------------------------------------------------
Community Forum on Job Shadowing in
St. Paul High Schools May 17 - 28
http://www.stpauljobshadow.org
------------------------------------------------
I tink the numbers Tom posted should send a signal. To whom is the
real question. You can't blame a school, the system or the teachers
entirely for child failure. however, you can blame the parents.
its the school system's responsibility to teach the student. its
the student's responsibility to study, do homework and learn.
Let me tell you a true story. A boy, now 19 National honor
Society, four merit badges away from Eagle Scout almost failed a
couple of classes Senior year. Why? Because he didn't get his work
done on time. Not only that but when the teacher informed his
parents of missing assignments, mom blamed it on ADD. Dad's
reaction was he needed to spend time doing homework and not blowing
it off to go to softball games, playing video games or watching TV.
Never did get his Eagle. Of course there was no motivation to do
it.
Second boy, now 16, always had trouble with certain subjects. His
report cards always showed incomplete because homework was not
turned in. Test scores were usually passing. Usually got in
trouble at school for disrupting class. He didn't like the
teachers. Mom blamed the teachers. Problem is this happened in
every grade from 4th through Sophomore.
When dad asks if homework was done before he went out, the answer
was yes. Mom would pipe in and say it was done in school. Well, it
wasn't done in school and he received more than his share of "F"s.
Has this changed mom's attitude about his school work? No.
Unfortunately its probably too late for this boy. Someone else
needs to be able to get involved. Dad can't because mom, doesn't
want to deal with the boy when he complains about dad's rules etc.
Third boy, 8. In two years of grade school, mom may have asked
about homework a half dozen times. Mostly when dad is on the road.
Mom even misses school conferences. She has never worked with her
son on spelling, math or reading, except when he remembers a missed
assignment in the morning after dad went to work or when dad's
frustration begins to show..
Is the school at fault in any of these cases? Are the teachers at
fault? IMHO No! Its the parents fault. As long as mom has no
expectations she will get no results. As long as one parent's
expectations are greater than the other, the lowest expectations
will be met. As long as one parent continues to believe a child who
continually lies about school work the lying will continue.
I cite these examples to indicate how important the parents role is
in educating their children. Yes boy 2 may have other issues that
need to be dealt with professionally. But if there were stated and
enforced expectations at home, I believe a lot of this would be
mitigated.
Mike Fratto
Payne Phalen
>>> Thomas Swift <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 05/24/2004 7:30:17 PM >>>
------------------------------------------------
Community Forum on Job Shadowing in
St. Paul High Schools May 17 - 28
http://www.stpauljobshadow.org
------------------------------------------------
Sometimes it's nice to just look at some facts without
any spin or embellshments isn't it?
So for your information, direct from the Department of
Education website, I give you Saint Paul's cumulitive
test scores for the 2004 MCA (Minnesota Comprehensive
Assessments and let it do it's own talkin'. (I hope
the formatting holds up this time.)
The achievement levels 1-5 correspond from poor to
excellent thus: 1-2 are below average; 3 is average;
4-5 are above average.
Percent Percent Percent Percent Percent
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5
=========================================
16.93 29.89 14.89 27.88 10.4 Grade 3 Math
23.21 23.79 14.12 25.14 13.74 Grade 3 Reading
9.65 34.15 16.95 29.65 9.61 Grade 5 Math
18 26.66 14.73 25.89 14.73 Grade 5 Reading
18.32 42.94 27.35 7.86 3.54 Grade 7 Math
15.2 44.17 23.44 14.58 2.6 Grade 7 Reading
TJSwift
Cherokee Park Collective
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger.
http://messenger.yahoo.com/
_____________________________________________
NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit:
http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul
Archive Address:
http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
_____________________________________________
NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit:
http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul
Archive Address:
http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
