I think they really need to teach the kids at school, not send them home for the parents to teach them for those reasons alone. I don't know geometry real well, and I sure as hell don't understand calculus. What happens when my kid(s) start bringing that crap home and I don't know how to help them?
ProtoRice wrote: I think they really need to teach the kids at school, not send them home for the parents to teach them for those reasons alone. I don't know geometry real well, and I sure as hell don't understand calculus. What happens when my kid(s) start bringing that crap home and I don't know how to help them?
Have fun learning it with them. I'm learning how to play the alto sax with my daughter. Never picked one up before this.
____________________
A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams...John Barrymore
A very cool instrument. I've been playing sax since 6th grade. I'm not currently in a band & do very few gigs any more, but it's great to annoy the neighbors.
____________________ If you can't read this, you're illiterate.
ProtoRice wrote: I think they really need to teach the kids at school, not send them home for the parents to teach them for those reasons alone. I don't know geometry real well, and I sure as hell don't understand calculus. What happens when my kid(s) start bringing that crap home and I don't know how to help them?
This is exactly the problem I'm already having. (not the calculus of course )
Seriously. I can understand some homework, but shouldn't these children be doing more work at school instead of bringing it home? And what ARE you supposed to do when even you can't do it?
Learn how to do it with them... but how? Am I supposed to spend time reading over the math book learning how to do calculus (example above) to teach my daughter how to do it when truly it should be her math teacher teaching it?
Don't get me wrong, I have a *LOT* of respect for teachers and try to help out wherever I can in school.
____________________ "Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either, just fuck off and leave me alone. "
My sad situation is that I had a horrible toutor when I was very ill as a young teen. I mean I graduated every year with honors or high honors, but my math skills are horrible due to her lack of knowledge. I used to teach her science.
____________________ Get in, Sit down, Shut up and HANG ON!
Chelly03PZEV wrote: My sad situation is that I had a horrible toutor when I was very ill as a young teen. I mean I graduated every year with honors or high honors, but my math skills are horrible due to her lack of knowledge. I used to teach her science.
exactly. Why should my child fail because her parents can't teach her what the teacher should be teaching? (purely a hypothetical situation of course)
____________________ "Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either, just fuck off and leave me alone. "
It's not only the kids losing out, but college students too.
I decided to take some college courses a couple of years back. one was algebra. the teacher and i totally got into it one day in front of the class. now mind you, most of us were nontrad students (about 70%) in this class. we'd get there, he'd read through the chapter (not explaining a damn thing) and tell us to do the problems for the next class.
when i got into it with him about not actually teaching a damn thing so we could learn (not to mention what algebra is actually good for in real life). his answer was "everyone here should already know this from highschool".
ummm, most of us had been out of school for 10 to 20 yrs. they didn't push it then.
In front of the whole class i was basically told to learn on my own. most nontrads walked out on him with me that day and never went back (to his classes).
the administrations excuse-" oh, hes been here for years and knows what he's doing". he's 73 for crist sake, senility has set in. along with lazyness.
1.) H.S. academics have become such a political issue, that curriculum is written as much by legislators as by the states education agencies who are just really following what has come down from overpaid specialist generally chosen by politics as pay backs for political support.
2.) Today's students have been given too much power by govt. and they know it. You can tell which students who have a good home life and those who don't by their social skills and if they're getting helped by their parents with their studies. Not all students have a computer w/internet to do research at home.
3.) As far as older students you can enter college w/o taking a skills profiency test. Students fresh out of H.S. have to take this type of test to measure their English, Reading,and Math skills. This helps to determine if they will be able to handle college level courses. If they don't pass(I've seen Nat'l Honor Society Students have to go back and take remediation courses).
4.) All in all the education system at public schools isn't very proficient due to all the outsiders, that have their own agendas to follow. But some how, I was a B/C student in H.S and have been relatively succesful but outside entities didn't have near the impact that they do today and back in '71 all you had to do to graduate is pass your classes get the required credts and you graduated. Today you can have gone to H.S. for the full 4 years passed every class and if you don't pass a portion of the skill profiecy test(i.e Math) you don't graduate. You have from the 10th grade to your Senior year to retake the part you didn't pass, here in Texas.
5.) Please forgive any typos and mispelled words it's early and I'm in hurry(no excuses) the caffiene hasn't totally kicked in yet. Yeah it's Friday and only about 20 more days of school left.
2.) Today's students have been given too much power by govt. and they know it. You can tell which students who have a good home life and those who don't by their social skills and if they're getting helped by their parents with their studies. Not all students have a computer w/internet to do research at home.
