Comments on: Krugman worries about college while K-12 founders; al-Qaeda at CERN; and Nobel also-rans

By: stodgie

stodgie — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 16:32:27 +0000

here’s a novel idea, first before anything else make sure that the child learns reading, writing, and arithmetic. yeah i used to be a teacher also before i became discouraged and left.

i actually went back to bascis and used spelling drills and actually taking a sentence and putting in on the blackboard based on the function of each word. i told them begin with everyday things like reading stop signs and progress from there.

all this free breakfast and student rights leaves me saying how about the right to learn whether junior wants to or not. and oh yes the rest of us have a right to not have to see junior’s backside because he thinks he has the right to not wear a belt.

By: beachnan

beachnan — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:12:53 +0000

Agree with you Tek. Hillary would have been a fantastic choice. However, she is just a woman. Snark. Why would you give it to a work horse, when you can give it to the show horse? I am still dumbfounded by the committee’s selection. You give these awards to people who have worked their entire lives to improve the world around them. BO couldn’t even help the people in his own district in Chicago. Bill Clinton would also have been a great choice. Like a lot of others Presidents, he could have rested on his laurels, but instead, he created his foundation, which has helped thousands of people. Shame on the Nobel Committee for this monumental absurdity.

By: bart

bart — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:47:20 +0000

As a former high school teacher, I agree completely. K-4 is critical. If I were staffing, I’d want my best teachers there.

Of course, if people really cared about this sort of thing, we’d pay attention to daycare and preK as well. Most of what is out there is abysmal.

By: tek

tek — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 19:33:29 +0000

On the Nobel prize: if anyone was going to win that prize it should have been Hillary because she is the one who has worked hard to restore the image of the U. S. and change the world atmosphere.

By: snosandy

snosandy — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:59:52 +0000

My experience has been that K-4 are the most important years of strong public teaching. We moved overseas when my daughter was in 5th grade and I homeschooled her for two years because we lived two hours from an international school. We worked from a curriculum of workbooks that she spent about three hours per day, four days a week on. She was very independent and did most of the workbook learning on her own. There were no other American children where we lived, so most of her socialization was with us, her high school brother, and one American neighbor couple. We did travel often, so she had an amazing cultural experience.

I was concerned when we moved back to the U.S. that she would be behind in her academics. We enrolled her in middle school when we got back thinking we would need to work hard with her to catch up with the kids who had spent 7 hours a day, 5 days a week on their education. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that she had not fallen behind at all and has been a straight A student for the four years we’ve been back.

By: Diana L. C.

Diana L. C. — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:57:35 +0000

I taught some time as an adjunct–mostly college freshmen. I feel the middle school years are the ones where we lose kids big time. They do nothing there because of the stupid notion that kids’s brains are developing too much and can’t actually learn and their hormones at that age get in the way. So it’s basically fun and games the whole time–with no actual learning. I learned the most myself in seventh and eighth grade–hard teachers who kept my nose to the grindstone.

As a ninth-grade teacher, I got kids in from the middle school who hadn’t done any real learning since sixth grade and had to spend lots of time just learning how to learn again.

By: churl

churl — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:35:23 +0000

As a long time college teacher, I can say with some confidence that the most important teacher on the education food chain is the k-4 teacher. And parents and (gasp!) a village may have more impact than either the teacher or the funding.

By: Obamastolemycountry

Obamastolemycountry — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:59:26 +0000

Our schools are not teaching academics so much anymore. They have an agenda. In 2008, I experienced how school was all about the election, pretty much in every class. My son in middle school was a McCain/Palin supporter and just hated being involved in the Obama love and hoopla. I would love for teachers to teach the subject they are supposed to and stop pushing their personal opinions on kids. Teach concepts and not opinions! When schools waste time and money teaching kid Obama songs, rather than reading, writing, or arithmetic, it is time to home school. I also had the experience a couple of years ago where our school had a referendum on the ballot. I have become opposed to these referendums for many reasons, one of which is that in the past, they haven’t spent the money on teachers and students as was promised, but rather, the money went to administration. At any rate, I was a vocal opponent of the referendum and my son knew this. The referendum did not pass. Several teachers at the school told the students that now their favorite teachers would have to be laid off next year, etc., etc. and you should go ask your parents how they voted and tell them that they don’t care about your education! Well, believe me, the school heard from me! My son is now doing virtual high school on line. He gets basics without the politics and agendas, at least so far. Our schools are a mess and off task in the K-12 arena! Very, very off task!

