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Usually I have a lot of respect for your posts, but this one is way off. We sent our son to public school for two and half years and he was miserable. The way most public schools are organized has nothing to do with real life either. When was the last time your work group consisted of nothing but other employees your age that lived in your immediate neighborhood wherein you were all expected to have exactly the same contribution?
I think public schools work for a lot of people and the OP should give her local kindergarten a try. However, those of us who provide an alternative education experience for our kids are not necessarily crazy. We are responding to their needs. My fourth grade son just finished his first trimester at newer alternative school and was able to complete two grade levels of math, write and videotape a speech that was used by public interest law firm on their facebook page, learn some economics and statistics that were then applied to a real world problems, and is now learning some science and engineering as part of their project based curriculum.
He is doing much better emotionally and mentally in this "hands on" environment, as part of a multiage classroom, than he ever was in our local, exemplary rated public school. Some kids are just different. That doesn't make their parents crazy.
I don't know if the 2/3 number is accurate, but there are a big chunk of kids not well served by our current system for whatever reason.
I have always respected your choice to send your kids to a school you like better. You are clearly intelligent and make reasoned decisions.
But I don't believe for a second that 2/3 (two out of every three) children are not suited for public schools.
I have met and known hundreds and hundreds of children (related to my three kids and their friends) and of course many parents. Some of these kids are outstanding people, many are just fine people, and a few strugglers. Would any of these people done better at a different school? Sure. Some would also probably do worse. It would be different.
A lot of parents ARE crazy. They are obsessed with what their little baby gets every day. They hire people to do their kids' college applications. They complain because their school won't let their daughter's sleaze picture wasn't allowed in the yearbook (a current news story). They make sure their child uses hand sanitizer constantly. And on and on. We have also all known people who simply wouldn't dream of sending their child to a public school - because it is beneath them.
Public schools will never satisfy everyone nor will they be the right or best choice for everyone. I think though that the proportions are wrong. For 2/3, good public schools are probably perfectly effective for K-12. For 1/3, a different environment may be appropriate.
Class sizes are big, and teachers are basically powerless. It is impossible for any child to get individualized attention or help. I think this is true for all schools, but it seems to be magnified in AISD.
From personal experience I would disagree with the scope of your comment. It certainly isn't impossible to get individualized attention and the teachers are not powerless. There are obvious practical limits to what one teacher can do with a classroom of 24+ students, so yes, you are likely to get less individualized attention than a classroom of 12 students (or 1 in the case of home schooling). But then again, this tends to be more a function of the teacher (again, a "bad" teacher won't get any any more individualized attention in a room with 8 students while a "good" teacher can do some pretty good things even with 20 students) and of the student (if your kid needs lots of individual attention, then you are more likely to be sensitive to exactly how much attention the teacher is able to give them, if your kiddo doesn't need that much, then you are much less likely to perceive a problem even if the teacher isn't that great at that aspect of teaching).
Again, not completely disagreeing with you, but you make it sound like it's this impossible situation when in reality it's not. Again, just depends on the specifics.
A parent of a public schooler needs to be aware of how students are allocated amongst different teachers in a given grade. There ARE patterns the individual schools follow. There are also better and worse teachers (in general and for your kid specifically) so do your due diligence and don't be afraid to push to get a different/preferred teacher.
A parent of a public schooler needs to be aware of how students are allocated amongst different teachers in a given grade. There ARE patterns the individual schools follow. There are also better and worse teachers (in general and for your kid specifically) so do your due diligence and don't be afraid to push to get a different/preferred teacher.
this is interesting - i've always wondered about this. how do you find out who a 'good teacher' is for the next grade up and how are children allocated?
From personal experience I would disagree with the scope of your comment. It certainly isn't impossible to get individualized attention and the teachers are not powerless. There are obvious practical limits to what one teacher can do with a classroom of 24+ students, so yes, you are likely to get less individualized attention than a classroom of 12 students (or 1 in the case of home schooling). But then again, this tends to be more a function of the teacher (again, a "bad" teacher won't get any any more individualized attention in a room with 8 students while a "good" teacher can do some pretty good things even with 20 students) and of the student (if your kid needs lots of individual attention, then you are more likely to be sensitive to exactly how much attention the teacher is able to give them, if your kiddo doesn't need that much, then you are much less likely to perceive a problem even if the teacher isn't that great at that aspect of teaching).
Again, not completely disagreeing with you, but you make it sound like it's this impossible situation when in reality it's not. Again, just depends on the specifics.
A parent of a public schooler needs to be aware of how students are allocated amongst different teachers in a given grade. There ARE patterns the individual schools follow. There are also better and worse teachers (in general and for your kid specifically) so do your due diligence and don't be afraid to push to get a different/preferred teacher.
