Yes there are loser teachers out there, but a lot of what's wrong with schools are students who don't care whether they learn or not and parents who don't care whether or not their children learn.
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Proud parents of our own "Daddy's Little Girls"
I heard Jesus He drank wine and I bet we'd get along just fine.
In my son's school, there is one math teacher that has to be tutored. When class starts, she turns her chair around so that her back is toward the kids, gets on her cell phone and tells the kids to do not ask her any questions. She can not teach math but she gets a good retirement, good pay and have the summers off. Some of the kids go to the same tutor that the teacher goes to. It is getting hard to find "teachers".
Fairfax County has one of the top school systems in the country (top 5 or 6, I think), so maybe we need some more liberal hotbeds for our school system.
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It is wise to remember that you are one of those who can be fooled some of the time.
Laurence J. Peter (author of the "Peter Priciple")
In my son's school, there is one math teacher that has to be tutored. When class starts, she turns her chair around so that her back is toward the kids, gets on her cell phone and tells the kids to do not ask her any questions. She can not teach math but she gets a good retirement, good pay and have the summers off. Some of the kids go to the same tutor that the teacher goes to. It is getting hard to find "teachers".
It certainly doesn't surprise me. This is what happens when the goverment is invovled. It's a shame we can't have vouchers and stop the indoctrination of our children. The officials just keep dumping money into a broke system, yet we rank very low in the industrial world.
A boy, we came close to adopting when his dad past away, instead is now living with my sons coach. I spoke to him yesterday to see how things were going. They boy is in 5th grade but is really on a 3rd grade level in math. It seems he been just passed through the system because theylist behavior problems as a disability. Coach said his daughter has dyslexia. THey don't call that a disabilty though in the school system.
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John Adams “The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.”
Ronald Reagan: 'Everybody that is for abortion has already been born'
"I never said I was worth it. I only said I wouldn't do it for less " William F. Buckley Jr.
Yeah, there are a lot of problems with our educational system, no doubt. But, in case you didn't notice, the countries who outscore us in education have a much higher percentage of their children enrolled in their public education systems than the U.S. and a much lower percentage enrolled in private institutions.
Personally, I like our public-private mix of education, and think that most of the problems arise from bloated teachers' unions that are generally not held accountable for results and parents who look at schools as babysitters and don't care if their kids learn. Vouchers may help, but I doubt it. I'd like to see how these other countries who successfully educate their childrenenforce accountability with their teachers. As far as parents not caring if their kids get an education, that's a cultural issue that's much harder to change. Maybe if these inner city neighborhoods had some better role models than the local drug dealer, it might help. I volunteer for an organization called the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). They sponsor entrepreneurship classes in inner city schools and supply them with teacing materials, cources for the teachers, etc. They also have contests where the kids enroleld in the classes develop a business plan and present it to apanel of judges comprised of local entrepreneurs. There is a cash prize at each level of contest, all the way up to very significant national prizes. I've been amazed at some of the really good business plans these poor, inner city kids have put together. This one kid who was 16 had already started his own business and made $15,000 last year at it part time while he was making good grades in school. When I sit on a panel, I know I am looking at the future of American business.
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It is wise to remember that you are one of those who can be fooled some of the time.
Laurence J. Peter (author of the "Peter Priciple")
Location: On an Island in the west coast of New England
Posts: 13,133
RE: More Excellence In Education
Quote:
ORIGINAL: MountainHunter
Fairfax County has one of the top school systems in the country (top 5 or 6, I think), so maybe we need some more liberal hotbeds for our school system.
My youngest daughter taught elementary school in inner city New Orleans and lost her job when Katrina flooded and blew away the school. She got a job in Fairfax County Virginia and said there is no comparrison between the two. She felt like a babysitter in NOLA and can actually teach in Virginia. She said the support and teaching tools they give are outstanding.
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Too busy with fishing to spend much time here.
Mountainhunbter, why do you doubt competition wouldn't work? We have the finest University sytem because of competition. I believe your not going to save every child but the world does need ditch diggers. I feel sorry for the ones trapped in those failing systems that truely want to get out and succeed.
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John Adams “The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.”
Ronald Reagan: 'Everybody that is for abortion has already been born'
"I never said I was worth it. I only said I wouldn't do it for less " William F. Buckley Jr.
Of course the schools in Fairfax County are going to be above average. It's one of the richest counties in the country, and property taxes in NOVA remain extremely high. Theaverage house is assessed at over $500,000, and the average household county taxes amount to about $5,500 per year.
The problem is that pumping money into a system doesn't seem to mean much any more. Home schooling continues to increase in this region. Your average parent may not be a teacher, but he/she is still likely to be more highly educated and see the schools' faults for what they are. Wishful thinking doesn't cut it anymore.
More Excellence In Education
