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Quote:
(CNN) -- A school board in Rhode Island has voted to fire all teachers at a struggling high school, a dramatic and controversial plan aimed at shoring up education in a poverty-ridden school district.
In a 5-2 vote Tuesday night, the board approved the plan by Frances Gallo, superintendent at Central Falls School District, to discharge the teachers at Central Falls High School.
The firings came after the district said it failed to reach an agreement with the teachers' union on a plan for the instructors to spend more time with students to improve test scores.
Among those affected are the school's 74 classroom teachers and other educators, such as guidance counselors and reading specialists, the union said.
The terminations will go into effect in the next school year.
A union spokesman called the firings "drastic" and cited a 21 percent rise in reading scores and a 3 percent hike in math scores in two years.
Central Falls High is one of the lowest-performing schools in Rhode Island. It is in a community where median income is $22,000, census figures show.
Of the 800 students, 65 percent are Hispanic, and for most of them, English is a second language. Half of the students are failing every subject, with 55 percent skilled in reading and 7 percent proficient in math, officials said.
In a proposal based on federal guidelines, Gallo asked teachers to work a longer school day of seven hours and tutor students weekly for one hour outside of school time.
She also proposed teachers have lunch with students often, meet for 90 minutes every week to discuss education and set aside two weeks during summer break for paid professional development.
The union spokesman said the teachers had accepted most of the changes but wanted to work out compensation for the extra hours of work.
The superintendent said the two sides could not agree on a pay rate.
Under new federal requirements for school reform, low-performing schools have several options for shaping up. One is called the transformation model, which includes a series of changes that teachers just agree to adopt.
When the negotiations on those changes failed at Central Falls High, the superintendent switched to another option: the turnaround model, which means firing every teacher at a troubled school.
Central Falls High teacher Kathy May said she is disheartened. "I feel like, after 20 years, I can see some progress beginning to be made. And I'm sad that we're not going to be around to follow that through, to push that forward," May said.
Gallo -- who said Rhode Island law requires notice must be given by March 1 -- said the problem isn't solely the fault of teachers and it wasn't her preference to make the move.
She indicated that some teachers might be rehired.
"When we had to move from the transformation model, the next best move was the turnaround model. And that requires us to remove the teachers and rehire, of those who reapply, up to 50 percent," she said.
"This is a major move, for a very significant reason, and that being that we couldn't hone in on the assurances we needed for the transformation model."
Asked what would happen if the teachers' union accepted the original terms, Gallo said it would be difficult to go back, but that such a move can't be discounted.
"And if, as we approach 120 days of planning as we move forward, if indeed something of that effect comes around, then I still think we have a lot of doors that could be opened," she said.
At a community rally before Tuesday's school board meeting, supporters of the teachers slammed the plan.
Jane Sessums, president of the Central Falls Teachers Union, said teachers have been "unfairly targeted" and scapegoated and the union will fight to have them reinstated.
"We want genuine reforms, not quick fixes that do nothing but create a wedge between teachers, our school and our community," Sessums said. She added that "teachers have agreed to numerous solutions and reforms."
George McLaughlin, a guidance counselor who was fired along with his wife, a chemistry teacher, said the school has been inaccurately cast as a place with low graduation rates.
"We have the most transient population in this state. Nobody comes close to us. So when they say that 50 percent of the people graduate, a very high percentage of our students leave our school. They return. They leave again. They go back to other countries," he said
McLaughlin said three times as many of the school's students are accepted to colleges now than they were five years ago.
He also was critical of the superintendent, saying Gallo "has been with us for a little more than three years."
McLaughlin said if Gallo were willing to negotiate and listen to former Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-Rhode Island, who offered to mediate, "maybe we could resolve this instead of causing more trauma to us."
McLaughlin said the negotiations were about job security, not pay, and said teachers are ready to resume talks.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/24/rhode.island.teachers/?hpt=T2
it's ridiculous to me that a union spokesman can cite a 3% increase in math testing in TWO years for a group of students where only 7% of them are proficient in math.
maybe they should worry about making an impact and showing poositive results before worrying about pay.
