No money for teachers or books

[Bigprairie1]

Re: No money for teachers or books

There are some really great responses and takes on this thread....great to read and think about.
With respect to RogerWa's comments on the core competencies...this is interesting stuff. Around these parts...there are several takes on this with respect to education that extends beyond straight up rote learning skills. We see this alot with respect to certain immigrant demographics particularly from Asia where rote learning is really stressed and they are very good at these basics...ie: the maths and sciences and can seriously outpace the other kids. However, they start to really fall short on a lot of other needed skills and abilities...usually less valued, which speaks to some of Bubbas comments.
I fully agree about the Unions tho'...they are definitely a self-interest group in this and indeed 'have no skin in the game' in terms of quality...nicely put!
The trick is how to get the funding past the union and directly into what the kids need. Unfortunately when the budgets open up...the first one at the table with the fork and knife ready to eat, is the Union. Whats left goes into the classrooms, materials, etc.
BP

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: No money for teachers or books

could always do like the superintendent did for Manatee schools....... overspend the budget by 38M to get enough books,etc.

remember, for the schools to spend money, there needs to be a referendum. this means that there may be a slight increase in taxes. It is up to the parents to fight for their childs school funding. I agree Bubba, it is the parents that caused this problem

most of Florida is retired people that do not want to, or like to pay taxes. there are donations for field trips, class projects, etc. stuff that was covered by the school districts in the midwest. Granted, its only $5 hear and $10 there, however it adds up. Most people that vote on school funding are retired people who's children have long since graduated. So Parents, get out there and vote.

My daughter and Step son go to a school of 2500 kids. Its over crowded and under funded, yet is one of the better schools in the county. That is the reason I am living in a kid friendly area and not living much closer to the water.

And Bubba, I do make it a point to know all my daughters friends and their parents.

 

[jasoutside]

Re: No money for teachers or books

Unfortunately when the budgets open up...the first one at the table with the fork and knife ready to eat, is the Union. Whats left goes into the classrooms, materials, etc.
BP

I must say, unions up your way must be a very different animal than over here.

 

[rogerwa]

Re: No money for teachers or books

And yet every study every performed shows that when children have "magnet programs" (arts, shop, music, etc.) they do better in the basics.

Is the magnet program the benefit or does the kid that chooses a magnet program care enough about education to do well? Also, my ansgt is more directed at expanding the selection of programs (that cost money) to the detriment of the core responsibilities. I have some baggage when it comes to magnet programs from my own time in a city school where they designated the school in the most dangerous part of town as the most desireable magnet to essentially bring in "smarter" kids to make that school look good.

As said before though, family and parents are a significant part of the problem as well.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: No money for teachers or books

I hate to say this but.... The real problem with our education system is,,, parents.

We agreed twice in this thread....modern miracle!

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: No money for teachers or books

I must say, unions up your way must be a very different animal than over here.

...to be very straight, but I suppose that varies.
BP

 

[Bondo]

Re: No money for teachers or books

...to be very straight, but I suppose that varies.
BP

Ayuh,.... This thread is walkin' a fine line,.... Ya gotta stay Exactly on topic,...

Get political, 'n it's done,...

Believe me, I've been wantin' to post, but Won't, just for that reason,...

 

[jasoutside]

Re: No money for teachers or books

Uh oh, bondo's here:laser::cower::beaten::rant::satellite::mod:

 

[jigngrub]

Re: No money for teachers or books

Nope. The union doesn't make people lazy. Lazy people choose to be lazy.

You mean like this?

Fred Kite - YouTube

 

[Bondo]

Re: No money for teachers or books

Uh oh, bondo's here:laser::cower:

Ayuh,.... Actually,... Most of the Mod Squad is watchin',.....

 

[jasoutside]

Re: No money for teachers or books

Ayuh,.... Actually,... Most of the Mod Squad is watchin',.....

You know I think I can see them all back there....
:spy::spy::spy::spy::spy::spy:

 

[dingbat]

Re: No money for teachers or books

My grandmother was a high school teacher. My father was a high school teacher. My wife is a elementary school teacher.

If you ask them where the problems lies, they'll tell you to look in the mirror......education starts at home. Kids that are disrespectful and out of control at home are 10 times worst in a situation where there is no consequences for inappropriate behavior. A full police officer at school is the norm for a reason. Student assaults on teachers are not uncommon.....in elementary school.

Who here would work 180 days a year, paid vacation and sick, a top rated health insurance plan and a government pension for a national "average" of $56K a year?

On the other hand, who here wants to be physically and verbally abused by someones kid on a regular basis? The wrong reaction gets you lawsuit by jr.'s parents. Enter "Unionized" insurance policy.

Florida ranks 43rd in average teacher salaries @$46,944. US average is $56,383. New York's average is $75,279. Certainly not drawing the brightest and most talented with that ranking.
How much teachers get paid — state by state

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: No money for teachers or books

Ayuh,.... This thread is walkin' a fine line,.... Ya gotta stay Exactly on topic,...

Get political, 'n it's done,...

Believe me, I've been wantin' to post, but Won't, just for that reason,...

....didn't mean to transgress on that one Bondo, my apologies...I didn't realize it was tickling the political. However, 'that larger issue' is a very volatile 'thing' around these parts right now.
Ok...back to teaching...

