheck these days, to most.

 

[annsni]

Well, I think there are many teachers out there with their hearts in the right place - it's the administration that is messed up. Their hands are so tied with these requirements and such.

Seriously? Arabic is madatory for GRADE SCHOOL?? How about ENGLISH people? Kids are graduating with no way to speak English but they are supposed to learn Arabic in 3rd grade because it's the future? Bull cookies!

 

[glfredrick]

Well, I think there are many teachers out there with their hearts in the right place - it's the administration that is messed up. Their hands are so tied with these requirements and such.

Seriously? Arabic is madatory for GRADE SCHOOL?? How about ENGLISH people? Kids are graduating with no way to speak English but they are supposed to learn Arabic in 3rd grade because it's the future? Bull cookies!

That's right... For American, Spanish will be the language of the future! :laugh:

The Muslim nations will get nuked before they take over the entire world. Only a matter of time before Israel feels threatened enough to pull the plug. watch for them to aim eastward to take advantage of the prevailing winds, which will shelter them from fallout.

 

[Gina B]

Teaching is just a paycheck these days, to most.

I'm amazed at how many times it is NOT just a paycheck, considering what teachers must endure.

I've heard a number of local high school teachers out here complain that they no longer are able to teach. Their time is spent finding methods of crowd control.

There are two main contributors to this problem of out of control teens in the school:

1. Attendance laws require teens attend school or face the juvenile justice system, along with threats to the parent.
Teens who don't want to go to school and are forced to do so don't go there and learn. They go and do nothing but disrupt classes, cause fights, and do everything in their power to retaliate at the system that is forcing them to be in the school setting.

2. Parents send kids with behavioral problems often caused by lack of discipline and the schools cannot legally keep these children in separate classrooms because they "need to be integrated with their peers." While some issues are not caused by poor parenting, the majority of kids who misbehave and have that magic slip of paper called an IEP (and I'm not downing the IEP program, one of my children has one for medical reasons) can do most anything and suffer consequences less severe than those for students without one. Last ye
Kids are cussing, talking, singing, yelling, texting, listening to their music on their ipods or blasting it in the middle of class...cuz they don't want to be there or "they have behavior problems."

There are those lovely schools where chewing gum is about as bad as it gets. LOL

But to most teachers? Teaching is teaching and they try to do it through what are often some pretty insane circumstances and with very little resources, both material wise and in terms of discipline. There are potential health risks as students bring in all manner of diseases. There are even physical risks as more and more teens bring drugs, knives, and guns to school, as often for their own protection as for anything else. A million dollar paycheck usually isn't going to be worth the hassle of a teaching job if the person doesn't have an innate desire to make a difference and still hold onto a shred of hope that they reach at least one student.

So I'm pretty curious as to why you stated most teachers do it just for a paycheck. What's the "why and what" behind your reasoning?

 

[Don]

Teaching is just a paycheck these days, to most.

???

According to payscale.com, average teacher pay ranges from $40,000 to almost $44,000. From other sources, classroom size ranges from 20 to 32 students per teacher. Continuing education requirements for teachers means that they're attending night school, online courses, and/or spending their summers maintaining proficiencies.

Couple that with anecdotes like the teacher who called a parent to complain about how the child was acting in class, and having the parent complain back to them "he's YOUR responsibility during the day"...and with the requirements for metal detectors at the entrances of some schools....

Do you really think "most" teachers do all that for the paycheck?

I'm not a fan of public schools. But I hope to get into educational leadership and do something about it. And I have no intention of joining the teachers' union, or being a member of NEA.

 

[carpro]

The problem with our schools...uninvolved parents. Period.

I fear it cannot be fixed.

It will only get worse.

 

[Don]

The problem with our schools...uninvolved parents. Period.

I fear it cannot be fixed.

It will only get worse.

<sarcasm tag>Well, you know, it does take a village....

 

[Salty]

The problem with our schools...uninvolved parents. Period.

That is part of the problem - I would also add teachers unions. In NY City hundreds of teachers are being paid not to teach. Mayor Bloomburg wants to fire them - but.... check this link

Well, I think there are many teachers out there with their hearts in the right place - it's the administration that is messed up. Their hands are so tied with these requirements and such.

I would say its more of the State Board of Regents - and the Federal Govt - that passes down so many regulations.
Another problem is "mainstreaming" that is putting kids into regular classes who really need specialized classes. Some of these kids will disrupt the class. The teacher than has to focus her attention on that one child, thus the "good kids" are loosing valuable training time.
BTW - Mrs Salty is a sub-teachers aid and has on more than one occasion had to go to the nurses office for minor first aid....
There are many problems in our schools....

 

[carpro]

<sarcasm tag>Well, you know, it does take a village....

As long as the "village" is composed of uninvolved self indulgent parents who look at the school system as a free babysitter and nothing else, nothing can change it.

Hillary, as well as most other liberals who think they understand education and its problems, are such idiots.

They are the problem.

And Salty, with all due respect to your experience, unions are basically a financial problem. Teachers unions are a scourge , like all other unions, and are counterproductive and solve nothing.

No amount of money either added to or taken away from education can fix the parent problem. And we don't have enough jails to hold the criminally negligent parents that unload their undisciplined children on public school districts.