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Quote:
Of the 800 students, 65 percent are Hispanic, and for most of them, English is a second language. Half of the students are failing every subject, with 55 percent skilled in reading and 7 percent proficient in math, officials said.
For most of them - as per the article - english is a second language. I take most to mean "over 400". I don't care what percentage is hispanic. The problem is - MOST of them don't speak english.
Moms and dads need to man up - if the kids don't speak english very well - it comes from home. No longer can we assume the "schools will teach everything necessary".......if the kids aren't proficient in the damn language they are being taught in!!
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It does seem like a darn shame that the school board can't fire the parents.. when a school grades out that low, it's the parents more than it's the teachers....
Maybe if they would like to separate the kids that have a shot from the kids that don't they should call a special meeting in the auditorium and invite all of the kids and their parents to come... have all of the teachers there... have the school board there.. have ICE there... and just MAYBE they could get to the bottom of what the problem is.
yebat' Putin
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i think it was pretty unclear but i'm fairly certain that the "most of them" part was referring to "most of the hispanic students." so, per the article, 65% of the 800 students are hispanic. that means 520 of them are hispanic. my interpretation of that sentence is, for "most" of them (them being "hispanics"), english is the 2nd language. the lowest percentage for "most" would be 51%, meaning somewhere between 265 to 520 of the 800 students have english as the 2nd language.
that said, with english being a 2nd language, that doesn't mean these kids don't understand it. it simply means they learned another language before they did, english. heck, when i was in high school, i could've been characterized as having learned english as a 2nd language but i had no problems communicating and learning.
the point is, it's clear these teachers are failing when 7% of the entire student body, a whopping 56 of the 800 students are proficient at math and that a 3% increase in scores in TWO years is supposed to show there is positive progress. regardless of whether 400 students or 600 students could understand english.
and without focusing on many many other external factors (economics of the neighborhood, educational support structure at home, etc), it's clear these teachers were not accomplishing much, either.
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-Just what this school needs. New teachers that aren't familiar with the school, or the student body. Great leadership all the way around here. - Tax dollars at work.
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[quote the point is, it's clear these teachers are failing when 7% of the entire student body, a whopping 56 of the 800 students are proficient at math and that a 3% increase in scores in TWO years is supposed to show there is positive progress. regardless of whether 400 students or 600 students could understand english.
Well, I took it a different way - but regardless - if only 7% are proficient at math - uh, it's not the teachers.
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and without focusing on many many other external factors (economics of the neighborhood, educational support structure at home, etc), it's clear these teachers were not accomplishing much, either.
But you blame the teachers? Sorry, but again - if only 7% were proficient at math - that's not the teachers. That's a combination of language lack and no help at home. Don't blame the teachers.
2 plus 2 is 4, and dos plus dos is cuatro - language has no bearing on math - unless you don't know math and the language. I still blame the parents. And I don't care if it's 1 parent or 2 parents. If there isn't help at home - if the kids don't see that learning is important - doesn't matter who teaches them at school.
And rather than it being "clear the teachers have failed", I would again say the parents have failed.
Schools can only do so much - at some point in time people need to realize this.
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you're only making my point. without the language excuse, it's inexcusable that these kids can't do math. it's inexcusable that the union rep cites that 3% increase in scores over 2 years to show that they're doing their job.
that said, i'm never absolved the students and families by any means. it's just clear that these teachers were part of the problem.
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you're only making my point. without the language excuse, it's inexcusable that these kids can't do math. it's inexcusable that the union rep cites that 3% increase in scores over 2 years to show that they're doing their job.
that said, i'm never absolved the students and families by any means. it's just clear that these teachers were part of the problem.
You're free to have your opinion.
I base my opinion on what life is like here. If it weren't for mom and dad (me and my wife) doing homework with my daughter - every night - it wouldn't matter if her teacher were Albert Einstein.