JT”
This is the understatement of the decade. The kids I teach are 12-15 yrs old. They know very well that they can do pretty much whatever what they want & escape any consequences. If I see two students passionately kissing in the hall between classes, I immediately go up to them and ask them to stop NOW! Let's say they ignore me as if I wasn't even there & I put my hand on one of their shoulders, while telling them to stop. They separate yelling at me saying, "GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME. DON'T TOUCH ME. WHO THE HELL DO THINK YOU ARE?" The truth of the matter is if I touch any student in any way, I could lose my job, despite the fact that I've been teaching for 27 years.
If I pass out an in-class assignment and a student decides they don't feel like doing it, there's literally nothing I can do to make them. Students in many, many ways have the upper hand, and they know it. Kids tell me to go fuck myself, call me gay, call me stupid, tell me to go to hell, etc. These are not isolated incidents. This happens daily. A kid called me an asshole last year. I gave him ONE detention. Both of his parents called my principal & the superintendent of schools to launch a formal complaint against me. They came in for a conference with the principal and me, and we sat for an hour, while they questioned me like Johnny Cochran would have. "Can you prove that he said it? Do you have any other faculty members that are witnesses? Were there any other students who witnessed this? My son claims he absolutely did not do this, and my son does not lie. My son and several of his classmates have come forward and told me that you have it in for my son. Your rules are too strict. Have there been any other complaints filed against you. We have a right to know...etc., etc, blah, blah" Remember, I only assigned this kid 1 single detention. BTW, in case you’re wondering, the kid eventually admitted he said it. No apologies from anyone, naturally.
This is the state of affairs in public schools today. Maybe you're thinking that I teach at an inner city school. Nope! I teach at a virtually all white suburban school. I have taught in inner city schools, but not for 10 years or so. I'm pretty sure that JT works in an inner city high school. He'll have his own stories to tell. So basically, what our parents, legislators and administration are doing are tying our hands behind our backs, and putting a gag in our mouths, and telling us to get in there & teach those kids. You, as the teacher, will be held personally responsible if the child does not learn at the rate the government feels they should be. If the student does not pass the proficiency tests, it’s your fault. You must be a lousy teacher. Never mind that you are not allowed to enforce behavior standards. Don’t bother to tell us that students absolutely refuse to work, study, complete projects, or do homework. Proficiency tests are not easy or fun to take. The results don’t take in to consideration the kids that have what I refer to as the “Fuck you” attitude. They mark every answer “A”. They are finished with the test before you finish reading the instructions. As a teacher, there’s not a damn thing you can do about that, yet those test results are averaged in with all the others. You, the teacher, are held responsible.
Homework is another bone of contention. Homework serves 2 valuable functions. It serves as practice for what you learned in school that day. Second, it teaches kids to think and work on their own. To suggest that teachers should do all the teaching in school, and not send work home is just not being realistic. Some of the kids I teach see me for only 20 min/day. They need to practice doing what I showed them how to do in class that day. To suggest that teachers not assign homework that their parents don’t know how to do is just ridiculous. I don’t speak German. If I had a school-aged child, should I be upset if the German teacher assigns homework? I don’t play the trumpet. Should I be upset if the music teacher tells my daughter to practice at home? Homework can be excessive, no doubt about that. But to say it shouldn’t be assigned is just nuts.
Then along cones “W” with his No Child Left Behind bullshit. As a special ed teacher, my mandate now is to bring my sped students up to the standards of the “regular student population.” I have to use the regular class text books and other teaching materials, and teach the regular curriculum. This means that I have to teach my autistic kids, my mentally retarded kids, my learning disabled kids, my dyslexic kids things like how to find the area of a triangle and a cylinder, as well as how to do algebra. These are just a couple of small examples. It just makes you want to shout
HEY STUPID!
There’s a reason they call it special ed.!!!!!!!!
I have been a “Highly Qualified Teacher” for many years. This is a national official designation that is earned through a combination of educational achievement, years of teaching, and other qualifications. With the implementation of NCLB, as a special ed. teacher, I am suddenly no longer highly qualified. Problem is, I MUST be an HQT in order to keep my job. What this means is that I must now return to school and complete 6 semester credit hours for every subject I teach. I never know what I’m going to teach from year to tear. This year I’m teaching math and reading. Next year, I might be teaching English & social studies. Despite having taught special ed. for 27 years, having a Master’s degree plus more than 30 hours, a permanent teaching certificate and tenure, I have to go back to school and take 6 graduate semester hours of English, social studies, math, science, and reading. I have to pay for this myself. No comp time will be awarded. I must have it completed by the end of the 2005-06 school year.
What I’d like to see is some of the critics come into my classroom and teach my class for just 1 week. Five days. I’m betting they’d shit themselves.
Why do I do it? I love kids. I love the feeling of being able to say that the world is a better place because of what I’ve done. No matter how small my contribution may be, I feel like I’m making a difference.
