Public schools: our educational backbone

Completely disagree. The author's first "fix" for the educational system is to fix the system...We need to teach the teachers to teach better. So how does he (assuming the author is a "he") propose doing this? By putting them through the same, old, tired, broken system.

Further, he states (without coming right out and saying it) that we need to increase taxes and throw more money at the system. I'm sorry, but we've been throwing good money after bad at the educational system since it's inception, and the same problems continue to persist.

What is needed is a complete overhaul of the system, starting at the top. Administrators do not need to be making $100,200,300K a year. Most administrators are superfluous, and could be eliminated altogether. The Teacher's Union needs to be reined in. Continuing to demand higher pay, fewer hours, and weaker standards of accountability only hurt our kids. Teachers and principals must be given the power to effectively discipline unruly and disruptive students. Political Correctness and this crap of Zero Tolerance so strict that a student can't hug a friend, have a cough drop or a plastic knife to cut an apple must be eliminated. Intellectual Education (math, reading, science, history, etc) must be prized over diversity. That doesn't mean that the two can't coexist, but if I have to choose, I'll take the knowledge over the diversity. Life will teach that black and white people are equal, and that it's bad to treat one better than the other.

We are dancing down a very rocky road with our educational system, and I completely agree that it is horribly broken and needs to be fixed. Nobody is ever going to agree on the best way to do that. But to continue trying something that has been proven over and over not to work, isn't that the definition of insanity?

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As a former teacher, in 1999 I found myself in a losing struggle trying to explain to another teacher why it was about to be the 21st and not the 20th century. Another day I saw a 2nd grade teacher with her class' spelling words on the board, one she had misspelled. I saw them cheat for their class on standardized tests and I saw them act like idiots. Daily. I taught special education and had little or no faith in my peers as educators. I decided that elementary teachers were there because it was all they could do.

Now I'm a parent of an elementary aged child and I'm seeing it all from the other side of the desk. Do I still think many of the teachers are idiots? Yes. Is my child in public school? Yes.

I neither expect (nor want) the school to teach all there is to know to my child. Public school is like McDonalds. If you want a filet mignon, get it at home; you'll get a perfectly reasonable and very consistent burger at school. If we want ALL children to get a free public education, it can't be perfect for any of them. I'm ok with this. I won't sue when they don't meet the exact needs of my child. I will merely teach the extra to him at home.

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Our public school is really, really bad. My kids go to a private Christian school. It's expensive, but we make it work....the alternative is just to sketchy. Because I'm paying for this education, I feel like I'm taken a lot more seriously as far as concerns and questions that I have for the teachers and administrators. With public school....it's free....and in many cases - you get what you pay for.

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I always hoped to put my children in public school for many of the reasons noted in that article. However, now I am not so sure. The institution of public school has not only continued to deteriorate as far as academics and unruliness goes; it has also become more and more a platform for the liberal agenda. I hate the thought of some of the stuff they want to indoctrinate into my innocent children's minds. That is the biggest reason I am now seriously questioning my resolve to put my kids in public school.

A child's education depends mostly on the parents' attitudes toward it. I have attended both public and parochial schools, and there are high and low achievers in both. And in general, public schools have more resources to help kids with atypical educational needs. And at the same time, there are non-public schools which are quite diverse. So I really don't think either type of school will make or break a child's academic or social education. But when it comes to moral education, while they have succeeded in ousting anything Christian, they have introduced too many anti-moral attitudes which make me extremely uncomfortable. I have no desire to support that. It's bad for not only my kid, but all kids.

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As a child, I attended first private school and then public school. Public school was hell. I never want my children to go through that.

My mother taught school for almost thirty years and I spent some time as a substitute teacher myself. If it was hell when I was a kid, it's even worse now.

In addition, I am a former children's librarian who spent much of her time trying to help children with their unrealistic and uninformed school assignments. Even worse, I had adults in teacher education classes come looking for material. I had to explain to more than one that Asia was not a country. A working teacher thought that the Holocaust took place during World War I. Each day, I was presented with another reason not to send my child to public school.

I know there are good and intelligent teachers in the public schools. I happen to be related to a few. But there are a lot of idiots. Add to that the dismal, test-driven atmosphere. It is a broken system and I will not let my child be broken by it, in turn, just to support an ideology. It will be a hit to us financially, but he will be homeschooled or sent to a private school.

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P.S. I'm way left of center politically and find SKL's comments interesting since I consider public schools to be too right-leaning. I want to raise my child in a more free-thinking environment!