By the way - my daughter just yesterday finished her multiplication facts - up to 12. Interestingly enough, there are several kids in her class (of about 22) that still have not done their 2's - let alone 3's, 4's, 5's, etc.
Is that because my daughter is a genius? Or is that because my daughter spends 10 minutes a night working on math?
You tell me. My daughter also speaks, reads, and understands the language of this country.
I do not expect the school system to teach her everything. She's in 3rd grade by the way.
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naturally, our experiences shape our opinions. kudos to you and your wife for helping your daughter value education. i completely agree with you that the home structure plays a vital role in learning.
you just need to understand that, in criticizing those teachers, i'm not saying that parents should be able to let schools teach their kids and not do anything themselves. that's not the point. the point is, somewhere in that school, things were failing. when you have such a large number of students failing all subjects, that becomes a norm and that is the fault of the teachers. when the people in charge come up with a structure to break that norm, resulting in different ways for the teachers to help the students, the hang-up to implementing this plan shouldn't be how much more the teachers are paid and that's what the management is saying. at this point, from this article (which is purely on a results standpoint), none of those teachers are doing a good enough job to stay employed, though some may be re-hired. to argue that any of those teachers should be paid MORE, to do their job, which isn't to show up for x hours but to TEACH these kids, is ludicrous. they, the teachers and their union, need to recognize that they need to show better results first, before focusing on how much they make for the extra effort they need to put forth.
again, this is not absolving the parents, but management can only control what they can control. clearly the teachers are failing with the parents but if, by doing this and implementing their plan, they can raise that 7% proficient in math to 14%, and then 28%, etc, then they're doing their jobs.
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Dong, My Man....Sometimes you amaze even me. Kudo's Bro.
Dawginit since Jan. 24, 2000 Member #180
You can't fix yesterday but you can learn for tomorrow
#GMSTRONG
I want to do it as a Cleveland Brown because that's who I am.”
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on another note dong, I think you highlighted the wrong parts of the article.. this is what jumped out at me.. Quote:
The firings came after the district said it failed to reach an agreement with the teachers' union on a plan for the instructors to spend more time with students to improve test scores.
In a proposal based on federal guidelines, Gallo asked teachers to work a longer school day of seven hours
She also proposed teachers have lunch with students often, meet for 90 minutes every week to discuss education and set aside two weeks during summer break for paid professional development.
Increase their day to 7 hours? Seriously?
There are 180 school days a year.. that's 1260 hours (assuming no personal days or vacation days)... 2 weeks for continuing education in the summer... 80 hours.... 90 minutes every week to meet and discuss education (let's assume this is in addition to their rigorous 7 hour day, but I bet it's not.. that's another 54 hours ...
So to recap, 1260 hours + 80 hours + 54 hours = 1394 hours per year... the average business pay is based on 2080 hours per year, but after, let's say 2 weeks vacation, the person is paid to work 2000 hours (to keep it fair with teachers, I'll leave out sick days since I left out personal days)...
In my quick research I found that the average high school teacher in Rhode Island makes about $55,000 a year plus benes... $55,000 a year to work 70% of what everybody else is expected to work.. and they wanted more money for this extra work? Seriously?
And before anybody says, "But teachers work more than that, they have after school events, they have papers to grade." Guess what, find me a business person of any level of success that works 40 a week like I said... We've been pretty slow over the last few months and I haven't had a weekly timesheet under 49 hours.. they are typically mid to high 50s per week...
