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ORIGINAL: Sanity


Ever notice that the bigger the cities, the further left they lean

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ORIGINAL: Lucylastic

please provide proof of your assertions that most schools are in left leaning districts?

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ORIGINAL: JstAnotherSub

This is my opinion only, as an employee of a school district.

Parents. Parenting is a lost art in many places. You can not take a child who has never been taught anything in the first five years of their life, and expect them to catch up. There are kids who start school and can not count to 10, and do not even know colors and shapes. Stuff that could be learned by plopping them down in front of Sesame Street, even if you do not want to spend time with them your self.

Add to that all the parents that believe their child can do no wrong, and will come to raise holy hell about any small thing they get a call about, more young single parents who have not a clue, because they also come from a single parent who did not have a clue, and we are fucked.

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ORIGINAL: servantforuse

Spot on Jst.. jlf1961 wants to blame republicans and money or lack there of for under performing schools. The problem schools in this country are in the urban areas and inner cities. Money spent is not the problem. Children being raised by single moms who also never finished school is the problem. I know first hand as I worked in Milwaukee's inner city for 18 years. They just don't want to go to school and the moms couldn't care less. Dads for the most part, not in the picture.

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ORIGINAL: subrob1967

100 worst school districts in the US according to Neighborhood Scout.

Worst school district according to ABC

Worst School Graduation Rates according to Teaching Community

America's worst colleges according to Salon

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ORIGINAL: Hillwilliam

Ex teacher here. One of the problems is that the flow of authority is bass ackwards. Those downtown have no clue what the principals and some principals have no idea what the teachers do because they abrogate all the authority to the AP (Asst Princ) as they "Social Climb" to try to get one of the high paying ($100K+) jobs as a paper pusher "Downtown". There's way too damn many chiefs for the # of indians.

Reverse that trend.

I quit teaching because someone offered me a 50% pay raise to work in their lab.

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ORIGINAL: vincentML

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If theres any particular ideology to blame, most schools are in very left leaning districts. And the NEA definitely left leaning

I bet if you look closely most poorly performing schools are in Red states.

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These are the top 10 cities with the highest poverty rate. 1/ Detroit. 2/Buffalo. 3/Cinncinati. 4/Cleveland. 5/Miami. 6/St.Louis. 7/ElPaso. 8/Milwaukee. 9/Philadelphia and 10/ Newark...All have one thing in common. A democrat as mayor..

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ORIGINAL: erieangel

I admit "throwing money" at the problem probably wouldn't solve the educational crisis in this country. However, solving the educational crisis in this country is going to cost money.

Here are some of my solutions:

Bring back small neighborhood schools in the cities. There is no reason why a 5-7 year old should have to be bused or walk a mile or 2 to and from school every day. Neighborhood schools allow for children to return home for lunch (if one parent or some other adult is available). Neighborhood schools will also mean smaller class sizes and better student/teacher ratios.

Bring back physical education and most especially recess to the early grades. Kids can not sit all day and be expected to be attentive for hours on end. They need exercise and to "let loose". Even 2 15-minute recess periods during the day will allow kids to release pent up energy and allow them to be more attentive for the coming lessons. Physical education will encourage children to be active and get away from electronics after school, especially if they are home hours before it gets dark.

Drop the zero tolerance rules in schools. Kids make mistakes and usually learn from them quickly. No child can be expected to act like a miniature adult and calling the police on a disorderly child is over the line. Stand him/her in the corner, send him/her to the principal's office or the guidance counselor's. The police usually have no business being on school property.

Cut summer vacation to 3-4 weeks. Our long summer vacation is a hold over from our pre-industrial age. There is no need for it. I know of some school districts that have tried to go 'year round' and the only people who seemed to be against it were the teachers unions. But even private and charter schools follow the same basic calendar.

In areas of high poverty, open the schools for after school and weekend activities. These can be run solely by the district or in cooperation with some other non-profit. Also, offer three meals a day to those in need, evening and weekend meals to families of poor students.

Also in areas of high poverty or areas where there is a high population of single parents (this doesn't happen only in the inner cities--I've lived in the Poconos) offer parenting classes, job readiness skills (interviewing skills, etc) and budgeting tips.

Rethink the way we "look" at grades in this country. Remember, a C is average. Most people are going to be average.

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ORIGINAL: Sanity


One of the "100 worst school districts" on your list is in Boise, and its not a district its a school for diverse students for whom English isnt the primary language

Their mission:

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To educate each linguistically and culturally diverse student with the academic and social skills needed to succeed based on high standards for English literacy in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

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ORIGINAL: JstAnotherSub
This is my opinion only, as an employee of a school district.
Parents. Parenting is a lost art in many places. You can not take a child who has never been taught anything in the first five years of their life, and expect them to catch up. There are kids who start school and can not count to 10, and do not even know colors and shapes. Stuff that could be learned by plopping them down in front of Sesame Street, even if you do not want to spend time with them your self.
Add to that all the parents that believe their child can do no wrong, and will come to raise holy hell about any small thing they get a call about, more young single parents who have not a clue, because they also come from a single parent who did not have a clue, and we are fucked.

• A Conservative interpretation of the US Constitution
  
• Personal Responsibility
  
• Help for the truly needy
  
• Limited Government
  
• Consumption Tax (non-profit charities and food exempt)
  

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Today most statistics continue to show what Silberman found twenty-five years ago: Now is better than then. Achievement-test scores are at record levels, and the number of students taking advanced-placement exams continues to rise even though the number of students has declined since the peak of the baby boom. Seven of the nine trends in reading, mathematics, and science tracked by the National Assessment of Educational Progress are at all-time highs. Factor out demographic changes in who takes the SAT, and there remains a small decline in verbal scores and none at all in math. And as noted earlier, the proportion of students scoring above 650 on the SATs is at an all-time high, and U.S. students are near the top in reading. The Third International Mathematics and Science Study of 1997, the largest and most sophisticated of the international studies in mathematics and science—our allegedly weakest areas—has found that among forty-one nations, American students are average to above average. Students in suburban schools measured alone ranked anywhere from first to fifth among nations, depending on age and subject.

The biggest threat to the American educational system may come not from within our schools but from the depth of our divisions over what exactly they should accomplish and how best to get them to accomplish it. And our divisions will not be healed as long as we ignore the history of the accomplishments that have already been made. We should begin improving our schools by appreciating how well they have, in most places and at most times, done so far.