Bill Dooley wrote: I too like year round school in part to keep some of the young people busy and away from gangs and other negative influences foisted upon them by unemployed persons who hang on the front porches of the neighborhood. But I am afraid this one would be a tough sell to teachers who may have entered the profession with the expectation of having the summer off.
Pamela Taylor writes: Lots of people go to work every day, all year round. So what's the problem? People adjust to the ways of the world. If the way we educate our children needs to change, then teachers ought not to feel that their role will remain unchanged. Nothing in this world is guaranteed. We need to not think of year round schools in "any part" as put in place to keep young people busy. They are neither day camps nor babysitting services. As for teachers, they should enter the profession with the expectation of helping to inspire, challenge and elevate a child's expectations of themselves, and thereby increasing their ultimate contribution to the vast world in which they live in, via a high quality education. We want to increase their rate of pay. I am in agreement with that. I am, however, also convinced that they should earn it. Now some teachers do, and deserve more pay; some others may try hard, but are not where they could be - yet (they are still "teachable" as no one knows it all). And still others are merely sucking up all the extra air in the room and need to be tossed out before the children are harmed by their unhidden indifference to the job they were hired to do. Seniority should only come into play with teachers who have proven they can teach, and not just to one set of or type of student. If you are a bad teacher who has been around forever, and it can be proven, no merit pay. They should be phased out. There is too much cushioning of this type of behavior. We have corporate welfare. Well, the veil has to be lifted on school welfare. If some teachers were not so assured of a position every year, things just might change. We have a lot of folks who could be trained as teacher aides, or in other specialized and much needed positions (language teachers, art/music, etc). We don't have to have unqualified folks working around our children. Create some living wage jobs. We know all children are gifted, so utilize some of our gifted adults who are currently unemployed. Combine centers with schools and create campuses. Teach the vocational skills alongside the SAT/LSAT curricula. I am sure that cycles can be worked out to the advantage of teachers. Plus, most teachers have to find summer work anyway to maintain their households, so this would negate them having to do so. It may be a boon to those wanting to enter the teaching profession knowing they will have a year round job like other working professionals. Year round school systems can be run to the advantage of everyone, as other countries have easily shown. I would go on but it is the end of the workday and I am heading home. Hope everyone had a great holiday. Pamela Taylor (in Tampa, Florida where it is a little chilly today) _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
