Public Schools at it again

[Catwoman]

LOL... ...Blinders?  Weak.  No individual who has spent as long in the any field as long as I have has any kind of blinders on.  Try again.  There's a huge difference between standing on the outside, stamping your foot and being a howling nuisance, and being on the inside, working daily to make the difference.   

[pamagain]

Well, I guess that depends on your definition of educated now doesn't it?  I mean, if you think that kids graduating high school that can't read beyond an 8th grade level were successfully educated, or can't do simple math like counting back change at a register...then yeah, I guess they have met the standard.  However, I see these as examples of how pathetic our system has become.  And these are just two examples that can be applied across the board to virtually every public school in the U.S. 

So, tell me again about that "miniscule paintbrush"!  Of course, it might help if you actually took the blinders off.

I just got to get in this......I have THREE kids who came thru the public (what you call government) school system....they could read COLLEGE level in the 8th grade.........so far my grandkids...(same evil public school system) are scoring consistently high scores on all their aptitude tests..they ALL read above their grade level.

In my humble opinion any kid who graduates and can't read---unless they have some kind of disability for learning-----it's their OWN fault. The old you can LEAD a kid to books but you can't MAKE em read thing.

In my humble opinion if the PARENTS do not foster an interest in LEARNING in their children you can hardly blame the teachers involved. There ARE bad teachers.......there are ALSO bad parents. If you nurse a kids natural curiuosity they are goin to learn things by ACCIDENT that you can't MAKE em learn if they have never had that.

I've run on plenty of ADULTS who can't count back change anymore cause they've got used to the machine TELLIN em what to give back and gotten lazy.

[Catwoman]

Exactly, Pam!

[larryJ]

Pam, it is good that your kids did well and your grandchildren are also doing well.  But, I think that what is being griped about here is the fact that the school systems have relaxed their criteria for learning so that unless you just got here from Saturn, you probably will pass, even though you can't read well or do basic math.  Both my kids did very well in school and college, but even they were aware at some point in time, that they were not special.  They could see other students not getting good grades and they could see that those students weren't trying.  You are correct in that parents need to be involved a great degree in education, but even some parents barely made it through the system when they were in school and aren't much help.  California has instituted in recent years, an exit exam, taken by high school seniors.  They must pass this test to graduate.  I have not seen this test so I don't know what is required to pass it. 

Larryj

[srkruzich]

In my humble opinion any kid who graduates and can't read---unless they have some kind of disability for learning-----it's their OWN fault. The old you can LEAD a kid to books but you can't MAKE em read thing.

Wanna bet!  I have a excellent method to get kids to read books.  Simple too.  When they don't pass tests or grades, take everything out of their room except for a mattress and sheets and books.  Ground them to the room.  When they get bored enough, they will read the books.  Been there done that got the kids that can read and write and many other things from the books they learned to read from to prove it. 

In my humble opinion if the PARENTS do not foster an interest in LEARNING in their children you can hardly blame the teachers involved. There ARE bad teachers.......there are ALSO bad parents. If you nurse a kids natural curiuosity they are goin to learn things by ACCIDENT that you can't MAKE em learn if they have never had that.

I've found that capitalism works wonders in incentive to get kids to do things.

I've run on plenty of ADULTS who can't count back change anymore cause they've got used to the machine TELLIN em what to give back and gotten lazy.

Uhmm i can go to any fast food restaurant in wichita, order a meal and the kids will totally blow a fuse when i tell them what the total is before they can find the buttons with the pictures to push.  They totally freak out when you hand them a 20 on a 14.32 order and then give them the .32 cents after they put in 20.00 on the register.

[pamagain]

 SRK...do you think I grew up in a vacuum??

Yeah we get it you are THE BEST parent who ever came down the pike. You know more than ANYbody about EVERYthing. You have BEEN everywhere...DONE everything...and done it BETTER than any of us puny humans.......GOD!!!!!!!!

[pamagain]

 Now that I've got that out of my system.........

   I know that Larry and maybe some schools have I don't know......all I know is the schools I have been involved with......that would be West Elk for my boys and McDonald county for my daughter.
   I havent had anything to do with West Elk for about 10 years so THEY may have changed since my boys graduated. As far as my daughter...the last few years they RAISED the bar here and students have to test every year to make sure they go on. Which is as it SHOULD be I think.

[srkruzich]

SRK...do you think I grew up in a vacuum??

Yeah we get it you are THE BEST parent who ever came down the pike. You know more than ANYbody about EVERYthing. You have BEEN everywhere...DONE everything...and done it BETTER than any of us puny humans.......GOD!!!!!!!!

Yeah apparantly i have.

[Catwoman]

Pam, it is good that your kids did well and your grandchildren are also doing well.  But, I think that what is being griped about here is the fact that the school systems have relaxed their criteria for learning so that unless you just got here from Saturn, you probably will pass, even though you can't read well or do basic math.  Both my kids did very well in school and college, but even they were aware at some point in time, that they were not special.  They could see other students not getting good grades and they could see that those students weren't trying.  You are correct in that parents need to be involved a great degree in education, but even some parents barely made it through the system when they were in school and aren't much help.  California has instituted in recent years, an exit exam, taken by high school seniors.  They must pass this test to graduate.  I have not seen this test so I don't know what is required to pass it. 

Larryj

I agree with your observations regarding the changes in criteria...Unfortunately, it is directly linked to the demands from society that every child be made to feel "special"...God forbid we should do anything to harm a child's "psyche".  You see, it would be great if education existed in a vacuum (what a great term!), where only pure thought and pure pursuit of learning could occur.  Unfortunately, that isn't the case.  We have some adults running around who had a difficult time in school themselves (for whatever reason) and, as a result, have a chip on their shoulders regarding anything anything that the educator in question might do that involves stringent structure.     

[larryJ]

I wanted to clarify my earlier post.  I didn't mean my kids weren't special.  They were and still are.  The point was they could see that their hard work and studying made them very smart and got them the accolades they deserved.  They could see their fellow students who were struggling because they didn't put out the effort to learn.  Some of the problem is that there are a lot of Hispanics in this area.  Many had to learn English before they could even start school.  Many can care less about American history as it did not directly affect their culture.  In fact, the city bordering us to the northwest is a highly industrial area, home of Miller brewery, their biggest employer and many more big industries.  It is probably 95% Hispanic.  Their tax base is such that all the industry pays more than enough taxes to keep the city running and provide services for the few full time residents.  Those that live there pay little or no taxes other than income and state taxes.  They have two or three beautiful parks.  They have a spectacular fireworks show every fourth of July.  City officials get new cars each year as well as the police department.  The streets are beautifully maintained. 

THEY HAVE NO SCHOOLS!

All of the children are sent to schools in our school district.  All of the kids that play little league play in our city's little league.  Their crime rate is low because those who would commit a crime don't want to upset the apple cart of the town they live in so they go outside to commit crimes.  Sorry for the rant.

Larryj