I blame the parents for the kids not learning but I think the teachers are whiny.
yebat' Putin
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you're right, dc, it was an angle that i wanted to avoid because my main point was the terrible results but when you compound that with your point on their hours and pay, that's a tough pill to swallow. i give them the benefit of the doubt that they probably do not make the average, though, since the neighborhood they serve has a median income of 22k so i doubt the teachers are making 50k but yes, i thought the same thing as you did: the teachers/union are being whiny over thier own wellbeing vs going that extra mile for their students. and thanks, bleednbrown 
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I am a little bias here, as my mom is a teacher (for 2 more days at least when she retires on Friday after 30 years) who teaches at Toledo Public Schools. She is at one of the nicer elementary schools the district has (which isn't saying a whole lot) and the stories she comes home with about parents just not giving a damn about their kids is astounding. Our public education system, especially in low income areas, has become a free day care. She had one student this year (she teaches Kindergarten) that could identify 2 letters, 1 color, and 3 numbers in her pre-screening. Now, she can suggest to the parent that the child is not ready, but if the parent says my child is going anyway then that's the way it is. Schools cannot decline admission even when clearly this child had NO help at home prior to entering school. Unfortunately, this is all too common in the area she teaches in. She had another child start who had FIVE siblings in the same school with different last names, all of which were troubled kids who's mother did not care a bit about their behavior and failing grades.
Sure there are some parents who care, who "get it" that teaching their child is just as much their responsibility as it is the school system. I never thought I'd see it, but this years class totally broke my mom - she had had enough and threw in the towel before the year was over. Very sad that a well respected and liked teacher just couldn't take the behavior of the kids anymore and said it's just not worth it.
As for the hours, my mom spent at least 8-10 hours per day working. Not saying that is a lot, as I typically work more than that, but I don't have to deal with the things that she does - disrespectful kids, parents threatening lawsuits, and parents not caring. Why anyone in Ohio, where a masters degree is required for teaching, would become a teacher is beyond me.
#gmstrong
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A relative of mine also teaches for TPS and says pretty much the same thing. They're lucky to get a 25% turnout for parent teacher conferences.
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.
- John Muir
#GMSTRONG
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Quote:
A relative of mine also teaches for TPS and says pretty much the same thing. They're lucky to get a 25% turnout for parent teacher conferences.
I just had parent teacher conferences...3 parents showed up
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Funny you say something like that. It's not just the big city schools - in my daughters class there are 3 kids that have not done ANY of their multiplication "tests" Not even the 2's. And my daughter has done all of them? How can that be?
I help out in her classroom about twice a month. And "in her classroom" is an exaggeration - I get sent out with the same 6 kids every time - helping them do the homework they never get done. Helping them with freaking addition and subtraction - they are supposed to be doing multiplication.
You would be amazed at how starved these kids are for attention from an adult - an adult that actually spends time doing school stuff with them. It is so painfully obvious that there is no attention paid to schoolwork when they get home.
There is absolutely no way the teacher can teach these kids - and they get further behind each year. (I've known most of them since my daughter was in kindergarten).
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Isn't that some form of child abuse? I'm not kidding...turn the parents in.
#gmstrong #gmlapdance
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Isn't that some form of child abuse? I'm not kidding...turn the parents in.
Turn them in for what? Not helping their kids with school work?
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Yes. Parents shouldn't be parents unless they can do that job. Sorry, just growing intolerant of ignorant people having children.
#gmstrong #gmlapdance
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Yes. Parents shouldn't be parents unless they can do that job. Sorry, just growing intolerant of ignorant people having children.
Me too - but I can't report them - no law was broken.
I swear to you - it breaks my heart. And I've spoken with other parents that help out and they feel the same way.
These kids are smart enough - they just get no encouragement - no discipline to do homework - no anything from home.. And yet the teacher and school system get "graded" based in part on kids like this. The teacher has to spend extra time with these kids, to no avail - but it hurts the better students that DO put in the work.
Sorry - we all have the OPPORTUNITY. And what we make of that opportunity is up to us - not the schools, not the teachers, not the gov't. Equality means equal opportunity - not equal results. It's not the kids fault. Heck, I won't use her name - a girl that I have helped for 4 years now - k through 3rd grade - she can't even focus on what we're doing because she's too focused on an adult actually trying to help her.
A boy - same situation......same thing - he can do it. He's smart enough - he comes from a terrible home situation. (which I learned about last year - and honestly, it put all the pieces together for me as far as he is concerned. Mom and dad seem to take turns going to jail, although dad is in prison now)
I'll quit after this last thing: When do we as a society say "hey, I can only do so much. The opportunity is there - some will grab it, some won't." (and that goes for much more than just school).
