Rant on Fast Food Rocket Scientists

[debilorrah]

Quote:
Sounds great...but these things should be taught first at home.

I agree. But, a lot of kids don't have Mom & Dad The kids are dropped off at daycare and how are you supposed to know what they are really teaching them at that level?

I agree with you in part. I was a single mom raising my son from the time he was 4. He did go to day care. I had him with me from 6 pm to bed and for an hour in the mornings. Regardless of the amount of time spent with them, it is our responsibility to make sure our children know how to act and respond to and in front of other people. Talking with your child at the end of the day can reveal a boatload of information about what they are learning while away from you.

 

[Lunachick]

Quote:
I agree. But, a lot of kids don't have Mom & Dad The kids are dropped off at daycare and how are you supposed to know what they are really teaching them at that level?

I agree with you in part. I was a single mom raising my son from the time he was 4. He did go to day care. I had him with me from 6 pm to bed and for an hour in the mornings. Regardless of the amount of time spent with them, it is our responsibility to make sure our children know how to act and respond to and in front of other people. Talking with your child at the end of the day can reveal a boatload of information about what they are learning while away from you.

Very good answer Debi.

 

[debilorrah]

Kids are incredibly honest. I found out my son hated his care giver because her snacks had peanut butter. It took me months to get it out of him. PEANUT BUTTER. he still won't eat it. Spend the time with your kids, talk talk talk talk talk talk. You will learn all you need to know.

And be proactive at their schools too. Every time my son got in trouble for something I requested a meeting with all parties involved. Yes, I lost a lot of time at work, BUT - my son 19 and respectful towards others (I just want him to DO something with his life). By the Grace of God he is a good man.

 

[onebuggirl]

Quote:
Amen to that I would love to see all year round school.. IT would stillequal the same amount of days and vacation.

 

[debilorrah]

We have year round school here. It seems to me they have more vacations than not.....

 

[Trollkiller]

Quote:
I have to strongly disagree with your assessment.

In Oregon you need a Bachelor's not Master's degree. http://www.tspc.state.or.us/faqs.asp?id=0#answer1

I throw an exaggeration flag on the 60-80 a week. 70 hours a week is 14 hours a day. School is in session for 6 1/2 hours a day add the hour extra the teachers may be there and you have 7 1/2 hours a day. You are telling me the teachers you know work 6 1/2 hours a day extra on a consistent basis.

What are they doing for those extra 6 1/2 hours. Before you answer remember that working school sporting events, bus duty, detention and the like are voluntary and extra pay. P.S. picking up pens at Wal~Mart does not count as work nor does thumbing teaching supply catalogues at home.

The material being taught now is NOT more complex than it used to be. Compare text books from even 20 years ago to the ones today and you will see the material is dumbed down.

I support teachers but all too often when education discussions happen the exaggerations fly free. If even half the teachers were working as hard as claimed there would be no need for the discussion because our schools would all be top notch.

The problem with education is the whole system.

On the school side;
Teaching to tests, keeping inept teachers because schools need a baby sitter for the class or tenure, teachers that are allowed to relive their high school cliques undeserving the not so cool kids, school funds being spent on fancy and costly administrative buildings instead of teaching material, school systems more worried about the dress code and attendance than teaching, schools and teachers that discourage parental involvement the teacher's union and blaming parents for educational failure.

On the parent side;
Allowing the school and teachers to instil a sense of morality unchecked, allowing TV and the internet to babysit, non involvement in the education process, allowing a lack of disciple, and blaming teachers for parental failure.

