Fixing the Public Schools k-12

[BmorePat87]

(11-30-2016, 03:03 PM)Mike M (the other one) Wrote: Good ideas there. As I have said before, I'm not looking to take salary away from them. They play a vital role in educating our children and it's not an easy job to begin with.

Mentoring for a few years is a good way for them to learn with out tossing them into the fire.

Yea, this tries to overcome no parenting at home or just parents who cannot help, even if they want to. Kids need positive influences.

Quote:There we go, a way to fine poor teachers, and I'm not a huge fan of no pay for student performance, that has the opposite effect that it was intended for.

I meant that to mean "No to paying teachers more for student performance" because it's not a fair system. I only teach regular level classes where half the class is special ed, 504, or ELL, haha, so I have more at risk kids than the guy only teaching AP government classes. This is me being greedy.

Quote:I understand opposing an national curriculum, but if your school is doing really well, why wouldn't you want to share it with other schools? It shouldn't be about bringing your school down to the level of the one across town, but about bringing that one up to yours.

In practice, I completely agree. We need to share what works. I just see the actual implementation as being partisan. That's what sucks about education. Lots of good intentions ruined by partisan politics. 

Quote:Definitely more vocational options. Not everyone is college material and this would help people get certified in a field they plan to make a career out of. I went to a vocational school and I have to say, it was very challenging and rewarding. I absolutely flourished at working at my own speed. So much so that I was doing 2nd year stuff in my 1st year and by the time I started my 2nd year stuff, I was done with all of that after 1 quarter. I understand not every class will work like that, but mine was book/lab/test based, so it was easier than those that are more physically demanding. Also I was very bummed that my time spent at a vocational school was not going to count for college, that needs to be changed if it hasn't been already.

This also means community colleges need more vocational classes. We call our version of Common Core "College and Career Readiness Standards" to emphasize that careers matter too, but all our admins care about is SAT and AP. When I only teach regular level kids, I care about getting them ready to graduate and find a job. We have a lot of programs for students with disabilities, but not for other students. Then sometimes the only vocational schools after high school are for profit and wastes of money. 

 

Quote:I can agree that students with disabilities should be part of the general education. no need to single them out.

Tailoring classes starting in the 7th or 8th grade would be easier to do with teleconferencing electives. No complaints here with that idea.

:andy:

Quote:There still needs to be a test done, maybe 1 at start and end of year to make sure that the students have improved accordingly. if not then maybe consider holding them back a year, based on the teachers recommendations.

The problem is they're often poor indicators of performance. They only measure what they're specifically designed to measure. It also means we often are just teaching to a test. We need assessments, but that can mean a lot of things. So I am not opposed to assessments, just in the form of only doing standard tests. 

Quote:Yes, poorer students tend to not do as well as better off students do, but that's where the focus needs to be. The opportunity still needs to be there for them. Some will start excelling and you don't want to hold them back. The whole planning your curriculum for your career might help with that. Gets them into it at an earlier age. 

Good Ideas Pat.

For as much as we can disagree on issues, you're always a class act when you're trying to find common ground and just get to the root of issues. Thanks for this thread. Great nonpartisan ideas being floated around that a lot of us seem to agree with. Schools need to be tougher, but they also need to be more flexible, if that makes sense.