I never see the impact of school security brought up in any discussions or in the news. We had one rent a cop and that was it. The administrative staff was small each teach not only had to teach but be a hall monitor, etc. (we also walked uphill in the snow both ways...in Houston) The adminstrative bureaucracy is where the thinning out should begin but unfortunately those are the ones making the decisions to cut the teaching staff.
The sad news is that it will require more work for teachers, administrators, and everyone involved in the school. There's a lot that needs to be done, but the specifics will vary based on the needs of the students at a particular school. I certainly don't know all the best ways. I have seen some things that appear to make a difference. Also it isn't possible to get as in depth as is needed in just one post. So this will be just some highlights. 1. Go back to the basics first. Arts, music, halloween carnivals, festivities and sports are great, but they should be there only for students that have the basics. If a 4th graders can't read or write, they need to spend all the time learning to read. There should be no sports, no in class birthday parties, no arts, nothing until they learn to read. Then as they show they have improved add back in things like music, arts, technology, sports, etc. to help build their interest. 2. I won't go into all the boring ways teachers can improve but they need to improve their teaching. I believe it's the Singapore method of Lesson study is the best way that I've seen so far. But all grades should study the same techniques and put it into practice. That way a student who learns one way to analyze a problem in first grade doesn't have to start over and learn a different way when his second grade teacher has her own method. Teachers, administration all need to work together to find what works best. 3. Teachers need to analyze tests. Go over each and every question on the test, find out why the students missed those questions, and then adjust the lessons being taught. That is an ongoing process that takes an extremely long time, but is very effective. They need to get really in-depth. Study the wording of the question, the work shown by students, the answer choices, the wording of the answer choices, etc. As I said it's very time consuming, but well worthwhile. 4. There needs to be follow through. Don't just give a bunch of changes and new ideas and then not revisit them again. There needs to be agreements made on implementation, there needs to be administrative follow through, and subsequent meetings to discuss how the new agreements are working and can be refined. That should go on continuously. 5. Class size shouldn't be larger than 20 - 1 in grades k-5. 6. Technology should be implemented starting Kinder, and expanded as the students get older. Teachers will have to be trained in it for sure. 7. For doing all this work teachers should be held accountable, and should get a raise in salary. It will attract more dedicated teachers, and increase competition for teaching jobs. 8. Schools need to work on ways to get greater parent involvement including weekly parenting classes on things like English as a Second Language, how to work students on Fluency, Multiplication tables, discipline, reading comprehension, all from a parents view, and quite possibly from the view of a parent who still help their child even if they don't speak English themselves. 9. Have an attendance counselor who makes home visits, gets the District Attorney involved and encourages attendance for students. 10. To put all of this in place and have the appropriate follow through, the schools will need a very strong principal. This is only a beginning, and certainly isn't a cure all, but just some things I've seen turn schools around. It's a lot of work that many teachers and schools don't do, and won't do happily until they are forced to and then finally see results. It is way more work.
If you think you are doing your daughter a favor by keeping her around only white girls you are very mistaken. You are also mistaken in taking a few examples and using those to make gross generalizations about the people and families at public schools. I hope your daughter find some way to escape the ignorance you've displayed here.
Teachers are stupid! **** learning! Teachers don't deserve to get paid because learning is dumb! **** YEAH GO AMERICA GO WEALTHY PEOPLE GO BANKS
I know white girls at private schools that have gotten pregnant at 15 and 16. If you think racism, drugs, gangs, bullying and other "public school" problems don't exist in private schools, you are extremely naive.
Auction off the government prison/school buildings and move to a complete private voucher system. The establishment must be destroyed. <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5V3nRmJz5Ok" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Both the school I go to, the charter school my friend goes to, and the Catholic school in my town are complete jokes. Sadly, all three of these schools are ranked fairly high in what is supposed to be the state#1 in education.
I agree that sports should be far less relevant in schools (I would much rather see real life skills like shop class be mandatory). That being said the issue with our school system is not money. You can dump all the money you want into this current system and won't get better test scores.
Way, way, way too much time already is spent on tests. This stuff is essentially already being done, much to the exhaustion of teachers, administrators and hell even the students. That's not the answer. Children need to be taught how to think in real world situations, not how to answer a question on a test. Plus taking away some of the very things they might enjoy, that might light a fire under them (arts, music, PE, etc) is going to only exacerbate the problem. Teachers need to be held accountable sure. But so do the parents. So do the kids.
I actually like such a diverse range of educational choices, albeit maybe on a smaller scale. I would love to see the nation shift it's focus from cultivating a college-bound culture into cultivating a career-bound culture. A lot of kids don't want to go to college, and a lot don't belong there as it is. Plus having a degree is nowhere near the "golden" ticket it may have once been. So let's give students opportunities to explore their interests and find a career path tailored for them....a lot more so than we do now.
The common theme I find is the lack of parental interest. The same parents who blame the schools are the same ones who let everyone and everything else raise their kids. They let disney and nick and video games occupy their time day in and day out instead of encouraging them to read a few books a year. If a parent doesn't take the time to nurture their kids properly when they are toddlers, they will always struggle in school.
The answer isn't more tests, but there are tests that are part of every program. Also the reason too much teaching to the test is done is because that is the main criteria for evaluation of schools. Take away that component and the tests can be evaluated as I mentioned. Actually I don't really care if it's even a test so much as an assessment. But analyzing that is a major component. The students need to be assessed. Those assessments let the teacher know where they need to do more, and how they need to address the students needs. The give the teacher the information they need to understand what the students need to meet the standards.
I would not want my child in a school where teachers were unaware of the strengths, weaknesses, needs and opportunities of the students. I know a handful of teachers and I think this is widely recognized and performed as part of the job.