Teachers cannot guarantee "equal learning", they can only guarantee equal opportunity. Same with gov't. - they should not be focused on everyone being equal - just with giving everyone a fair shake to do with what they want.
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These kids are smart enough - they just get no encouragement - no discipline to do homework - no anything from home.
Exactly. I too volunteer in my sons classroom twice per month and see the same thing. I help the same kids every time and they are starved for the attention. Some of these kids are very bright but had not help from home. The lack of of parental support at home is one of the main reasons this country is going down the crapper IMO.
#gmstrong
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I agree. But that makes us "elitists" in some peoples minds/opinions.
For the most part, you can only teach a kid if the kid has been taught education is worth working for. (which translates into: if you want it, you have to work for it in life)
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I really admire you guys for helping out kids.
Where I work, we get a lot of young kids who get hired that have no work ethic. Do not understand accountability, are quick to raise their hands for an early quit, have no respect for authority, feel that I, as a supervisor, need to ASK them to do something . . . when I inform them that I am not asking, I am telling you to do X Y and Z they throw a fit. I'm disrespecting them . . .
I can imagine what it is like to be a teacher. In my next life, I would like to teach American History, but it's threads like this that scare me from that.
I would LOVE to be able to work at Colonial Williamsburg too. One day maybe.
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I really admire you guys for helping out kids.
Make no mistake about it - I'm lucky enough to have a job where I can do that.
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Where I work, we get a lot of young kids who get hired that have no work ethic. Do not understand accountability, are quick to raise their hands for an early quit, have no respect for authority, feel that I, as a supervisor, need to ASK them to do something . . . when I inform them that I am not asking, I am telling you to do X Y and Z they throw a fit. I'm disrespecting them . . .
Unfortunately, that's our society today. I guarantee you, my 2 kids are NOT that way. There were not brought up that way (my son is a full time college student - in his last year of school - in nursing - and he puts in the max. hours he can where he works. His boss has even sent him home saying "you can't work this many hours in a week") And with my daughter - she gets no slack from me or mom. Well, truth be told, she get's a lot of slack from me - but as I tell her: "We need to stick together girl - don't let mom get to you". But, she knows school is a priority. She knows it's important.
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I can imagine what it is like to be a teacher.
I can imagine what it would be like to be a teacher - and let me say - it takes a special person to do that job - to do it well.
What I don't want is me, and people like me, and my kids - I don't want to be paying for people that have no damn clue about what gets you ahead in life. It's called work and effort.
My wife and I put in work and effort for our kids. My son is putting in work and effort to better himself. My daughter is working and putting in effort to better herself - she just doesn't realize it yet......why should we have to pay for the damn idiots of this society? Don't penalize us for bettering ourselves - or trying to better ourselves.
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If that is the case, then I do not mind calling myself an "elitist". Education and work ethic are the most important things that we can instill in our children IMO.
My dad came from nothing - his mom was an orphan and his dad was in the military and served in WWII (if anyone has seen the "Band Of Brothers" on HBO, that is what my grandfather did). They may not have had a lot, BUT they were SUPPORTIVE parents. He went to a school in Toledo that was pretty rough, especially for a white kid, in the 1960s (Libby). My mom came from a very educated family - her mom was a teacher and her dad was a lawyer.
It took my dad 7 years to get himself through college, but he did it. He pushed me to get my application in early to the school I wanted to go to. My parents cared about my education and realized it's importance. They instilled that it is important to work hard, and if you do you WILL get ahead. Sadly, the importance of education and the importance of hard work has slipped in this country.
In a few weeks I am taking my dad to Pebble Beach to golf at what is considered one of the best golf courses in the world as a thank you to him for being such a great parent. I can do that because of what HE (and my mom) did to push me in my education AND work ethic. I was taught nothing is given to you and you work hard to get ahead. I have done this and am able to give my dad the golf vacation of a lifetime - something he would never, ever pay to do out of his own pocket. When I gave it to him he was almost in tears, and I cannot recall seeing him cry in my lifetime.