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Roger,

Wow, I agree with you, and at least the first two posts (wrote this before reading others). LS presented a clear, succinct justification for her views, and Jill, with experience on both sides is equally convincing. If we all accept the premise we want the best education for our kids, what remains is to define “best”.

First: I am looking at this a little bit differently. In my state, the schools are funded mostly by property taxes. This adds to an imbalance in resources available on a per student basis. We end up with great suburban schools, and not-so-great urban schools. It appears there is more than a correlation between the quality of a school system and the income levels of the student’s parents. To me it would make more sense to supplant the property tax with income tax revenue distributed to each school in a proportional manner: either by the total resident or student population in each school district (or a formula considering both). Good fiscal planning and a prearranged formula would accommodate long-range purchase and population shifts. It would not be perfect, but it would be better than the built in imbalance, which currently exists. However, this can only go so far to fix education.

Second: I love those who love to teach, it is what I should have done as a profession. But, (take a deep breath) their unions are creating a perception of greedy, small minded, egocentric, self-serving, whiners, who refuse to play, no matter how bad they may be, unless they get a Gordian knot of rules, left turns, hearings, arbitration, review and more hearings at their disposal to use in a seemingly endless and financially draining thwart of the administration’s attempts to fire them for doing a poor job. I know this to be untrue for most teachers, but the unions’ big picture fails to portray teachers well. The people who are in unions by default support all other unions it seems, but the mass of the rest of us (which is the vast majority) tend to see from a different angle. Over the years, the biggest objection I have heard about teacher’s unions has been their intransigent opposition to merit pay programs. Fix that and you fix many problems, but this too can only go so far to fix education.

Third: Parents, there is the answer. That is how you fix education. You cannot expect teacher’s as good as they can be, and often are, to replace a good parent who cares enough to get educated about the process of learning, get involved in raising their child, and understand the difference between a parent and a buddy. Children are more likely to learn if the parental role model sets standards, and establishes expectations and rules for their children. What amazes and at the same time disappoints me is the number of government, church, and independent programs designed to assist and educate parents about how to raise kids who will love to learn. They are available and willing to help; where are the parents? It may take a village to raise children, but it takes a parent to raise a child! Surprise, this cannot completely fix education either.

A combination of all three is needed. Education is a three legged stool which, in order to be successful, needs equitable funding for all students, competitive teacher compensation for work done, and parents who invest their heads and hearts in their children’s learning to love learning. That is how you fix the problem. That is how I define the best.

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I have to agree with SKL on her comment that public schools are deteriorating. It is not just the fault of the system, administrators or teachers. I also put the blame on parents. In my fifteenth year of teaching in a public school I have seen more and more students in my classroom enter without knowledge of simple basic skills or manners. Instead of teaching them the standards that they need for first grade I have to start at beginning kindergarten level and build from there. It's frustrating. Then I get every excuse in the book why the parents cannot help their children learn at home. I've had more than one parent tell me it's my job to educate their child, not theirs. Then when I work my ass off all year to get these students ready for second grade and they still cannot meet the standards then suddenly I'm a bad teacher. I work with some of the finest teachers around who are extremely dedicated. These teachers don't moan about every little thing. We are all there to teach our students. But it is never good enough. This year I have probably the worst behaved class I've ever had. No matter how much I communicate with parents about the negative behaviors they don't do anything about it. So as many dedicated teachers I am left to discipline rude, disrespectful children all day and still have to bring them up to the standards.

I really think that parents should be held accountable for their child's learning. I believe that they should be required to volunteer a certain number of hours in their child's public school in exchange for this free education. No more excuses. I don't go for the "I work full time" excuse anymore. My husband and I work full time and still make time to volunteer at my child's public school as well as help with events and donate money. I also think that unruly children don't belong in the regular classroom setting. If parents were held more accountable for their child's behavior then maybe the public schools would be much better. It would be so nice if parents would come to school events to support their children instead of for the free food that is offered. It would be nice to see more parents at Open House than at the Halloween Parade.

It certainly is easy to blame the teachers for all of the problems. "Those who can't teach" right? Give it a rest. I invite any of you to come to my classroom of unruly, disrespectful children, look past that, find the light in every child and teach them. Try it before you make judgements about "bad" teachers. How about "bad" parents, too? How about ignorant people who don't have enough information about the system that just love to pass judgement on others?

I agree that the public school system needs to change in order to make it work. I also think that the public needs to become more involved in improving their neighborhood schools. It is much easier to complain about things than to take action to make things better.

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