Posit1
This is to all those creative minds out there longing for a problem to solve.
How do we fund education so that all public schools are funded, not only adequately, but satisfactorily? Funding means: books, materials, technology, buildings, teachers, principals, staff, extra ciricular?
Should it continue come from only property tax? I've heard tax experts say the best way to fund is a combination of : income, property and sales. That still means that poor areas get less.Should we forgo Federal funding for more state control? Should the Feds have any control over education? (not according to the Constititution) What about ciriculum? What is the best way to teach? Is the bar set too low for city and country kids? Are we doing anything with out manic obession with testing?
How do other countries, who out test us, and out-graduate us, fund and set teaching standards?
This is our first problem to talk about.
thinkingdem
How do we fund education so that all public schools are funded, not only adequately, but satisfactorily? Funding means: books, materials, technology, buildings, teachers, principals, staff, extra ciricular?
Should it continue come from only property tax? I've heard tax experts say the best way to fund is a combination of : income, property and sales. That still means that poor areas get less.Should we forgo Federal funding for more state control? Should the Feds have any control over education? (not according to the Constititution) What about ciriculum? What is the best way to teach? Is the bar set too low for city and country kids? Are we doing anything with out manic obession with testing?
How do other countries, who out test us, and out-graduate us, fund and set teaching standards?
This is our first problem to talk about.
thinkingdem
posted by ThinkingDem at 4:59 PM
7 Comments:
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On funding (not my area of expertise), I have questions. Has underfunding contributed to the decline in the public school system? If so to what extent? Your next set of questions re curriculum, teaching methodologies, low expectations and emphasis on testing are compelling.
My thoughts: Teachers should be the best and brightest and most motivated. They should be empowered to provide answers and solutions to the questions of curriculum, et. al.
I have several friends from NYC who went into teaching after college in the '70's. They were bright, well educated and motivated. All but one left the profession, primarily because of student discipline problems; they spent less time teaching and more time disciplining. And they could make far more money in the private sector.
On curriculum: I traveled Europe for a several weeks in the '70's and met people from many countries. They learned much more in their elementary and secondary schools than Americans, including several languages.
More later...
Funding isn't everything. The KCMO desegregation plan proved that. Educators had a virtual blank check, and still couldn't show any improvement in outcomes. All the money in the world couldn't help very much if the kids weren't ready to learn.
Basic life needs like food, shelter, and family stability have to be met before kids can learn. Some kids do overcome these challenges and go on to be very successul, but they are the exception not the rule. Schools can't address these, but other parts of society and government could.
So, if money isn't the total answer, what is? I suggest we stop teaching like it was 1955! I suggest we raise the standards on graduating teachers. Teachers should be the best and brightest - many are - however, many aren't. Too many have given up and are just marking time. They need to either retire, or be assigned to duties not in a classroom.
How do we learn? Do we learn by sitting in a room and having someone TELL us things? Or do we learn by exploration? Look at a 3 yr old. He will learn more in the first five years of his/her life than all the years afterward - and he/she does it by exploration, asking questions - WHY?
I suggest we, as a society, re-examine the WAY we teach. Expect excellence, NOT incompetence. Stop blaming parents (although, yes, THEY are responsible ultimately, but folks- schools have them MORE hours than home - can we move on?) If we continue to blame parents, we will be always stuck in this mire - kids can't learn because parents are involved. I would posit that parental involvement isn't any less than it was when we were kids; but with the wonderful invention of TIME, and Leave it to Beaver, we all THINK it was better. I don't remember anyone's parent being involved in middle or high school. (my father never attended one of my choir concerts - am I scarred? Hardly. Move on. Grow up. Parents don't have a lock on perfection -you don't, why should your parents?) A teacher can have a greater impact on a child than a parent - although parents can fertilize the ground and help water it - but things can grow without it(where in the hell did this metaphor come from?)
Anyway - we know the problems. Now - how about solid solutions? Where do we start? with teachers? with the school boards and demanding a better more innovative more creative - Socratic, if you will, teaching style?
You have to empower people, not throw money at them for passing a multiple choice test once a year. People like to be asked, depended on, needed. I think teachers teach because they want to make a difference. Kids can, too. Mentoring, tutoring, peer review are ways to give kids authority, why not start to give authority over parts of the curriculum? In education debates, there's much talk about boards and teachers unions, funding and text books, but does anyone ever ask the kids? Or listen?
alicia aka st .augustine student says ...
st.augustine shool sucks espeacially molly forster and madison king . they are so fake and stupid .
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