All good
BP

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: No money for teachers or books

Agreed but most parents do NOT want to hear it.

...big ditto on this, but....its funny tho' how all of these parents are someone else...LOL:lol:

That said, one interesting way to improve something like education is to take a very good look externally at what is working elsewhere....particularly abroad. Germany and Austria (perhaps Switzerland similar?)...have some really interesting approaches to kids, teens and schooling that appear to be paying great dividends. Their youth (under 25) unemployment rate...is something like 2-3%.
The same might be the case with the Netherlands...but I'm not 100% up on that.
BP

 

[Tnstratofam]

Re: No money for teachers or books

May be way off on this, but The Admiral and I feel that our child's education is many peoples responsibility. It starts with she and I as the parents, then to our son, then to the teachers/school officials. I have to admit that we are lucky in that our school system is small so the kids get more attention. However that also means that resources are harder for the schools to come by. I'm not blaming anyone in particular because the budget is tight. That's just the way it is in some areas. We as parents as well as members of our community must decide to do more to help our teachers teach. That may mean helping out financially, and or by electing school board members who will do better at managing funds. Raising taxes can sometimes help, but doing so doesn't mean all a school systems woes will be fixed. Parents who aren't involved in all aspects of their child's education are often the ones who are shocked when they find out their school has some type of money problem. You have to be involved in the whole process. School isn't a babysitting service. If your school system is having financial problems don't take the easy route and blame it on the administration, or the teachers union, or the teachers. Get more involved than that. Find out what your community needs to do to be successful in supporting it's schools. Just my 2 cents. Hope I'm not rambling.
:facepalm:

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: No money for teachers or books

Yup but, like I suggested before, its a complicated set of issues driving it. When 41% of ALL births in 2012 were to single mothers we have to know that the mother is not going to have enough hours in the day to hold down a job, take care of a home, raise a child and spend time at the school with her child. Of course the fact a lot of these mothers are barely old enough to attend high school themselves isn't helping. :grumpy:

....now there is a scary statistic.....41%.....I had no idea.
That is definitely going to go south in its results in about 10-20 years.
Hopefully this is not a country wide (N.A) statistic.
....I can't understand how this can happen so quickly and easily from a social perspective. What drives a desire to dig yourself in knee deep...maybe neck deep.....like that.
Hopefully that joke which states something like "babies (for young women) are the new chihuhuas or latest handbag"....was just a joke...
hmmm, interesting stuff.

 

[aspeck]

Re: No money for teachers or books

:nono::ranger:hoto::behindsofa:eep::lever:Ready to pull the lever on some serious editing ... keep it on topic and away from the political line, and remember, many of our members are union members, so bashing unions could be considered bashing them ...

Edit: This post started around 1:30, but calls and visits kept it later on in the thread ... but the sentiment still holds true.

 

[lncoop]

Re: No money for teachers or books

BP, where did your avatar come from? It's driving me crazy because it's so similar to the cover for the Gunfigher Ballads album (as in vinyl:happy I used to listen to while lying in the floor at my grandparents' house. That's a strong memory.

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: No money for teachers or books

BP, where did your avatar come from? It's driving me crazy because it's so similar to the cover for the Gunfigher Ballads album (as in vinyl:happy I used to listen to while lying in the floor at my grandparents' house. That's a strong memory.

..the gunfighter ballads...I think that was Marty Robbins...correct?...I always liked Marty Robbins! Anywhoo, that avatar is of a Canadian country music legend who passed away last year by the name of 'Stompin' Tom Connors'. He was a really entertaining guy who wrote and sung a lot of Canadian-centric stuff. He didn't have the worlds greatest singing voice, but he could sure pick some fun regional subjects to sing about and he really found a lot of musical traction and popularity a little later in his life after fading quite a bit in the 70's and 80's.
BP
.....oops sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread off topic.

 

[rogerwa]

Re: No money for teachers or books

....now there is a scary statistic.....41%.....I had no idea.
That is definitely going to go south in its results in about 10-20 years.
Hopefully this is not a country wide (N.A) statistic.
....I can't understand how this can happen so quickly and easily from a social perspective. What drives a desire to dig yourself in knee deep...maybe neck deep.....like that.
Hopefully that joke which states something like "babies (for young women) are the new chihuhuas or latest handbag"....was just a joke...
hmmm, interesting stuff.

To me this problem is about the popular culture. I have raised my 4 kids with conservative (don't think political please) values. We have taken a strong role in their education, what they are exposed to, and bucked the trend in many places. But I have realized when my daughter was going through HS, and early college that the popular culture is so prevalent and persuasive that there is a war raging. All the messages we have been encouraging and living by are repeatedly challenged by just about every TV show in prime time. Not too mention the Facebook culture. I have a lot of visitors in my house and kids lives that I didn't invite nor know about.

When TV shows you that the first thing you do after having dinner on a first date is to have sex, and it is repeated in every show, your kids look at you and think you are lame. When Girls are posting pics of themselves on Facebook in the most seductive poses that says come and get me, where does the high pregnancy rate come from? Not a big mystery.. Pop culture says hookin up is cool. If there is a problem? take a pill and problem gone.

Its a strong culture to swim upstream against - even for engaged parents. How is that battle going for split families, single mothers, or the welfare baby makers.