The Teacher Thread - Page 24

nvm

bump.

The following is something I have been thinking about off and on for a while.

What came first: The failing school or the failing community?

Thoughts?

The dumb ass people who bred dumb ass children. The parents led to the fall of the community. The kids led to the fall of the school, with the parents help of course.

wtf does the question even mean? Average IQ is the highest in the history of the world.

But seriously- teachers. The second those libs started letting teachers into schools instead of real professionals, things went to hell in a hand basket.

IMO(I am not impartial) the schools are not failing. Compared to other OECD countries we have improved over the last 10 years. We are above average in math and reading and average in science. ESL students and kids who just don't care(I have seen students draw pokemon on standarized tests) skew our scores. American women score the highest in the world and our post-secondary education is #1.

We are definitely failing in certain areas:
1. Racial gaps in school performances.
2. Secondary education needs to be drastically improved.
3. Parent participation.
4. Overemphasizing core academic classes to the detriment of other studies. I am tired of popcorn reading in a sophmore world history class.
5. Dealing with problem students.

NYR, I only wish my professors would dress better they do (more like you!)

It is sad when an undergraduate student (like me) presents research at a conference and is better dressed than the graduate students and the professor (principle investigator)!

No chance of a professor here wearing a nice sport coat, much less a suit.

Lots of socks with sandals though.

I would also add low SES students as well. This varies by community, but schools that 40%+ of their population on free or reduced lunch are going to have a tough time.

I've always thought of schools as businesses; some are better managed than others. However, I think perspective is important and not basing everything on theory. I'd be curious to see someone with an MBA run a school instead of a MEd.

Hmm, cultivation of good citizens and people and increasing corporate profits are not one and the same.

I live in South Korea, who has excellent math and science scores, but the price they pay is crazy. Many kids get out of school only to go to a private cram-school til as late as 11pm. As a matter of fact, some sort of afterschool education is essentially expected. Getting into the right college means you have it made here (they all know the rankings.), but amusingly, once you get in college is a breeze compared to high school.

At both private schools I taught at, there was a very large Korean population. The impression I got was that these were the kids who weren't successful in the Korean education system but had the means to get into American private schools.

On a side note, when I retire (still have a LONG way to go), I would strongly consider being a guardian for some Korean students. They are very well paid for basically watching kids on the weekends and being a liasion between parents and the school.

Basically all Asian countries, really. Doesn't make them smarter, though. Look at the Chinese.