The 2 problems are also tied together. I believe many teachers, realizing the hopelessness of the situation, are now interested only in the money and believe unions are the best way to get it.

Teaching used to be more of a "calling". It is increasingly becoming just another union job. Pick up your check and go home. Do as little as possible to rock the boat or buck the failures of the system. Just keep the little guys quiet and send them home to the uncaring parents.

 

[sag38]

Here in Mobile, AL the school where my son attends is in need of much attention. The grounds and buildings are in bad shape. Weeds grow through cracks, the play ground is nothing but a pot hole filled parking lot, the gym is dirty, etc. For the first few months of the school year they couldn't eat in the cafeteria because the AC wasn't working. Ceiling are dirty but the custodian's union won't allow them to clean a ceiling. Ask them to do something other than sweeping and mopping and the answer is that the union won't allow it. Yet, go to the Board of Education Building (Barton Academy) and you will find the yards well kept, the floors gleaming, very nice offices, etc. The PH'd's and staff have all the amenities while our children get the leftovers. It's pathetic to say the least.

 

[Salty]

Here in Mobile, AL the school where my son attends is in need of much attention. ... The PH'd's and staff have all the amenities while our children get the leftovers. It's pathetic to say the least.

So are you saying you are going to run for the school board?

 

[rbell]

Here in Mobile, AL the school where my son attends is in need of much attention. The grounds and buildings are in bad shape. Weeds grow through cracks, the play ground is nothing but a pot hole filled parking lot, the gym is dirty, etc. For the first few months of the school year they couldn't eat in the cafeteria because the AC wasn't working. Ceiling are dirty but the custodian's union won't allow them to clean a ceiling. Ask them to do something other than sweeping and mopping and the answer is that the union won't allow it. Yet, go to the Board of Education Building (Barton Academy) and you will find the yards well kept, the floors gleaming, very nice offices, etc. The PH'd's and staff have all the amenities while our children get the leftovers. It's pathetic to say the least.

Lead the charge, brother. Send every last one of those self-serving, power-hungry bureaucrats home and put folks in place that DO care.

(yes...I know it's tough; unfortunately, many larger cities are Democratic strongholds...and by and large, D incumbents are there 'till death.) Hope you can make a difference.

One thought: Break into the school one night and clean the ceiling. Yes, it's illegal...but can you imagine the backlash when they try to prosecute? And given the propensity for school folks to cave....you'd be scot-free in hours.

(For those who can't tell...the last paragraph was not meant to be taken literally. Close, but not literally.... )

 

[sag38]

Sorry, but the pastor's union does not allow me to work on a ladder above five feet. Here's the real deal. The custodians say that cleaning the ceiling is the job of the maintenance department who keep saying it's the job of the custodians who say it's maintenance's job. And, it goes back and forth. The board of education, however, does not have dirty ceilings and dust clogged air vents. Here's another kicker. The custodian's union will not allow them to work on a ladder past a certain height. That's why light bulbs don't get changed nor air vent's cleared of dust accumulation. No one is allowed to do it due to union rules. In the meantime our children attend schools with sub par cleaning and maintenance. Don't get me started on the quality of the educational experience.

 

[sag38]

Don't you just love unions? What used to be a good thing has now turned into a nightmare for our country with no end in sight.

 

[David Lamb]

Teaching is just a paycheck these days, to most.

It may be to a few, but I doubt it is to most. There are far easier ways of earning money.

 

[glfredrick]

As long as the "village" is composed of uninvolved self indulgent parents who look at the school system as a free babysitter and nothing else, nothing can change it.

Hillary, as well as most other liberals who think they understand education and its problems, are such idiots.

They are the problem.

And Salty, with all due respect to your experience, unions are basically a financial problem. Teachers unions are a scourge , like all other unions, and are counterproductive and solve nothing.

No amount of money either added to or taken away from education can fix the parent problem. And we don't have enough jails to hold the criminally negligent parents that unload their undisciplined children on public school districts.

The 2 problems are also tied together. I believe many teachers, realizing the hopelessness of the situation, are now interested only in the money and believe unions are the best way to get it.

Teaching used to be more of a "calling". It is increasingly becoming just another union job. Pick up your check and go home. Do as little as possible to rock the boat or buck the failures of the system. Just keep the little guys quiet and send them home to the uncaring parents.

I see all the same symptoms that you do, but I have another answer for why...

People like Hillary know EXACTLY what they wish to gain from the school systems and why they are what they are. They are not stupid or ill-informed about education. Far from it. They are MANIPULATING education to get a populace that does the bidding of (votes for, works with, gives to, and sees as the only intelligent choice) the Marxist-socialist faction that is trying to take over America in a bloodless coup.

In other words, our education system is not "broken:" according to the foxes who guard the hen house. It is in fact (according to them) working FABULOUSLY. That is why they will make the right noises about changing the system, then institute more and deeper liberal agendas as the fix. Every "fix" they install only makes the overall problem worse for centrist and conservative America, but we're so stupid about this whole issue that we actually think that some overhaul of our education system is possible. It is not. It has been fully taken over and integrated into the general socialist plan.

Our only escape is to refuse to participate as long as we can by home-school and private schools that still actually educate our most precious resource -- our children.