Report Card Time

[evildave]

Tonight I spent the evening watching the fine superbowl rout. I didn't really care who won, since I didn't even know who was playing, going in.

One of the people watching it with me was a 4th grade school teacher, and she was filling out report cards during the game. Seems a lot of her kids are getting C and lower grades. Attendence for many students is awful. One was absent 25 days and tardy for 47. Not dying of cancer or anything. Just a single parent who stays in bed late. Hurrah. A lot of broken #^&(* families with their kids either having one parent, or splitting their time between two in any number of 'time share' arrangements, with lots of focus on "who's turn" and "who's the favorite", and little attention on grades and upbringing.

So it's the school's fault these kids are failing? There are other kids who get good marks and read more than they "have to". What's the deal here? Just pawn off the whole education problem on the school, provide no discipline at home, and let the little rugrat monsters have their way in front of the TV with the video games plugged in instead of doing school work.

With this model in place, we could spend our state's entire GNP on education, and not make a dent in the "average" that they measure education with. There will always be plenty of half-ass parents who let the state and the TV do all of their child raising duties for them.

 

[Legallee Insane]

I can't really speak for the entire world, but where I go to highschool there is a suprising correllation between some people's marks and how often they drink and do drugs. It seems that marks are inversely related to frequency of drinking and drugs. Interestingly enough, the ones who are doing worst also have parents who are alcoholics who get high after work every day.

Hmmmm.

 

[FireGarden]

Hey,
I say leave education to TV. It's doing a fine job. Really.

To answer your question:
It's the government that has to take responsibility, but only if it's clear that the parents aren't. It's too important to leave to chance. Here in Britain, a few parents have been fined and/or jailed for the truanting of their children!

And good on Bush for planning a mission to Mars. But only if he makes it interesting enough so that more enrol in high-level science/engineering courses.

 

[Tricky]

Wowie! Talk about a rout. Look at the voting. I wish the "parents" answer had included "or guardians", but I think it is clear that no one was confused.

As the husband of a teacher, I am infuriated by those who blame the school system for not turning out pure gold from the dross they send in. Some of these kids have been raised to be sociopaths. Some are so doped up on Ritalin that they can barely function. You also get too many "crack babies' and other types mental defects as a result of parental behavior. But the worst problem is still parental laziness. Nobody ever instilled a love of reading into these kids.

Of course, teachers are poorly paid, especially when you consider that they must spend so many unpaid hours doing things like filling out report cards, grading tests, etc. This leads to a real dichotomy in the makeup of the teaching community. You get some people who do it for love and either don't need or manage to live on the meager pay, and you get those who do it because they can't get a better job. If we really cared about education, teaching would be one of the most highly paid and quality controlled professions.

 

[whitefork]

I happen to believe that education is the student's responsibility, but since you didn't list that as an option, I have to go with the parents.

 

[Doctor X]

What's the deal here? Just pawn off the whole education problem on the school, provide no discipline at home, and let the little rugrat monsters have their way in front of the TV with the video games plugged in instead of doing school work.

Indeed. To often people are happy to foist responsibility to something else. This problem with education pervades many social debates. Should we have sexual education in schools? NO!!! It is the parents' responsibility!

. . . er . . . the same parents who exercise no responsibility to get their kids educated?

A child does learn by example. If raised in a home that does not respect the potential of education, one cannot expect the child to develop it. Faced with scores of unmotivated brats, one cannot expect teachers to be motivated.

Now, on the other tentacle, some teachers should not teach--even gym. However, in order to "apply standards" and get rid of "dead weight" in schools, someone has to take enough interest in education to inspire better teachers. As Tricky notes, the current approach attracts either the pathologically dedicated or those who can do nothing else.

Hyperbole aside, even the most dedicated, self-less, "To Serve Them All My Days" teacher will be crushed by a lack of interest from parents and students.

--J.D.

[Edited to leave no child behind.--Ed.]

 

[Graham]

You should be able to vote for two answers in these polls.

I wanted to say 'Parents and teachers' but there was no heading for that.

I think parents have overall responsibility to ensure that their child gets an education, I also think that parents have direct responsibility for large portions of a child's education, particularly as relates to manners, funtioning in society, behaviour, that sort of thing.

