What every High School Principal SHOULD say: (I agree)

[WriterofWords]

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[country lady]

Well, Ms. KristyHall, what is YOUR solution to improving our schools? Remember, we only have 180 days, six hours a day to do it and a lot of ground to cover. A history class would be a long subject depending how far back you wish to go. I agree we certainly do need sex education since some schools now have a nursery for students' babies. If you choose a class on tolerance, I would suggest including manners, respect, and civil behavior. Being a good citizen would top my list, as well. A civics class and study of government might also be helpful. How about a class in finance--boy, is that a necessity these days. For English class, I would love to hear young people have a conversation without the word "like" in it, too.

You are right--we need to teach a great deal, but much of this should be taught in the home. We don't seem to value education as much as the Japanese, for example. Some parents in the 3rd world know that education is the ticket out of poverty. Again, how would you structure a typical school day to make a well-rounded, well educated high school graduate?

 

[KristyHall]

Quote:
well, ms country lady, taking out arts, clubs and any sense of diversity would not improve schools but make them worse, also we were taught how to balance our budgets in jr high, bake cakes and run a power saw.

the thing is there is no one size fits all that will fix all the problems. nothing will fix all of the problems, and I hardly doubt you know any better than I on how to fix the schools.

If we go the way of India and China we look at a risk of human rights violations, if we go the way of Japan we run the risk of high suicide rates due to extreme pressure placed on our citizens, instead we can only work towards the future and try to fix what we can and stop looking for these broad sweeping solutions and one size fits all ideas. this nation is too diverse.

my best friend is an excellent teacher, in California she worked with inner school kids voluntarily and managed to turn kids with failing grades into a and b students in a semester.

she is also very patient with children, will tell it like it is but gently, pushes them to their breaking point but never past it, and knows when some students simply can not grasp a subject no matter how hard they try but encourages them to always try and rewards them for the effort.

I am not a teacher in public schools but I worked with the Indian Ed program, spoke at schools, groups, and churches, volunteered with education groups and museums on native issues, and taught nutrition on a budget in a DV shelter.

while this hardly makes me an expert all I can say, is that from what i saw, what succeeded most, was determination, endless patience, pushing the student,, being open and welcoming, and inclusive to ALL groups, teach in a way they can grasp and a way they enjoy but avoid the pitfalls of replacing fun education with busy work, and IMO get rid of the blasted testing

but this is my opinion based on my admittedly limited experience in the teaching arena.

all I can tell you is what WONT work, is removing after school clubs, limiting free expression, and forcing children to assimilate to one monolithic culture, as the Principle in the OP seemed to suggest.

so Ms country lady... what do YOU suggest we do?

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Quote:
I totally do NOT want to get in argument with anyone at all but I totally agree with you.

Done now.

 

[teach1rusl]

I agree with the majority of the speech. I think putting the focus back on the educational basics would help our schools tremendously. When a school tries to incorporate 150 different classes/programs/clubs, the result is often a watered down education - resources are just spread too thin. I guess I associate the school vision of that speech with charter schools...and somewhat traditional schools, both of which generally have substantially higher test scores (although I hate-hate-hate testing) than most general public schools, because they focus on education, not all the extra BS that many public schools embrace.

Many schools (mostly elementary, but some middle and high as well) in our area require uniforms. Research shows that just this aspect of taking away differences improves focus on education (at least for many). So imagine taking away the topic of many other differences. It does sound a little like prep school or the military, but I do think it would improve focus on learning.

At the high school level, I don't see how the topic of culture/cultural differences can be avoided though, since most HSs require history courses.

 

[33yardbirds]

Quote:
It was NOT done by a Principal...merely "suggested" that they use it.

I heard that "New Jersey" was no longer a State in the "Union"....all the people native to New Jersey have moved elsewhere.
WHY is that?

-Junkmanme-

(-just kidding- )

There has been talk of South Jersey suceeding (sp) from North Jersey which we all know is just a suburb of NYC. You know the line, "the best way to see New Jersey is in your rear view mirror".

 

[chickened]

I am not sure where to look but I can tell you my Father in law worked on Prince of Wales Island in the 80's and the logging company was hired by the Bank of Seattle to log Indian owned timber near Hydaburg Alaska. The story was the timber was put up as collateral for a large amount of money 50 million if I remember and the borrowers defaulted and the bank liquidated. Evidently the natives had some form of ownership on the timber.

mom'sfolly :

Chickened,

I would dearly love to see where an Alaska Native reservation defaulted on land. Please give sources. I find the whole concept interesting because there are no reservations in Alaska. There are Alaska Native Corporations, but no reservations.

I know that where I grew up, some tribal elders sold house property, illegally. It took a long time to resolve the issue. One of the issues was that religious leaders, unfamiliar with native culture, deemed the regalia as religious items incompatible with Christian beliefs. There were other issues of ownership, who had the right to sell, who was the house guardian, etc.

As for the OPs posting. On the surface of it one might say "wow, good ideas" until you start thinking about what the posting really means. Particularly the bit on languages. You can have foreign language clubs, but you are not allowed to discuss the culture that the language is part of. Like that makes any since at all. How can you talk about another language without bringing in the ideas of other cultures and differences?​

 

[chickened]

Well since you asked for starters get rid of the DOE, NEA and get the Unions out of the school business. Charters would be OK you could send your kids to the school that suits you afterall who doesn't want choice. There is alot of stuff taught that most kids will never use and there is alot that is not taught that they need like the trade skills. Part of our unemployment problem is too many over educated people looking for the job the education system promised them while we import our manual laborer. I could go on but fixing our schools will take more than a silver bullet.
Quote:

 

[WriterofWords]

No one has suggested taking out clubs, just opening them to all. No one has suggested assimilating into one lump, but to stop segregation. It's very easy to put your own spin on it just to argue isn't it? I stand by what I say no matter how hard you work to twist my words into something nowhere near what I said. I don't engage in a battle of wits with the unarmed.

 

[BrattishTaz]

Both of my children attended a public middle magnet school (applications were required to get in). The theme was global communications and technology. My older daughter took Japanese and my younger took Chinese language classes. An additional class taught the basics in Spanish, French, German, and Italian. The core curriculum was integrated with the global theme.

Students would telecommunicate with students from other countries, usually Japan and China. They worked together on projects for each subject. The US students were required to learn US history and then teach the foreign students what they learned. They would then listen as the foreign students taught them about their history. This exchange created an interest in history as well as a sense of pride. The students also developed an appreciation on other cultures. Some of the projects even included the celebration of religious events. Parents did not fear their child would be brainwashed by this.

The other classes worked the same way.

The school had a zero tolance policy when it came to drugs and violence. If a student violated this, they were removed from the school. Parents were required to participate in at least one school activity per year. Parents and teachers determined the dress code. Teachers were divided into groups with a team leader in charge of keeping the classes and students on track. Each group of teacher had the same conference period (while the kids were in PE). Parents could schedule a conference during this time with all teachers in attendance. Grades were also available online daily.

Both of my children excelled in this school. My older daughter was selected to participate in a Duke University scholars program. My younger daughter received a 4 year scholarship by winning an essay contest. IMO this is the way a school should be run.

BTW- The school had many clubs. I never heard of any student being to told they could not join because they did not fit in.