When I told my dad about his birthday gift and why I gave it to him he said "you don't need to do that, I did what any father should do for his child". The word SHOULD is the important part of what he said. It is unfortunate that too many people expect things to be given to them and not be rewarded by hard work and perseverance.
#gmstrong
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Kudo's to you for doing that for your dad. You'll never regret it.
My parents taught me to get my butt out of bed. Go to school, and don't come home with bad grades.
Get your butt out of bed - it's summer and you have a job to get to, and when you get home, you have to mow that yard, that yard, and then our yard. (before I could drive, and had a job - it was "get out of bed, you have to ride your bike the 4 miles to baseball practice, and when you're done with that, you have to mow."
I played baseball, football and basketball, and ran track in jr. high. My parents never missed a game. It was the "get your butt up and go watch your son" syndrome.
I could go on and on about my parents - and my grandparents were the same - although neither of my grandma's had jobs outside of the home. Regardless - work to get better, and enjoy what you had. And don't ever be jealous of someone that had/has more than you.
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Just to touch on what you guys have said, when I got out of high school I wanted to be a teacher. I graduated from high school in June 2001 and started college right as 9/11 happened, and I decided to enlist after finishing my first year (since I already paid for it). Had I not done that there is a good chance I would be a teacher right now, but after serving in the military my life changed directions. I look back now at wanting to be a teacher and after some of the stuff I've seen I'm glad I decided not to follow that path. One reason though is exactly this, kids who don't want to or care to learn. Parents that don't teach their kids that education is important raise kids who don't care about their education. If I had decided to be a teacher, things like this would have probably made me miserable and who knows where my life would be right now.
And to think they fired an entire schools worth of teachers because they couldn't teach kids who didn't want to learn? Sad for the teachers.
"All I know is, as long as I led the Southeastern Conference in scoring, my grades would be fine." - Charles Barkley
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Dawg Talker
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,833 |
secondary special education teacher here. It's my second career after being in personnel for @20 years.
here are some points;
I must get a Masters Degree to keep my job. I will graduate this spring with a mountain of debt. Name another job where you have a Masters and pays less than a teacher?
I have had parents go ballistic on me for "allowing their kids to misbehave". It was my fault the kid acted out.
Parents have ordered me to do things for them that they should be doing themselves and then call my boss to complain when I don't do it or tell them "no".
the parents constantly order me around and use me as a scapegoat for their kid's lack of ability.
Has anyone ever thought that maybe the kids at the RI school are just plain dumb?
Parent: Why can't my child read at grade level?
Teacher: he's stupid.
You can't say that even if it's true.It's the teacher's fault of course.
Let's turn this around
Parent: Why can't my kid run a 4 minute mile
Track Coach: He doesn't have that much ability
Parent: It's your fault
Coach: no it's your fault Dad. He inherited the genes from you....
Kids inherit stupid genes too BTW
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 15,015
Legend
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Legend
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 15,015 |
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you're only making my point. without the language excuse, it's inexcusable that these kids can't do math. it's inexcusable that the union rep cites that 3% increase in scores over 2 years to show that they're doing their job.
that said, i'm never absolved the students and families by any means. it's just clear that these teachers were part of the problem.
Kids struggle with math these days because we don't stress the fundamentals anymore. It's all about advancing. Kids are learning geometry and basic algebra in 5th grade these days, something that when I was a kid was 8th or 9th grade. And starting in 4th grade they were allowed to use calculators in class and for homework, but not on tests. 
We need to focus on fundamentals, the rest falls in line once you know that.
When my step-son was learning multiplication tables in 2nd grade, the one part of math that is memorization, they spent 1 week then moved on. We couldn't catch up, it took forever to accomplish any homework because he hadn't gotten his table memorized, so we were constantly behind the 8-ball and fighting. Ended up sending him to Sylvan for 5 years through his sophomore year, just to keep him up to speed. And he still struggles with some of the multiplication tables.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,667
Dawg Talker
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Dawg Talker
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,667 |
Quote:
Name another job where you have a Masters and pays less than a teacher?