Last edited on Sat Apr 30th, 2005 04:34 am by Mr. Versatile
____________________ If you can't read this, you're illiterate.
MrV
We could use more like you here. Ever consider moving? My neighbours are used to some of the downright pitiful sounds that I've caused to be emitted from a sax. :-)
My daughter's school has parent-teacher meetings 3 times a year. I go to every one of them. The number of parents that show up is less than 20%. Guess that the lack of interest by the majority works in my favour since I get as much time as I want with her teachers to get up to speed on what's coming up in each subject.
Perhaps I'm a hard ass but I believe that if you are going to have a child then you damned well better be prepared to work with that child thoughout his or her life.
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A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams...John Barrymore
Codger wrote: MrV
We could use more like you here. Ever consider moving? My neighbours are used to some of the downright pitiful sounds that I've caused to be emitted from a sax. :-)
My daughter's school has parent-teacher meetings 3 times a year. I go to every one of them. The number of parents that show up is less than 20%. Guess that the lack of interest by the majority works in my favour since I get as much time as I want with her teachers to get up to speed on what's coming up in each subject.
Perhaps I'm a hard ass but I believe that if you are going to have a child then you damned well better be prepared to work with that child thoughout his or her life.
I agree Codger, but I have to admit there is a leval of embarasment when my 2nd grade daughter brings home homework from talent pool or her normal class that I can't do? I'm NOT a stupid person, I graduated High School. I didn't fail all of my classes (actualy only one the semester I had my daughter) and the rest I was at least a "C" student. I was a 4.0 student until I had her (and then I just didn't have the time to devote to my studies like I should have- but that's another story). Hell, I was in the Gifted and Talented Program all throughout school also, so why do I have a hard time comprehending her assignments?
I do go to all of her parent teacher conferences as well as checking in with her teacher once a week to see how she is doing. I DO care how she does and I AM willing to work with her.
I don't think 2nd graders should have an hour of homework a night. She's still young and she should have free time, not just homework time (although I guess if she had a SAHM instead of a working mom, she would have a lot more).
Mr. V, you sound like a wonderful teacher and make a lot of valid points. It's nice to hear the "other side" of the story also.
____________________ "Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either, just fuck off and leave me alone. "
I agree Codger, but I have to admit there is a leval of embarasment when my 2nd grade daughter brings home homework from talent pool or her normal class that I can't do? I'm NOT a stupid person, I graduated High School. I didn't fail all of my classes (actualy only one the semester I had my daughter) and the rest I was at least a "C" student. I was a 4.0 student until I had her (and then I just didn't have the time to devote to my studies like I should have- but that's another story). Hell, I was in the Gifted and Talented Program all throughout school also, so why do I have a hard time comprehending her assignments?
I do go to all of her parent teacher conferences as well as checking in with her teacher once a week to see how she is doing. I DO care how she does and I AM willing to work with her.
I don't think 2nd graders should have an hour of homework a night. She's still young and she should have free time, not just homework time (although I guess if she had a SAHM instead of a working mom, she would have a lot more).
.
Nothing to be embarassed about. Learn with her. Do you actually believe that I remembered what a Venn diagram was? The whole learning process is neat. Share it with her. An hour of homework is a great time for the two of you to spend working together. My daughter is pleased as punch when I thank her for teaching me something. Homework is only a PITA if you treat it that way.
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A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams...John Barrymore
A Venn diagram is used to compare and contrast characteristics of 2 or more things. It involves making a large circle on a sheet of paper for each item you're comparing. The circles need to overlap, so that it looks like the Master Card logo. In each circle, write the particular characteristics of each thing you're comparing. Where the circles overlap, the the items have characteristics in common. It's best, (IMO), when used to compare 2 things. You can do more, but once you get past 3, I think it gets too complex.
____________________ If you can't read this, you're illiterate.
I realize there's nothing you as teachers can do. It is the government. It's not your fault the classes are 20 mins long, or that the kids have the power over you. One thing that isn't being taught in school is RESPECT and apparently it's not being taught in the homes anymore either. My father taught me to respect my elders. If I got a "#### you" attitude, I'd get a "#### yourself" right back.
I'm in Vocational school with mostly HS students age 16-18. I see the "#### you" attitude every day at it's best. How is the teacher supposed to teach if the students won't listen? Most people take electrician class for an "easy grade" but end up passing with D's because they won't do any work. And what can the teacher do? Nothing. Nothing but yell at them and tell them to do their work. And they don't want to do it anyway, so he gets ignored. Or they weren't paying enough attention to get the assignment.
So I get where you're coming from, Mr. V, but I still am against homework
I'm learning how to play the alto sax with my daughter. Never picked one up before this.
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