By: Diana L. C.

Diana L. C. — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:28:57 +0000

As a retired public school teacher, I will state my problems with public education. The major problem is the gradual shift since the early 70′s away from concern about academic knowledge to a concern for providing “self-esteem” and for following stupid, untested, theories about learning theory and every other educationeze babble theory the people in education departments (think Ayers) think up in line with their stupid political and social justice theories.

Quite simply, the best was to educate from the beginning is to provide content and make it available to all. That doesn’t always even require money. It requires teachers interested in content and knowledgeable about content and not just concerned about their own search to become “popular” with the kids or their goal of self-aggrandizement as saviors of the world.

That is why homeschooling is taking off. Parents have already mastered the “classroom management” theory necessary for their own kids. All they have to worry about is helping their kids LEARN THINGS.

By: Mia

Mia — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:08:44 +0000

It is not about funding. I live in a place where underperforming schools get more money than those doing great. The difference is due to social structure, in my opinion. Better performing students have more educated and more engaged parents. In our school district, better performing schools are in the areas where most of the students come from families with higher degrees. Poor performing schools have mostly children of noneducated parents and immigrants. These parents were surprized when they learned how much time I spend educating my kid. They never read or take their kids to activities. I did open their eyes and some of them are more actively involved now.

By: Brodie

Brodie — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:08:20 +0000

Many of my friends have opted for home schooling with spectacular results. I live in a rural area that was part of the in-migration of hippies and back-to-the-landers in the 70′s. Almost without exception, these folks have raised some really bright and caring children who have gotten lots of free-ride honors scholarships. Most of them were home-schooled or at the very least had tremendous input from their parents and others in the community. I work in an adult ed program and see the disconnect you speak of in regard to funding. You are so right about the cost of remediation. College is good, but students need to be ready and nothing beats parental & community involvement in the quality of education.

By: confusedinAmerica

confusedinAmerica — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:54:54 +0000

Part of the problem of education in many states is all the money and time that is being spend on ESL classes and free meals.
What is really sad is that so many many of them are here illegally.
There are many school districts that over 25% of their budget is for educational tools (special ESL teachers, extra aides, security, free meals and the list goes on) for just for illegals.

In Texas, Arizona, NY, Calif, New Mexico and Washington to just name a few the budgets for illegals is usually more than 50% of the budgets. Many school districts spend so much time trying to get the illegals to be able to read and write in their language and then English that other programs are cut out.

By: MrMike

MrMike — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:07:27 +0000

As long as K-12 education is funded locally there will be differences.
The problem ranges from those who fear national or statewide funding will lead to the teaching of Evolution to One World governance to home owners and real estate agents watching housing values in “good” school districts evaporate.
Another problem not soon resolved is a school year scheduled for an agrarian society. How many children do you know help with the spring planting anymore?

By: Tricia Spiegel

Tricia Spiegel — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:01:44 +0000

Lisa–Good thinking on education. The kids I know who love books, learn to love, and don’t seem to be interested in Gameboys and the like are home schooled. I never thought I would say such a thing as I always thought that home schooling inhibited needed social development. But these kids seem happy–though perhaps more adult-oriented than their public schooled peers.

But you are so right. The kids who do well later are those who do well earlier–who get reinforcement for their learning that later becomes fulfilling in and of itself. So much research on this.

Of course, parents have a big role here that we can’t forget. I know, it’s hard when you work 8 hours a day. But I worry that parents may be the only real resource we have left.