Social worker.
You asked.
I thought I was wrong once....but I was mistaken...
What's the use of wearing your lucky rocketship underpants if nobody wants to see them????
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,833
Dawg Talker
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Dawg Talker
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,833 |
Quote:
you're right, dc, it was an angle that i wanted to avoid because my main point was the terrible results but when you compound that with your point on their hours and pay, that's a tough pill to swallow. i give them the benefit of the doubt that they probably do not make the average, though, since the neighborhood they serve has a median income of 22k so i doubt the teachers are making 50k but yes, i thought the same thing as you did: the teachers/union are being whiny over thier own wellbeing vs going that extra mile for their students.
and thanks, bleednbrown
if it's that easy and so high paying then why aren't you doing it??
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 39
Rookie
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Rookie
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 39 |
You are exactly right when you said that kids don't want or care to learn.I went to Cleveland public schools my entire school career until college and it was just crazy. My freshmen class in highschool was about 1,500 students and we had a graduating class of about 120. When only 30% of the students passed their proficiency tests all I heard was excuses. The students and their parents were saying that the needed skills were not taught (even though I somehow learned them),or how the tests were racially biased. It had nothing to do with the fact that most of the students were more worried about going to lunch and who was in what gang.
As far as the second language excuse, that's just complete B.S. My girlfriend came from the Ukraine Just eight years ago and she didn't know one word of english. But by actually putting in some work she is now a pre-med student and speaks english with barely an accent.Most of the hispanic students I went to school with were born an raised in this country and still used the second language excuse.
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 40,399
Legend
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Legend
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 40,399 |
Maybe that's because she couldn't just push 4 to hear the instructions in Ukrainian... seriously, we think we are doing these hispanic folks a favor by making every sign, voicemail, and document, especially government documents, available in Spanish.. we are not, we are doing them and ourselves a tremendous disservice.
There is a raging battle in Wake County, NC right now, where I live, over bussing or not bussing kids... my son will start high school next year, there is a brand spanking new high school 2 miles from my house.. my son isn't slotted to go to it. He is supposed to be bussed 15 miles to a school in Knightdale, which is 70% minority, has among the worst test scores and graduation rates in the county and is well known for its violence and misconduct... why? Because of diversity.. so they can bus some minority kids out to the nice new high school. I'm freakin' pissed. My wife and I have berated every school board member we can find that will listen (and some that don't want to listen)... I did not bust my ass, incur debt to get my education, work hard to achieve the level I've achieved so I could afford a decent house in a decent neighborhood with decent schools so they could send my son back into the hood to go to high school because it's "NOT FAIR"... not fair my ass. If that makes me a racist, then fine, I'm a racist.
yebat' Putin
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 3,431
Hall of Famer
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Hall of Famer
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 3,431 |
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why should we have to pay for the damn idiots of this society?
Because we are an" enlightend " society that refuses to let nature take it's natural course . As for the kids who don't make it ? The world needs ditch diggers as well as engineers .
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,480
Hall of Famer
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Hall of Famer
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,480 |
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the teachers/union are being whiny over thier own wellbeing vs going that extra mile for their students.
Most teachers are willing to go the extra mile from my experiences. You can only try so many times to do that, but if the kid/parents just don't care it doesn't matter how fare you go. It is a two way street.
Quick story of going the extra mile that my mom did this year with the kid that I mentioned earlier that didn't know colors, numbers, or the alphabet.
My mom told the parent that her child was not ready for Kindergarten and if she enrolled it was highly likely that she would need to repeat a second year. My mom suggested that she go to pre-school and then do Kindergarten next year. The mom said "I don't have the money for that", which was true - there are lots of gov't programs to help out with that though, which the mother was unwilling to look into. So, on her own time, my mom found out that she could enroll her child for FREE at the YMCA preschool/daycare. Well, the parent "didn't have time" to fill out the paperwork, nor did she have a car to get her to the YMCA.
