Thread: Kid's........not even a clue !!

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Originally Posted by mopar34

...Public education in this country has gone to hell. I don't think the liberal educators will ever allow it back on track. I heard the other day where the cost per child to go to public school in the area where I work, was about $31,000 per year... I agree that good educators should be paid well, but poor ones should be fired and the top heavy administrations should be sliced to the bone.

Education began to go to hell when corporal punishment was removed from the school. I got my ass blistered when I was a Senior in high school and sent back to class with tears running down my cheeks. I, and two of my friends, did something incredibly stupid, got caught, and we took our punishment. It did not teach me "it's OK to hit people" or turn me into a violent person; it taught me that there are consequences for doing wrong (It wasn't my first paddling). Nowdays, we can't really do anything to a misbehaving kid and they all know it.

It has nothing to do with "liberal educators" (whatever that is). Most of us are very moderate leaning to conservative. The real problem is that the laws and guidelines that regulate education are made by people who know nothing about teaching and/ or running a school. (I don't know of a single legislator or senator that started out as a public school teacher.) The most recent example of that is the George Bush - Ted Kennedy (Yes, they collaborated on it ) law called "No Child Left Behind". If it was applied to football it would go something like this: Every community must have a high-achieving football team. Each team must win a championship within two years. Teams who win championships can keep doing what they are doing, but may be required to help non-championship teams. Teams who do not achieve a championship within two years will have their equipment taken away until they achieve a championship... Does that make sense? It's the kind of stupidity we teachers deal with! It is part of the reason that teaching is the #4 stress-related job in the nation.

If your school district gets $31,000 per year per student I wanna come there to teach! Teachers up there must be making millions! Actually FTE funding is about $3,200 per year per student. If you divide that by 180 school days it comes out to a bit under $18 per day. That is less than a babysitter costs!

Administrations have become very top-heavy and wasteful. When I started in this county 19 years ago, the Vocational-Technical county office had a director, two resource teachers, and two secretaries. Since then, we have lost two Automotive programs, two Masonry programs, at least eight Wood shops, all the junior-high Industrial Arts shops (8 or 9), two Construction labs, and one HVAC program. While the schools were losing programs galore, the Vo-Tech office has swelled to 20+ employees! When the Superintendent came here, he publicly stated that there were "too many chiefs and not enough indians". Since then he has almost doubled the size of the county administration while the student population is declining!

Barb, it sounds like your son's school could be a model for the rest of the nation. It certainly sonds like the exception and not the rule. The pressure that those students are under will probably help them prepare for life after education.

Statistically, students who participate in extra-curricular activities and team sports have better attendance records and fewer discipline problems. Those who are involved in such things as Drama, Band, and the Arts (Photography, Art, Journalism, etc.) tend to score up to 15% higher on standardized tests like the SAT.

Sports in high school has become a two-sided issue, though. While the athletes may be required to keep up their grades and attendance, in some instances it is the team and the sport that has become all-important. In my high school days, playing a sport was a priviledge and an honor. Nowdays, the school's win/ loss record is the thing. Sports no longer teach sportsmanship; they teach "win at any cost!" I had a student tell me once that the football coach had told him to "Take out that asshole's knees!" (He was referring to the opposing team's quarter-back) This jerk coach was willing to inflict possible permanent injury to another young man over a stupid game! Fortunately, the situation changed quickly and our player didn't have to carry that on his consience. Many administrators and coaches put pressure on academic teachers to be overly lenient with some of the "star players" so they can stay on the team. We even had an administrator once who altered grade and attendance records to keep a kid on the team! He got caught, but nothing really happened about it... At our school, we are just finishing a 2 1/2 year renovation project (new heating & A/C, new lights, new tile floors, new paint, new wiring, etc). The original plan called for a large addition to the science & math wing of the school and a new football field. We already had one football field which would become a "practice field". Unfortunately, the budget got cut just before the project got underway. Guess what got cut out of the project?.. Well, we have two football fields now...

J. Robinson wrote: If your school district gets $31,000 per year per student I wanna come there to teach! Teachers up there must be making millions!

The teachers aren't getting rich, although many are making $70k annually or better. The administrators are doing much better, since many are retired teachers who have gotten jobs with the school board. But if you are interested in a job you would likely be welcome to join the system. Not sure that you will really be happy there (really cold winters), but Baltimore City will welcome you. Don't forget to wear your body armor.

The good thing is that this is actually not my school district as I don't live there, only work there. I live one state further north where the teachers go out on strike in the spring leaving students and parents in the lurch. But we got a whole lot less violence. A nearly civilized environment.