 

[AngieChick]

Most teachers are at school at least an hour before (prep) and an hour after school (recovery). They generally take home work as well. 30 kids per class, 5 classes a day worth if grading. It's horrendous. Then there is the continuous stream of parent meetings (formal and informal) and email querries. Staff meetings. IEP meetings and the amazing amount of prep and paperwork required for them. Continuing education. Curriculum development, prep and research. I lost count of how many hours I put into putting together presentations. While it is true that some teachers work less than others, the good ones just seem to always be working. Nights, weekends, grading and planning. It's just at home, out of view of the general public. While 80 hours would be an extreme week (though most have it happen occasionally and a few regularly) , 60 hours is a typical week of the teachers I know. I can only speak of the teachers i know, perhaps they are all over-achievers, but that's what i see and have experienced. While some may look at a school's posted hours and believe this to be a teacher's hours, those I know would break into sad ironic laughter if they heard it. Again all you have to do is look at the burn-out rate, it speaks for itself.

At my son's high school more than 80 percent of the teachers have a masters. The rest are certified and have gone through a strenuous certification process. There is the technical requirements and then the reality of what it takes to get a teaching job in this town, 2 different things.

In our state the requirements for what students must master at each grade level has absolutely changed through the years. Even kindergarten.

I am not saying all teachers are perfect, like in any profession there are incompetent employees. But the good ones work incredibly hard at a difficult job.

 

[Trollkiller]

Quote:
I will not argue with that. The good teachers are like finding gold in a pig pen. My favorite teacher moved from Jr. High to High School when I did. I was super blessed by her even if I did fail her class.

As long as you have me thinking of Mrs. Yarbrough I will tell a story. This story illustrates what a good teacher is.

Ever since I knew her, she always seemed to have a just finished lunch tray in her room. I did not think too much of it as I figured she used her lunch break to get some peace and quiet. Years after I graduated, I stopped by to say hi. I picked the lunch hour so I could visit with her and buy her lunch.

I invited her to the cafeteria, as we were walking she saw a student that looked upset. He had moist eyes but was not crying. His distress was barely noticeable. She told me "I can't do lunch right now" and left me standing in the hall. She walks over to the kid, turns him and walks back to her room.

After lunch I met up with Mrs. Yarbough, she explained that the kid was not her student but she has been watching him in the halls for a couple of days. He was having a real tough time at home and his girl dumped him. He needed one of Mrs. Yarbough's talks.

While we were chatting I spied the just finished lunch tray. It felt good to be home.

 

[Buster]

TrollKiller, I just wanted to point out something to you. My dad is an educator and gets to work at 7am and gets off work often times after 6. It is true that he is a counselor at the school and therefore also has administrative duties (he has to make the schedules for all the kids and deal with the problem kids etc.) but he gets paid the same salary no matter what. He also doesn't really get a summer break either. He gets about 2 weeks off around the 4th of July and has to go back so they can get schedules, etc. done.

So many kids today have no respect for anyone. It's very sad really. I can't change that. The best I can do is raise my children to respect other people and leave a better mark on society than others.

Edited to add that he does not get extra pay for staying after with people's problem children for detention, etc. That's why it's called a salary. He teaches because he likes to teach. He likes to help kids. He is a good educator- I've seen him in action. Apparently, I learned none of this because I don't even LIKE other people's kids, let alone help them learn something.

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

Wow don't get me started on how the system failed us here. They have this idea here that if a student is not making the grade to lower the bar so that they can experience success. DS is way too smart for that, he sees the bar lower and backs off so he never makes that grade, so they lowered it more. Then after 5 years they call a meeting to admit they after comparing this years test to his grade one tests he has not advanced at all. Brilliant.

Yes I blame the general condition in which kids are raised and sent to school too, and for the parents that have caused this silly don't ever punish my child system that teachers have to work in now. A class room full of disruptive disrespectful students and half of them tired, hungry, cold or sick but sent to school anyway as parents have to go to work.

I agree school should be year round and I admire those who have the motza to homeschool. I agree too that lifeskills are best learned at home. School can enhance that but the basic has to be at home. Employers too have to chip in, how is it that FF chains don't think they have to train? I train most of the employees for the coffee place I go to while working. Ya, I'm the one that teaches counting back change to all the newbies there, no fuss, just show them how to do it when I'm there, with a smile. They all remember me and smil back for their time there. Some things are worth the time, try investing in this.