Originally posted by: waggy
My wife worked as a teacher for a few years.
From what i can get out of her there are many problems with the education system.
1) parents that just do not care anymore. Both parents work 40+ hours a week, belong to clubs and such. So they have very little time for little johnny. So little johnny acts out in school and does not do his homework and the teacher gets the blame.
Not a good excuse, though. My parents both worked over 40hrs a week while I grew up (my dad still does), and they had time.
2) class size. Some teachers have 30-60+ children in the class. Now times that by 7 classes. That does not leave a LOT of time for one on one that many children need.
Again, not really. I went to a parochial school for k-6, and class sizes were about the same as when I went into public school. The structure, however, was very different. In the private schools, teachers were responsible. In public school, they were liable. Oh, and funny thing...the two Catholic schools around got several kids who's parents were public school teachers. Go figure, huh
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3) Funding. this kind of deals with #2. People are tired of paying a LOT for schools. Heck around here about 2 years ago people voted on a tax increase to give the local high school 4 Million to add on. well Last year they asked for another $55 Million to build a new high school. So not only would they have to pay off the loan for the add on but the new school. Needless to say it was shot down. But its not just the building. Have you looked at the books the school is using? some have many mistakes is disgusting.
And they waste a lot. I don't want to think of my high school's wastes on technology alone (that's all I am familiar enough with to have noticed immediately().
4) The teachers Union. Man what a fricken group. The union does not care how the child is taught. IT just wants its money. I don't even think they care about the teachers. I'm sure others can fill in about it. I don't feel like linking and looking up the BS.
Agreed. Tenure = evil
5) standardized testing. My wife was complaining about how these useless test were being forced on them. Well since the school is funded on how well they do they have to TEACH on how to take the test. She spent a good deal of time on the test. AT the expense of actually learning something useful.
Agreed here, too. Sure, there are lots of standardized tests, but if they teach the material they need to teach well, then the difference on standardized tests should be minimal. If they teach the tests, the kids are screwed. It's basically taking the modern retail chain's warranty policies and putting them in schools (you don't get commission, but your job relies on forcing useless crap).
6) In many areas teachers are not allowed to chose what/how they are to teach. They have to fallow a set of rules the school has. Many schools are testing a bunch of crap to see if it works. WELL it does not. Go back to the three R's.
...Agreed. Of what I consider my best public school teachers, neither liked the books, and my fav math teacher used aa book that was held together with tape. Often, she had to fumble with pages falling out of it. I wish some of my college texts were what they used in high school. Fewer erros, much more to the point, etc..
7) NOW you have to not only to try to teach little johnny but you have to build his self-esteem. So even though he can't spell or add you have to make him feel as smart as the nerd next to him.
Luckily I didn't start in public school until after elementary. I'd have gotten SO many teachers pissed off with that.
sigh i think thats enough. I wont go into the BS about teachers only working 180 days a year. Many people do not know they still have to go and take classes and such every year. or how long the workday really is.
Not only that, but many teachers DO work all year. Summer school and prisons, people!
My wife just could not deal with the BS. Not just from the students and there parents but from the school board as well. How it is today really scares me. I wonder how it is going to be when my 2 year old gets to school? Heck the school my sister-in-law goes to canceled the advanced classes. There was to many people in the slow class and people were complaining about having the extra class just for a few students. So now they are all in one class. yeah great idea.
Choose a good school and help them at home. Oh, and when they can reach the remote, get some shows to watch. I decided to see what was on PBS a couple weeks ago for the hell of it. Reruns Mr. Rogers, Sesame Street, and Cookin' Cajun was about all that was decent. Let's face it, Ms. Piggy was funny as a little kid, and still is funny
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