I can sympatize with the sentiments that parents have
been putting to words here. My wife and I went through
the same frustrating, counterproductive arguements
with our kids teachers and school administrators.
But in the end, after finding ourselves unable to
sleep after speaking with school administrators who
completely ignored our wishes, we came to the
conclusion that we had to put our kids education
before everything else. For us, that meant selling our
existing house and buying another for half the price
to enable us to put our kids into a private school.
Since then, we may not be "keeping up with the
Joneses", but our three boys are excelling
academically
and we sleep much better at night.
The problem, as we see it, is that the schools are
misplacing their priorities. Kids can avail themselves
of a plethora of social services through their
schools, but they are not being taught to read, write
and solve mathematical problems. The schools are
swarming with "councilors" of every persuasion, but
try to find a public school science teacher who
actually studied science in college.
And this situation is going to continue because too
many of our neighbors are perfectly content to have
the state handle thier childrens upbringing.
Diane Wiley says:
> I would just like to point out that there are some
> kids who are simply "not
> ready" to read before kindergarten -- and it can be
> counterproductive to force
> them.
That's true, but does not go far enough. There are
kids being forced to attend high school that have
absolutely no interest in being there. So they get
themselves in trouble and disrupt the education of
others. I think at some point we will have to look at
options for these kids, personally I favor trade
schools as an option.
>Teachers are paid to teach, and I don't think we
> should be blaming parents if the
> kids don't learn. On the other hand, I don't think
> we should condemn all
> teachers either.
Consider this. A teacher who has a disruptive kid in
the classroom must spend an inordinate amount of time
just keeping the kid quiet. If the kid is tossed from
class, too often the administration caves when the
kids parents show up to complain that they cannot be
expected to take thier precious time away from work to
watch Jr., so the kid must be readmitted. This is
especially true if the child in question is a racial
minority.
Further, they are forced to contend with some
collegues who are clearly not fit to be teaching
because thier union has to justify it's existance and
does so without regard to consequences to the kids.
Remember: The union is not paid to represent the kids,
they represent the teachers and will fight to protect
their roll as power broker.
> This is a system we are looking at. There is a lot
> of poverty, families moving,
> kids with illiterate or semi-literate parents,
> families with crises, illness,
> alcohol and drug addiction.
These are exactly the excuses that the districts have
siezed upon, and they have a point to some extend, but
these are not insurmountable problems to a motivated
child. The schools have no place in the social
services business, God knows this State provides a
program that caters to every social ill known to man
we do not need to drag the schools in as well.
Further, there is nothing that can be done about
people who have no business with children having them
none the less. We are going to have to acknowledge the
facts as they are and do the best we can with what we
have. But not at the expense of the kids who are out
there trying.
>I think no real change will come
> in Mpls unless we continue to reduce class size and
> develop programs for tutoring
> kids after school hours, in the schools. And a
> summer school program that,
> again, does not have such large classes. But that
> costs money, and there is a
> contingent of greedy neanderthals who simply don't
> want to hear it. They talk
> about running things like a business, but I've never
> heard of a business with one
> copy machine for 700 students, like we have at
> Seward, and where paper is
> rationed. The comparison stinks.
WHY IS PAPER RATIONED? We are spending BILLIONS Diane!
And yet we still find the schools unequipped and
understaffed! What the heck is going on! Could it be
that the people you call greedy neanderthals are
simply tired of seeing their tax money evaporate
without any appreciable results?
Here's an assignment for you, call MPS and ask for an
accounting of how last years budget was spent. When
you recieve it, explain that you don't speak Klingon
and ask for a breakdown of how much goes to
administration, outside contractors, travel and
lodging. Good Luck!
>And now Jesse
> says that all the departments
> have to cut by 10%. I would say that the best thing
> any of us could do is create
> a stink about them taking any more money from our
> schools, when what we should be
> doing is putting in more.
Diane, the schools have not had one dime, not one
penny "taken" from them. They recieved yet another
increase last year, and will get another this year and
the next. And your kid will still be in a class with
30 other kids, and test scores will continue to remain
static at the bottom of the well.
Until the schools divest themselves of the notion that
they are supposed to be a labratory for
experimentation in social indoctrination, urban
renewal and family planning nothing will change.
Until the teachers unions are kept from making
curriculum and spending decisions and administrators
are taken to account for their mismanagement the
uncounted billions will continue to flow down a dark
hole, and paper will still be rationed.
Our kids don't have the time to spare, even if the
schools began to refocus on academics today, a first
grader would be starting high school before things are
sorted out and put right. You must take responsibility
for your own kids and do whatever it takes to ensure
they get a proper education; remember, they will be
competing with mine for jobs!
Thomas Swift
Saint Paul
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! GeoCities - quick and easy web site hosting, just $8.95/month.
http://geocities.yahoo.com/ps/info1
_______________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy
Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more:
http://e-democracy.org/mpls