Next step...my mom worked with the lady at the YMCA and filled out all of the paperwork necessary to enroll her child. She also found out that a bus ran from her school to the YMCA every day to take kids to/from the daycare. Transportation problem solved. My dad went to the YMCA, picked up the paperwork and DROVE it to this ladies apartment to have her sign it. She wouldn't do it because the YMCA daycare started TWO WEEKS after Kindergarten started and she just couldn't handle watching her child for those two weeks so she refused to enroll in the YMCA program. She insisted that her child go to Kindergarten.
The next step this parent took was to call the school board and tell them that my mom said that her child COULDN'T enroll in Kindergarten. Never did she say that - she just said she wasn't ready which was true.
My mom has done countless acts such as the above over the course of her 30 year career, as have her friends who are teachers. The above story finally broke her this year - the level of parents just not caring is getting to the point where this country is in deep trouble. People are having kids just to collect the gov't check they get for having them and not giving a damn if their child is successful.
Why anyone would teach is beyond me - it takes a very special person to do this.
#gmstrong
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 9,149
Legend
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Legend
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 9,149 |
No open enrollment, reciprocation,....or any other fancy stuff they call getting around the system ?
I feel bad for you. That stinks. And my guess is 'your' taxes pay for 'that' new high school ?
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 39
Rookie
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Rookie
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 39 |
In my opinion bussing is what killed the Cleveland public schools. The highschool I attended was a very good school throuhout it's history until bussing began. They said they were starting bussing because it would help improve the test scores of the ghetto schools and all it did was lower all of the scores and bankrupt the school system within 10-15 years.
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 13,293
Legend
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Legend
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 13,293 |
Quote:
I did not bust my ass, incur debt to get my education, work hard to achieve the level I've achieved so I could afford a decent house in a decent neighborhood with decent schools so they could send my son back into the hood to go to high school because it's "NOT FAIR"... not fair my ass.
I feel for ya, man. I'd be very angry at my school board if I were in your shoes. Beyond "very angry" in fact.
![[Linked Image from i28.photobucket.com]](http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c201/shadedog/mcenroe2.jpg) gmstrong -----------------
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 40,399
Legend
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Legend
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 40,399 |
I can only imagine the frustration of being a teacher willing to go the extra mile for a kid when the parents and the kid don't care... has to be about the most frustrating thing in the world.
It's one thing to go the extra mile to support a kid who is struggling.. it's something completely different to go the extra mile to drag a kid through his education who doesn't care.
Disclaimer: When I say a kid doesn't care (especially a smaller kid)... what I'm really saying is that the parents don't care. Unless the parents care, 99.9% of kids won't learn to care either.
yebat' Putin
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Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,480
Hall of Famer
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Hall of Famer
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,480 |
Quote:
There is a raging battle in Wake County, NC right now, where I live, over bussing or not bussing kids... my son will start high school next year, there is a brand spanking new high school 2 miles from my house.. my son isn't slotted to go to it. He is supposed to be bussed 15 miles to a school in Knightdale, which is 70% minority, has among the worst test scores and graduation rates in the county and is well known for its violence and misconduct... why? Because of diversity.. so they can bus some minority kids out to the nice new high school. I'm freakin' pissed. My wife and I have berated every school board member we can find that will listen (and some that don't want to listen)... I did not bust my ass, incur debt to get my education, work hard to achieve the level I've achieved so I could afford a decent house in a decent neighborhood with decent schools so they could send my son back into the hood to go to high school because it's "NOT FAIR"... not fair my ass. If that makes me a racist, then fine, I'm a racist.
Wow, I'd be livid if that happened to my son. I can't even imagine how I would react, but it would not be pretty - that is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard.  I'm sure the graduation rates and test scores are due to the teachers and not the parents not giving a crap 
#gmstrong
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