My Mommy group has been discussing the ups and downs of public education in this area for a while. As many of you know, this is a subject near and dear to my heart. I figure that I'm relatively qualified to respond knowingly (I was going to say 'intelligently' but thought better of that word...LOL) to the subject as I grew up in the local public school system, graduated here, attended college as an education major, and now have a child of my own in the system. An educational "circle of life," if I may. I can see pretty much any angle involved; student, teacher, and parent. I don't count admin-I have a teacher's opinion of school admin, and since my Grandma taught me not to say anything if I can't say something nice, I'll be quiet. :)
A comment was made saying that previous generations received vastly superior educations compared to what is available these days. I had to disagree. Here's what I said:
Education has changed enormously over the years. When my Dad started grade school he was left-handed. That didn't matter, as everyone that went through his particular school was taught to write right-handed, regardless of their natural inclination. That was policy then. My Grandma was taught a different curriculum than the boys her age...because girls just didn't need to know the same things and weren't cut out for advanced maths and sciences. When my Great-grandmother was school age, she only went to school when she wasn't working crops. The generation before that didn't even really GO to school...according to census info, her father wasn't literate. It's very difficult to compare the quality of an education between the different generations as the basic needs and requirements have changed so drastically over the years.
I have students in 11th grade taking college pre-cal. My son is more computer literate than my mother-in-law. As times change, the needs change...the big push for standardized testing right now is a result of all the technological advances of the past 50 years...particularly the Space Race. Honest! I'm not making this up-I took a class on Education! When the Soviets shot up Sputnik, the US was caught with their pants down. "Quick-we need more scientists! What do you mean, we don't have any more scientists? Where are all our young men and women that want to be scientists? Um...what do you mean, nobody wants to be a scientist?" At that time, there was emphasis on reading, writing, and arithmetic. Get 'em literate, and get 'em out the door. Next! That sparked education reform-they squashed more science and math in. On top of that, advances in technology are making some subjects and methods obsolete...don't even attempt to take a Stats class without a graphing calculator-it can't be done. And I dare you to show up to engineering classes with a T-square...you'll be laughed out of the room!
The "civilized" parts of the world (and I use that term quite loosely) are becoming entirely dependant on technology. Just think back to the days and weeks after Ivan...no power, no AC, no lights, no computer.... Ahh, but I got online. Yessirree, I didn't let a little thing like catastrophic destruction get in the way of my internet fix! We charged TJ's laptop in the car, then used a dial-up connection to check email and see what was going on in the outside world. To maintain that sort of fanaticism (not that everyone's an addict like me...well, some of you are...and you KNOW who you are), you have to push the kids in school TODAY to be the next Bill Gates (heh, ok, bad example) or to create the next Google or MySpace. Plus, you just don't want to be the stupidest industrialized country in the world. How would that look on your report card?
I have tremendous issues with basing a school and/or a student's educational success on a standardized test score. All that test score provides is a measure of how well that student took that test on that day at that time. There are 40 ba-jillion different factors in play at any given time while that child is testing...did he sleep well the night before? Did she eat breakfast? Did her father beat her last night? Did he hit his head on the bus before school? Did her boyfriend break up with her and she'll never ever ever ever ever ever love anyone else for the rest of her life-for real? I won't even go into the "teaching the test" spiel or how much stress this puts on the students and even on the teachers. And now they're talking about basing a teacher's pay on his or her students' test scores...how's that for genius? Don't like your teacher? Tank the test. You can always take it again later.
The best way to ensure the quality of your child's education is to be involved every step of the way. Know his or her teacher. Know how he or she reacts with the teacher. Know what days the class goes to music or PE...know when they're having Open House. Join the PTA even if you can't attend meetings or volunteer. Send notes to his/her teacher-you'll get one back! Make sure your child knows that you are taking this education very seriously and that you expect him or her to do the same. Stay involved! Find out what other avenues are open...tutoring (usually provided free at public schools-ask around), counseling, various other assessments...if you don't ask, you won't know! The folks in the admin usually mean well, but they're being run ragged trying to maintain an old building full of hundreds of children...they don't have time to offer up everything available. Go in with a plate of cookies or a fruit tray-you'll get lots of attention that way. :)
I'm a product of the local public school system...Edgewater and Navy Point Elementaries, Warrington Middle School, and Escambia High. I took honors classes throughout, and graduated with nearly a semester of college already under my belt. Besides frequently being long-winded, I turned out pretty normal. :) The school systems really do mean well-nobody goes into teaching for the money, BELIEVE me. They do it for the kids. They are just limited as to how they can do it. If you want to change THAT, run for office. :) The local school board, state school board, or even on the national level. Call your representatives on every level and let them know what you think. I was a thorn in Gary Bergosh's side this past year...he probably has my email address blocked. He's running for a seat on a bench somewhere this year...if I could vote "HELL NO" against him I would. :) But that's just me. Anyway, that's my rant...I have to teach in the morning so I need to get my stuff together. See y'all later!
Anyway...I hated to not share such charming material with those of you not on the group. :) Lucky dogs! And just so you know, I got my sample ballot in the mail today...I get to vote for whomever is running against Bergosh! Whee! |
Nice to know I'm not the only teacher who has an insanely young student taking higher math. A parent pulled her out of lessons (7th grader) because she was being put in pre-AP calculus.
A 7th grader!! And I'm having a hard time with the etude that's in 12/16 (4/8) time!! I see how they get 12/16 but have no clue how it could be considered 4/8...I'll send it to you.