Comments on: How do you improve a school?

By: john

john — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 21:07:50 +0000

Make school optional. Then only the willing students will stay.

By: N. Ga. Teacher

N. Ga. Teacher — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 04:20:20 +0000

Wow! What a volatile issue! I have taught at both the high school and college levels, so I understand the posts here. The problem with university educational research is that it conveniently ignores motivational and discipline issues. The assumption is that kids are motivated but just can’t understand the material due to cognitive or instructional barriers. Hence all the teaching models we learn as undergrads. Many posts dealt with the idea that we need to understand that many kids no longer come from white middle class culture. TRUE!! In the gritty, real world of public schools, teachers know that the battle IS motivation. (and yes, I will give props here to those who dramatically and self-righteously cry out for “we need to care about the kids”) First, we have to realize that teens are not stupid. They are more clever, tech-oriented and street-smart than we were. They CAN learn and excel, but they do NOT by and large have the general motivation to please parents and other adults like we middle class baby boomers had. We teachers have a hard time understanding that, but that’s the rule today for most kids besides teacher’s kids!!! Today’s teens are cynical, ironic, and Machiavellian, but also practical. If they see something that can make their lives better or more interesting they WILL work at it. AHA!!! Here lies the real basis for academic improvement!!! But we have to CARE enough to offer CHOICES for kids. We need to encourage THEIR interests instead of ramming somebody else’s curriculum down their throats. We need to offer more flexibility in scheduling to be more CARING and UNDERSTANDING of the myriad of home lives. In the block scheduling system, kids can earn enough credits to graduate and not have to come to school first period for most of their high school career. We can avoid a ton of tardy and behavior problems this way. Online classes provide flexibility. Dalton City has an alternative night school that works great. I am a teacher that really believes in teenagers’ abilities to accomplish, BUT we have to be effective and flexible guides. Oh, and one more thing: this system will eliminate many discipline problems, but schools need to be very serious about discipline and respect. The school board needs to have the courage to back suspensions and expulsions of disruptors. Most teens appreciate this, because they don’t want those bad apples around either.

By: @ David S

@ David S — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:55:35 +0000

You know why you don’t need to have a discussion about improving private schools? Because private schools can be selective about their students and their parents can be selective about their dollars.

By: David S

David S — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:40:02 +0000

Funny how you never need to have a blog about how to improve private schools and yet this discussion has been going on for over 100 years easily with little or nothing to show for it.

Homeschool and reject the false notion that the government should have ANYTHING to do with education.

By: David S

David S — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:38:27 +0000

If its a government school, you close it.

If its a private school, you respond to the needs of the market and your customer.

By: Bruce Deitrick Price

Bruce Deitrick Price — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:49:53 +0000

Here are two essential steps.
1) Teachers must major/minor in the subjects they teach. We want sages; and we want them on stages. We do not want Education majors teaching Biology and History.
2) Focus on the real villains. Everybody has a favorite villain when explaining mediocre schools. Discussing these alleged villains tends to give cover to the people who are really responsible. Obviously, that would be the people in charge: the Education Establishment. My conclusion is that these elite educators are mainly interested in social engineering, not mental engineering. Since the time of John Dewey, they have been trying to use the schools to change society. Every gimmick they promote–Whole Word, Reform Math, Constructivism, and so many more–tends to undermine education, not enhance it. (If you would like more of this analysis, Google 38: Saving Public Schools.)
(The often-named villains include drugs, sex, rock & roll, computers and of course parents. I don’t say they aren’t factors. But when a team is losing games, or a business is losing money, the first thing we rationally do is to ask if the people in charge have any idea what they are doing. Maybe they should all be fired, and new people put in charge. Exactly! That’s my plan. If people have a PhD in Education, that should disqualify them from have any further influence on public education. These bad boys gave us Look-say in 1931, New Math in 1960, and they haven’t gotten any smarter.)

By: Rosie

Rosie — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:40:32 +0000

Seen it all,
Thank you for the link to the blog/essay on “What is it like to teach black students?”. I’ve never read such a true depiction of “what it is like”. I found myself thinking I’m not alone as a teacher. Some may find the essay rather crude or exaggerated, but it is true. This writer is not alone. Many teachers have the same feelings after dealing with the day to day behaviors of students. I don’t attribute this behavior to race even though the students are black. Parenting is the problem. Some black students do not behave as described in the essay, but the majority do. There are even groups of white students behaving in the same manner. Bill Cosby has alluded to the problems in communities with lots of objection from members of these communities. At some point we have to to stop being so afraid to address the real problem in schools. Students are coming into our schools unprepared and without manners. White and black parents have got to take responsibility for their children and arm them with tools to succeed even before Kindergarten. At some point schools and taxpayers need to put the burden back where it belongs- HOME, MOTHER and FATHER.

By: Crawford

Crawford — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:32:07 +0000

School choice is great, if there are choices. What about the smaller districts where there is no choice? What about the space limitations? As far as vouchers go, how many private schools are dying to take any student who wants to go there?

By: maybe i will home school

maybe i will home school — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:53:30 +0000

after perusing the comments, i’m in agreement w/ those who say more discipline and parental involvement is required & necessary. Schools are expected to do the job of teaching and parenting. When i was in school there was still corporal punishment (w/ parent’s permission of course). this was only 25 yrs ago. Since then, everyone has gotten touchy feely and overcome with entitlement attitudes. The public school model is beyond broken.
I heard someone say that the public school model, as it is now, is similar to the govt telling me that simply because I live in this n’hood, I can only shop at this publix and this wal-mart for ALL my grocery and household needs. How stupid is that? Would anyone stand for that? So why do we as parents stand for the current public school model? Additionally, all educators and administrators and politicians should take a gander at Malcolm Gladwells book – Outliers – the story of success. Asian students are better in math and science not b/c of genetics but b/c they go to school for 240 days vs 180 days. He also explains the current 180 day school model (in the 19th century it was thought kids would go insane if their brains werent’ rested – sim to how you rest a field in a farm). We know better now but still ahve not changed.

def need to allow MORE school choice and vouchers! Throwing more money and legislation at the problem (esp from fed & state levels) will not work (as we’ve already seen). Leave it to the local level.

By: ShoeShee

ShoeShee — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:11:39 +0000

Sorry for the double. I guess I should be more patient, you guys obviously get these things posted eventually!