Gauge
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Joined: 6/17/2005
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Several things came to mind when I read this thread and so I will subject you to my own views on this. The education system is failing to do its job, but who is responsible for that? Well... everyone is. We elect the people that make decisions on education nationally, statewide and locally. Good, quality education costs money both for the teachers and for the materials for them to teach with. We don't need modern schools that are aesthetically pleasing to the eye... we need a building that will house the students and faculty and be functional. Money is wasted with new school buildings that do not need to be replaced. Take that money, filter it to the teachers and for materials for the students. Make some money available for students that cannot afford the usual school supplies and give them what they need.
If teachers need a monetary incentive to have kids pass their classes something is wrong. They will pass students that do not deserve it just so they can cash a bonus check. How about this incentive, teach the subject well, have the kids pass your classes or we will fire you and find someone that will. Similar to the incentive for the students to pass classes... pass the class the first time or fail it and repeat the class.
Parents of school kids have to get their heads out of their own asses and stop bitching about how the school can't discipline their children... it isn't the schools job to discipline your kids... NEWSFLASH... it's yours. Granted that discipline will, at times, fall to the school for obvious reasons, but parents limited the school as to what they can do to the kids to keep order. We asked for it (and I say we as a generic term) and we got it. Teaching the kids to behave starts the day that the child can understand right and wrong. When I was in school it was a scary thing to have to go to the principals' office. We knew that we did something wrong and were going to have consequences for it. My parents never came into the school and yelled at the principal for detaining, suspending or otherwise implementing consequences for my actions. My parents respected the schools' decision and therefore sent the message to me that I should respect it as well. My oldest son came home one day and told me that some kid had hit him in school and the other kid was getting a suspension for it. When I asked him what he had done to cause the other kid to hit him, he told me that he didn't do anything. I promptly got him into the car and drove to the school and asked to see the principal. I asked what had happened and the principal told me that my son had mouthed off to the other kid I told my son that that was totally unacceptable and that he would be punished for his part in the incident. I not only showed my kid that I wasn't going to tolerate his behavior, I also let him know that I supported the principal with his decision to suspend the other kid. I did not threaten a lawsuit or any such nonsense... I wanted the truth.
OK... I have another point to make and I apologize for the length of this post but I will try to make this one brief. I remember several teachers from my school days. One was an English teacher that challenged me to read Shakespeare and that opened the door to a wide world of literature that I had dismissed before as being boring. The other was a biology teacher that made his course fun and involved everyone in the class. I still remember parts of his classes... that is teaching. You make a lasting impression on a student.
I do not profess to be an English professional so what I have to say next might land me in a bit of hot water... to the education major that said that we were busting his balls for misspelling words and has chosen teaching as a profession, you are part of the problem. To dismiss things as "everyone makes mistakes" is fine and it is true, everyone does. But you are to cavalier about your mistakes and ask for a break... I wonder, would you give your students wiggle room for mistakes when you grade their work or would you take points off for them? Mistakes are fine, but what defines us as human beings is how we learn from them.
Our kids are graduating from school not being able to communicate effectively with the spoken or written word. That is everyone's problem. I do not have the answers to the problem, but I think that we, as parents and taxpayers better take a good, long look at what is happening and not sit on our collective asses and do nothing.
_____________________________
"For there is no folly of the beast of the earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men." Herman Melville - Moby Dick
I'm wearing my chicken suit and humming La Marseillaise.
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RE: Todays Kids have it easy. Theory gone bad. - 
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