Quirkygal

"And this leads to part of the problem. There cannot be any expectations of the parents or the kids. Some can have greater impacts on their kids while others cannot. So instead of hoping for parents to do certain things, I say this must be dismissed and focus on the basics; food, sleep and a place to study. Obviously many parents can't even provide these basics so how can you expect them on average to do more?"
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Do you have kids in school...or did you?

Quirkygal

The most vulnerable children--the poor, the English language learners, and African American and Latino children--are at risk of being pushed out of their schools so the school ratings can show "measurable improvement."

High-stakes, test-based accountability does not lead to equitable educational possibilities for youth, but to avoidable losses of these students from our schools.

Kanadesaga

Yes, then they somehow disappear from the rolls. But it isn;t just minorities. also any LD kids that are a problem they love to just let "disappear" out of the system.

Understand people that is adminstrators doing that - NOT TEACHERS!!!

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BleedingPinky

Try evaluating a Travelling Salesman Problem written on a sheet with an sms vocabulary. Local college. I´ll leave it there, .

OldManOnFire

Most all managers and CEO's, business owners, etc. are judged by how their companies/departments operate.

If my younger days mirrored all the issues that kids have today, as YoungManOnFire I probably would have been murdered by now! I can't even begin to imagine the daily BS some kids must endure?

When I talk about the failed public school system, I talk about it as one entity and all of those involved are responsible for that failure. Educational issues are debated year after year after decade and nothing changes. The resulting output of the public education system is greatly flawed. Yet all that is done is more whining and stupid crap like NCLB. There are myriad reasons for this failure and it appears all the high-paid administrators and the general public are incapable of a solution. So we just continue along our failed path while other world citizens are passing by us like we're turtles. So yes, it's the fault of the tenured teachers, and the fault of everyone associated with the public education system...including the citizens for not demanding more out of our country...

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Did you know both our problems and the solutions can be found simply by looking in our mirrors...and...Never confuse the extraordinary stuff I think and write with that of a well-balanced person...

OldManOnFire

Whether or not we had kids in school is irrelevant to this topic. That part of my comments which you highlighted in bold are surely difficult for most to understand...but nonetheless it is an accurate statement.

You can have basic requirements if you wish; like attend the teacher/parent conference or sign the last period report and return it, etc. but beyond this there can be no 'expectations'. All kids and parents are not from the same molds...they all have different strengths and weaknesses. To expect parental involvement from a single parent who works two jobs and has three or four kids in the house is impossible for most. And if a parent simply does not wish to be involved at the school, this is their choice. And those who want to volunteer their time at school or heavily mentor their kids, this is their choice. But to have general expectations from the entire group of parents and kids is a set up for failure.

Beyond the three things I mentioned; food in their stomachs, a good night's sleep, and a place to study, I would love to hear a few expectations that you might have of parents?? I'm sure there are a lot of things we 'wish' but is it appropriate to convert these 'wishes' to 'expectations'??

Herein lies the issue with education in that no one knows the true mission. Obviously the mission statement from the federal department of education is a joke! I know parents who get all indignant and righteous because they happen to be capable of heavy parental involvement, and they rag on those parents who 'cannot' provide equal or any involvement...and all I'm saying is that no one is better or more correct than others because everyone is different in their thoughts, behavior and capabilities. I say the education system must be designed around the student between the time they arrive and the time they leave the school facilities...not based on their parents or their evenings or their weekends...

__________________
Did you know both our problems and the solutions can be found simply by looking in our mirrors...and...Never confuse the extraordinary stuff I think and write with that of a well-balanced person...

OldManOnFire

Another example of why all high-paid administrators should be fired!!

There is no mystery about what you mention above since anyone who reads a newspaper or pays attention to government reporting, has known for decades about these groupings. Further, it's gotten worse because immigration, no matter if it's legal or illegal, is out of control! You can look at the US Census Bureau data and they have collected this data for decades and they predict increased growth in the future. Hispanics are supposed to make up nearly 50% of the population in the warmer southern states by 2050! We know all of this stuff but what do we do to modify our public education system--nothing! For all of those who are so righteous about all people living in the US 'must' speak and write English, they are blind to the reality of our ethnic melting-pot and out-of-control population growth of immigrants. This is one of those 'expectations' I say cannot be warranted since it's a fact of life in the good old USA.

So if we know this, then why don't we deal with it to benefit the kids???

__________________
Did you know both our problems and the solutions can be found simply by looking in our mirrors...and...Never confuse the extraordinary stuff I think and write with that of a well-balanced person...

PursuitOfHappinessParty

We've accepted failure by our government to do anything, so that's what is touted as the government's non-ability to nationalize education. So far, the government is proving opponents to be correct with things like the idiotic NCLB.

If we do not have a high, nationalized standard we will get completely buggered by the next generation of foreign education standards and results. We need a comprehensive and sane, working national strategy.

Parents? I can name a dozen single moms working two jobs that are very involved in their kids' education. I'm a single dad who's tremendously involved in my kid's education.
That's not the point, and IMHO what those of a liberal bent miss. People can and should do alot of things. Some will and many won't. Human nature, you can wish it were different but that doesn't change the reality.
The education of our children as a collective makes it everyone's concern unless you discount the population's education level in comparison to other countries in the future. So kudos to good, involved parents. Their kids will have it easier. But for the rest, we need to have a national litmus that's realistic and reflective of the reality of the world.

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" Tie two birds together and though they have four wings they cannot fly " Blind Master in 'Circle Of Iron'

Kanadesaga

Actually it seems that CEOs are held to different standards. They get multimillion dollar buyouts, parachutes, etc even after they've run a company into the ground. Others are motivated by $$$$$$$$$ and the need to eat. Children don't think about tomorrow, much less 5 years down the road.



It is a different time. Socially, Ward and June are long dead.



By that standard, all alcohol producers are responsible for all drunk driving, as are the automobile manufacturers. Gun manufacturers, you get my point.



Because we are unwilling to spend the money where it will do the most good. That is by having a class ratio of about 10/1. Individual instructions and grouping.





Is a prime example of corporate education mind think. That was a money deal, not an education one.


No teachers are the least responsible for this mess. Blame your state boards, listening to federal assholes.

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OldManOnFire

Can anyone name a single issue in which government has created some appreciative improvement? I can't! All the issues are well-passed the 'not doing well' stage, are more into the 'horrific' stage right now, and soon they will enter the catastrophic stages...now this is progress but not the type that will give anyone some peace of mind.

If you go to the DofEd website you will see located at the very top of the first page the words; PROMOTING EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE FOR ALL AMERICANS. How much higher a standard can there be? It's too bad for millions of kids that the education dept. is incapable of fulfilling their own words!

How long would any of us last in our jobs if 28% of everything we did was a failure? How about five minutes! Yet administrators and educators are doing this every day with their 72% graduation rate.

No one can know more than myself how important it is to have involved parents, and for many this is a fortunate situation, but parental involvement cannot be an expectation in the public education system. The system must be designed to succeed without parental involvement.

Apparently the status quo in the USA, you me and others, are incapable of resolving so many critical issues like education. Yet we perpetuate the cycle of our incompetence by seriously neglecting the education of those who will vote and manage the USA in the next decades. This is pathetic at best...

__________________
Did you know both our problems and the solutions can be found simply by looking in our mirrors...and...Never confuse the extraordinary stuff I think and write with that of a well-balanced person...