volfro

Very true.

I went to school in suburban (formerly rural--it's gone suburban in the last ten years) Georgia, and it is absolutely enfuriating to see the way money is spent. In my four years of high school, I used torn, outdated books, but we had a nice new fence in the front. I worked hard and took honors classes, but the only kids who got recognition were the athletes. I saw music and art programs get their budgets cut or eliminated because the football team needed new uniforms.

And really, it's because athletics brings in the bacon. In Paulding County, GA, the only people who went to student art exhibits or shows by the band were relatives. But the stands were filled at football games (even though the team sucked and lost every time).

So anyway. Here are students and teachers who strive for the best and get no recognition; and then there're the coaches who also teach but only because it's required, not because they're passionate about any one subject. It's their programs that get the money, not the teachers who deserve raises, not new books, not supplies for the liberal arts. Such a load of crap.

tuboflard

What really gets me in my school district is that the crappier a school does overall in standardized tests, lower number of AP exams, etc the more money they get. One of the more ghetto schools in my district got two new computer labs with all the money they got over the summer only to find it all stolen a few weeks after starting up again during the fall semester. I went to the best public hs in my district, if it weren't for the fundrasing the PTA did and the alumni, the school wouldn't have had the cash to run and that really pissed me off since everything else at my school went to shit while these other assholes that didn't deserve it got all the new cool stuff. Bitches...

RB76

Two words: personal responsibility.

What we have lost nowadays is a sense of personal responsibility. Parents feel that it is the schools responsibility to raise their children. I know a number of educators and the biggest complaint that I hear from them is not that the children are bad, but that the parents are not willing to help the teachers help their children. The kids come into school and say that they spent 6 hours playing Playstation and they didn't have time to do their homework or they just forgot. They're kids, they want to have fun and its the parents responsibility to ensure that their child's education doesn't stop the moment they leave the school's front door.

The system is at fault as well. By not demanding that the parents and teachers (and over time the children) be responsible for the children's education, the system has unwittingly been set up to fail. For example, why do teachers get paid relatively poorly? Because there is a deeply held belief that the those people who truly want and are able to teach well will forgo adequate compensation because they believe in what they are doing. Often, teaching is seen as a way to pay the bills until something better somes along. Why do the teachers unions so vehemently opposed standardized testing (e.g No Child Left Behind, MCAS, etc)? Because it forces teachers to be responsible for educating their students to pass the test. Thus we have many teachers who "teach the test". Good teachers are screwed because they are being held solely responsible for a child's education. And the parents are pointing the finger at the teachers saying "You failed to do your job!!!"

Where were the parents? They were not attending parent teacher conferences. They were not supervising their kids so that they did their homework. They were not locking up the Playstation and limiting the child's use of TV and video games. They were not being responsible parents.

I feel for the teachers, I really do, but I believe in things like standardized testing and No Child Left Behind simply because it forces us to take a good hard look at the state of our educational system and start assigning responsibility! Standardized tests discriminate those student who can pass the test from those who can't. A student failing the test is good indication that something isn't right and it is incumbent upon the teachers, the school system, and the parents to figure out what is wrong.

If most of a particular teacher's class fails, look at the teacher. If most of a school fails, look at the school or school system. If a child fails, look at the child and his family. It's not rocket science. Everyone shares responsibility. Everyone needs to own up to their responsibilities.

Diatribe ended.

RB76

kulotsalot

I'm sorry to say this but... some parents are no more than big kids, themselves. Scared and confused because they have no idea how to raise their kids, they dump them on the doorstep of the Educational System and expect to have them back as fully-functioning, well-rounded individuals with all the right knowledge, values, etc. after 12 years.

Education does not start and end at the school gates. Everything that a child participates in will educate him in one way or another. And because it's only natural for a child to copy his parents during his early years, you would've taught your child a gazillion things before you even think about which school to send him to. I see parents nowadays who will do anything just to not upset their children. "You wanna skip three meals and play Starcraft all day? That's ok, as long as you munch on some cookies so that you don't starve to death. You're threatening to throw a temper tantrum because you "forgot" about your assignment and only remembered it at the very last minute? That's ok, dear, Mommy will do it for you. Look, I'll even mess up my handwriting a bit so it looks like you did it." This is the wrong kind of support to give to the kids!