At the same time I think teachers (or more properly the education system as a whole) have a responsibility for the portions of a child's education that are delegated to them (that's why we send them to school).

Teachers have a job to do and they should be expected to do it. However, they should not be expected to do the parents' job as well.

Graham

 

[Occasional Chemist]

Teachers have a job to do and they should be expected to do it. However, they should not be expected to do the parents' job as well.

I think the problem is that if the parents don't do their job, it makes it practically impossible for the teacher to do his - at least in the grade schools.

At higher levels, parents are out of the equation and it's up to the student to meet the teacher halfway (or at the very least, partway). I see far too many college students who think college works like this:

1) Go to college.
2) ???
3) DEGREE AND JOB OFFERS!

They forget that you have to do more than show up - and sometimes they even forget to show up.

 

[Legallee Insane]

I think that it tends to be a two part effort.

It is very important that parents support their children throughout their education and provide as much assistance as possible. I thank my parents very much for teaching me how to read from a very early age, giving me the joy I take in reading now. It isn't hard to see the problems with parental neglect when your sitting in a grade 11 english class, and when asked to read something aloud half of the class cannot read rudimentary words such as "rudimentary," or "possibilities."

I also think that it is important to have a good teacher. My basis for a good teacher is one who can answer any question in ways that aren't confusing, and can communicate ideas with ease and understanding. I have had a few teachers, most recently my Physics 20 teacher, who know what they are talking about, but can't seem to communicate it to us in a way that makes sense. Reversely in the Physics 30 class I am taking this semester my teacher is excellent at explaining everything in a way that is very easy for us to grasp.

 

[Occasional Chemist]

I also think that it is important to have a good teacher. My basis for a good teacher is one who can answer any question in ways that aren't confusing, and can communicate ideas with ease and understanding.

Most people who haven't actually taught a class have little grasp as to how difficult the above job is. For example, give a basic grasp of quantum mechanics to someone who hasn't had any calculus - and who, in fact, barely passed algebra.

We have to teach some college students how to plot a friggin' line on a sheet of graph paper! So, figuring out how best to explain some of the more interesting aspects of the sciences is by no means a simple problem.

 

[Tricky]

It's been my observation that often the best teachers are not the most brilliant minds. Brilliant minds sometimes see things so effortlessly, they don't understand how someone can not see them. Teachers who struggled as students often have the empathy and the experience with learning difficult concepts that the geniuses do not.

 

[Samus]

The educational system in America is, well, it's broken. I certainly don't know how to fix it, either. I have several friends/relatives who are teachers. Let me preface my comments by saying that teaching is a most noble, underrated profession.

First and foremost, parents are responsible for not only their kid's education, but also their general well-being while they are growing up. Responsibility, a good work ethic, these are things that the parents should be teaching that will help a child in school (and beyond). Attempting to delegate that to schools, TV, video games or the Internet is a very bad thing.

Schools are hurting, their budgets are tight and their teachers are overworked. There has been a trend at both state and federal levels to add more standardized testing to find out how schools "measure up". Well, pretty soon you're left with an environment where teachers are struggling to prepare kids for the tests, foregoing actual education in favor of trying to keep government funding.

So, what do we do? Where should the money be spent? Just a few suggestions, from an admitted non-expert:

1. Parenting workshops. Seriously, teach some of these "broken home" parents how to be parents, because they obviously don't get it.

2. Penalize parents when their kids are tardy/absent too much. What's "too much"? Well, students should be present for at least 80% of the classroom time, as a minimum.

3. Refresher training for teachers. We all need to keep proficient at our jobs, so offering some meaningful recurring support might help. Any teachers care to chime in on this one? I can be way off, so correct me if I am.

4. Fewer standardized tests. How about one math, one english test every few years, and that's it. Really, let's lighten up and let the teachers teach.

5. Stop throwing money at the problem. Education spending skyrockets, yet we see no real results. We should think about the problem, maybe identify some actual problems, before we start throwing money at it. Solutions in search of problems are rarely helpful.

Comments? Flames?


Edited to correct grammar and add this:

"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education."
-- Albert Einstein

 

[Occasional Chemist]

First and foremost, parents are responsible for not only their kid's education, but also their general well-being while they are growing up. Responsibility, a good work ethic, these are things that the parents should be teaching that will help a child in school (and beyond).

