[Synnen]

Which is another truly sad thing--and a reason I agree that tenure needs to go out the window.

Especially in today's economy, people are applying for jobs that they're "overqualified" for all the time. I personally don't have a degree (never finished for monetary reasons), and I STILL was on unemployment for 4 months last year---and count myself lucky that it was only that long!

Teachers as a general rule are underpaid--that teacher right out of college, with their degree, makes less than your average security guard or a good administrative assistant. They start at the very low pay and accept it because of the fact that they just have to make it a couple years and they'll have tenure, and then can't be fired, and will at least have job security. Boy, I wish my job worked like that! Guess it takes a union to get that sort of thing.

As far as the liberal/conservative thing goes---I used to consider myself a liberal until I started being in the top tax bracket because I have no kids and no house. When I started having to pay more than people with kids for things like our schools, I started getting pretty upset that I was paying for stuff that their parents should be providing. Self-esteem is learned at home. Morals are learned at home. Respect is learned at home.

Honest to god, I'm starting to think taking Welfare away from anyone with no high school diploma would be the best place to start. If kids KNEW that they had NOTHING to fall back on if their job selling drugs or working at McDonald's fell through, then maybe they'd stop walking out of classes, ignoring teachers, dropping out of school, etc. If there was RESPECT for education, then maybe they'd have more respect for themselves and what they've learned.

I get more fired up about their education than most kids do--or more fired up than some of the parents of these kids! It makes me angry and sad that no one seems to care what happens to the kids that don't care when they drop out or graduate--they don't go on to college, they tend to live at the poverty level, perpetuating the cycle ad infinitum.

I honestly don't know what we really need to do. But Rhee has taken some really good steps, and I wish her luck!

[excon]

I wonder what a conservative death grip would look like? :D

Hello Tex:

I'll bet it's a school where children are taught that we are a Christian nation, that going along is the patriotic thing to do, that the earth is only 6,000 years old, that scientists fiddle around with fruit flies while REAL Americans get their hands dirty. It's a school where sex education isn't taught, and if a student winds up pregnant, too bad for them.

I don't think a school like that will make us competitive with ANYBODY.

excon

[speechlesstx]

Hello Tex:

I'll bet it's a school where children are taught that we are a Christian nation, that going along is the patriotic thing to do, that the earth is only 6,000 years old, that scientists fiddle around with fruit flies while REAL Americans get their hands dirty. It's a school where sex education isn't taught, and if a student winds up pregnant, too bad for them.

I don't think a school like that will make us competitive with ANYBODY.

excon

Even I'm looking for somewhere in the middle as far as PUBLIC education goes, but come on ex, "conservative" does not equal brain-dead neanderthal. And when it comes to CHRISTIAN education people either conveniently forget or just don't know the history of education in this country.

It's been said that 106 of the first 108 colleges in this country were Christian institutions. One of the original rules of Harvard was "Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life, (John 17:3), and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning."

Yale was started by Congregational ministers "for the liberal and religious education of suitable youth…to propagate in this wilderness, the blessed reformed Protestant religion…"

Princeton was started by Presbyterians with the Rev. Jonathan inson its first president.

William and Mary's purpose was "that the Church of Virginia may be furnished with a seminary of ministers of the gospel, and that the youth may be piously educated in good letters and manners, and that the Christian religion may be propagated among the Western Indians to the glory of Almighty God."

Brown was started by Baptists, Rutgers by the Dutch Reformed Church. Would you discount the education provided at Notre Dame, Villanova, Duquesne, Fordham or Loyola (Catholic)? How about Pepperdine (Church of Christ), SMU, Duke, Emory, Syracuse (Methodist/Quaker), TCU (Christian Church) or perhaps Baylor (Baptist)?

[speechlesstx]

Just in time for this discussion, this is the sort of nonsense I'm talking about, Schools get rid of F's.

[twinkiedooter]

Turn off the cell phone texting.
Turn off the cell phone calls.
Turn off the video games.
For starters.

[Synnen]

Turn off the cell phone texting.
Turn off the cell phone calls.
Turn off the video games.
For starters.

Turn off the TV at home.

Make family dinners a priority.

Make reading important.

Learn to live without cable.

Make movies something special, instead of something to do when you're bored. The book is usually better than the movie anyway.

Go outside--as a FAMILY.

See... the thing is, PARENTS have to stop relying on electronics too. I can't believe how many kids I see that are babysat by TV and movies. DVD players in cars? Are you KIDDING me? That can't be really teaching kids patience, attention span, imagination, or anything else worthwhile. Plus--most of the parents I know get sucked into the TV too, and their kids see that and yet people wonder why kids don't go outside and play. When's the last time their PARENTS went outside to play?

It starts at home, with all of that.

[artlady]

As a retired teacher myself and having a family of teachers(5) who work with low income schools that are culturally diverse I can tell you that teachers are committed.

I am so tired of teachers getting a bad rap.

Administrators are committed as well, but they have to work within the guidelines the state sets up as well

We can't keep kids engaged in learning because the learning standards set up by the government (who know squat about education)are archaic.

As an educational system it has not been changed since the 60's.

Lets get real here.. lets give these kids an education that is in keeping with the 21st century.

And yes.. parents have to be involved.. I say make it mandatory. If you want your child to go to this school you must be involved.show that you helped with homework.. something to force those lax parents into knowing that school is more that just a babysitting service.

We need to get real here with our overindulged uneducated kids and take the cells away and wake them up..
These are our future leaders... And they can' t do anything but text spell..

SAD

[TexasParent]

Surely with our technological advances education today shouldn't involve teachers to the same degree. Shouldn't it marry advanced teaching techniques through well produced videos, software programs, and hands on demonstrations? I know that engaging students who are now used to watching and learning from television in short bursts and are captured by the stimulation of video games, etc. have short attention spans and often tune out the teacher because the lesson isn't stimulating enough.

How do we bring together the role of teacher and use the best technological tools available to re-engage the students minds to soak up the necessary learning?

[Galveston1]

Isn't socialism where the government basically controls everything? If that is correct, then the problem with public education is socialism. I can remember when schools did a much better job than now. The local school boards actually had control over the local schools.

Then came federal aid to education. (FATE) Now, every policy has to come from some bureaucrat in Washington who doesn't have a clue what is going on in the local school.

As with everything else, when big government takes control of something, it turns to,---well, you know.

Give control back to local school boards and watch what happens.

[Akoue]

Isn't socialism where the government basically controls everything?

No, not by a long shot.