Honestly, I think if you fix this problem, the others will fall in line. No matter what you do to fix the broken "accountability" system the legislators seem to love so much, if all you hand a teacher is a mob of undisciplined kids, they're still not going to learn much.

 

[Yahzi]

It is the government's responsibility to educate children.

It is the parent's responsibility to produce children that are educatable.

 

[Yahzi]

5. Stop throwing money at the problem. Education spending skyrockets, yet we see no real results.

It's always interesting to see posts from people on other planets.

Although I suppose being in NY is pretty much the same as being on another planet.

I've never seen a school budget "skyrocket." I was unaware that any muncipality was raising education spending as fast as say, garbage collection rates.

 

[Michael Redman]

And good on Bush for planning a mission to Mars.

Sadly, he probably intends the mission to convert the natives to the one true faith.

 

[Samus]

It's always interesting to see posts from people on other planets.

Although I suppose being in NY is pretty much the same as being on another planet.

I've never seen a school budget "skyrocket." I was unaware that any muncipality was raising education spending as fast as say, garbage collection rates.

I can think of far worse places to be than NY (Iowa maybe?)

You need to read my post before you comment on it, the amount of money given to a state/federal department of education and a local school system's budget are not the same thing.

School budgets, at least in the municipalities I've lived in, haven't increased too rapidly.

Spending on things related to "education" by, say, the federal government, has. Where is the money going? What problems is it solving? That was my point.

Edit: Nice try, though. I appreciate your professional tone.

 

[Wile E. Coyote]

I've never seen a school budget "skyrocket." I was unaware that any muncipality was raising education spending as fast as say, garbage collection rates.

I think the intention of the comment, "Throwing money at the problem", was to point out the wasteful spending that occurs in schools. I have seen too many cases of school budget money going towards sports facilities instead of teacher salaries to disagree with dwb's statement.

School budgets do not typically skyrocket, but education spending does. There is a difference.

As a sidenote : I am not sure what you mean about your NY comment, but I assume you were taking a dig at the city. dwb is not from the city of NY. His profile says central NY. Again, big difference.

 

[Akots]

Most of learning is willingness and eagerness, and this is the vital part... not much can effectively motivate a terminally lazy, disinterested or bitter child. Teachers and parents must encourage, and support, and provide the nessecary tools, but a student needs to be inspired to use those tools.

They don't have to be obsessively extatic... just responsible. And a parent, guardian, teacher, or friend is who a child learns responsability from, through actions moreso than words.

 

[gentlehorse]

evildave:
So it's the school's fault these kids are failing?

I voted "parents".

I listen to Dub say that he's going to hold teachers accountable and I can only sigh. I interpret this to mean that, based on a critical analysis of the shortcomings of the educational system in America, he's identified the problem and it lies with the teachers. They're just not doing their jobs, plain and simple. The solution? More testing-- Please. So he spins his wheels, throwing money into the development and implementation of testing programs which seem to improve nothing, while educators throughout the nation continue to do the best they can to try to turn buckets of mud into diamonds, all the while catching heat for the fact that they're only able to produce bricks. Why does he do this? IMO, it's so he can have something to point to as he says, "I'm doing everything possible to ensure that no child is left behind." It's frustrating to see this happening.

Sure, teachers need to be held accountable. But isn't teacher accountability the responsibility of principals, superintendents, and local school boards? Or am I wandering about in left field (again)? I don't know...

I'm sure there are probably some teachers who aren't doing their jobs. This goes without saying, as there are probably folks who aren't doing their jobs in just about any profession I could mention. But I'm willing to go out on a limb and suggest that most teachers are dedicated professionals, doing their level best to educate our kids in a very tough environment. The teachers I had as I came through the public schools were, with very few exceptions, dedicated to providing students the best education possible. They genuinely cared about kids and were passionate about their subject matter. Consequently, those of us lucky enough to have had strong familial support as we went through the system received a decent education at their hands.

So, what's the answer? How do we inspire folks to actively participate in the education of their kids? I don't know. But I know that the answer doesn't lie in browbeating and belittling our nation's teachers. They need all the support we can give them.