I volunteer at our elementary school, in the classroom, every Thursday. It is always a kindergarten or first grade classroom. Even the best teachers simply do not have the time to devote to individual students. I've observed that the students who get the least attention are actually the ones who are excelling. The ones who are struggling get the extra help they need, but the ones who are mastering the work get very little. As a result, children who may be at or above grade level are almost held back from learning and mastering the even higher levels of work that they are capable of. Volunteers like me fill in some of the gap, but we are not there all the time, every day, in every classroom.
And when I say teachers are powerless, I meant powerless to discipline unruly students. I have seen classes (a lot of them, actually) where one student completely disrupts the entire class and takes at least an hour a day from the teacher's time just to deal with them. Our principal is great about handling these students if they are sent to her office, but a kid can't spend the whole day in the principal's office. And ironically, the kids with ADHD are actually very manageable. There are redirection techniques that are quite effective. It's the kids that have no discipline and just don't care what anyone says who are the biggest problem.
this is interesting - i've always wondered about this. how do you find out who a 'good teacher' is for the next grade up and how are children allocated?
Talk to other parents is the best way. Get to know your neighbors with kids, go to PTA and network, etc. Then start digging. Even if you're not the nosiest or in the loop parent around, there will be _plenty_ of others who are and you'd be amazed at what you can find out
Talk to other parents is the best way. Get to know your neighbors with kids, go to PTA and network, etc. Then start digging. Even if you're not the nosiest or in the loop parent around, there will be _plenty_ of others who are and you'd be amazed at what you can find out
And volunteer at the school. By doing so, you get to see most of the teachers "in action." And a good teacher for one student may not be the best teacher for another. Each child learns better in different ways. So some students may do better in a more student-directed classroom and some students may do better in a more structured environment.
And volunteer at the school. By doing so, you get to see most of the teachers "in action." And a good teacher for one student may not be the best teacher for another. Each child learns better in different ways. So some students may do better in a more student-directed classroom and some students may do better in a more structured environment.
mm i have been volunteering and agree very much with your earlier point about good kids [ie, good behavior, good learners] getting lost in the shuffle.
i have actually been pretty engaged with the class and teacher but have no real interaction with older classes and parents and struggle to know how to find the good teachers. i realize this is probably something i just have to figure out on my own....
I strongly agree on volunteering, though I know it can be hard to get a read on the teachers in grades ahead of yours. I've found making copies in the workroom to be eye-opening. I'm also not shy about asking parents at pick up or drop off which teacher their child has and how that's going. And PTA events are good places to strike up conversations.
There is probably a strong parent grapevine at the school and you have to try to tap in. You are likely to hear, if not a consensus, at least a majority opinion about various teachers. However, I know plenty of people who were happy with their child's teacher when that teacher generally had a reputation of being "bad." So you have to weigh what people say and try to get specifics -- "that teacher has poor classroom management skills and the kids are out of control;" "that teacher gives homework that doesn't make any sense or isn't appropriate to what the kids are studying;" etc.
You usually can't control whether your child gets the "best" teacher or one that's just OK, and I know lots of parents and teachers who think many of us try to micromanage this. But I knew enough about four teachers that I would have thrown an epic fit if my child had been in their classes. And I had specifics from talking to other parents, so I would not have gone in saying just "I heard that teacher was bad."
At our school, the current teacher makes a recommendation on placement for the next year, so it's good to let that teacher know if you have preference. They obviously can't guarantee anything, but it's good to put it out there.
Volunteering with PTA can be a good way to tap in. I can tell you that the PTA president and a lot of board members will know a lot about what goes on at any school. Some will dish; others will not. If you have a good relationship with them, it will help.
Also, lots of teachers have class websites or wikis. You could also track down their weekly newsletters to parents, if they have them. At our elementary, they are supposed to post them in the hallways, but not everyone does that. I look for grammatical or spelling errors because that is a pet peeve. No one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes, but if you see a pattern of errors, then I would be concerned.
Some schools have "unwritten policies" and say they won't take teacher requests. Make one anyway. It's not like they're going to penalize you. Again, try to be specific: "I would like my child to have Teacher X because my child needs a lot of structure, and I understand he's good at that." "We'd like Teacher Y because one of her strengths is differentiation." Maybe someone's calm and reassuring demeanor would be a good fit for an anxious child. Maybe someone is known for coming up with fun and creative projects that would excite your child.
I don't expect my children's education to be perfect, but I definitely want it to be the best it can be. I know some teachers/administrators at school think I'm a pain in the butt, but they also know I give a lot time and money to that school. I speak up when I see something that I think is wrong, but I also give kudos when something great happens. It's always good to be known as an involved parent who is paying attention.
The way most public schools are organized has nothing to do with real life either. When was the last time your work group consisted of nothing but other employees your age that lived in your immediate neighborhood wherein you were all expected to have exactly the same contribution?
A setting dedicated to education and one dedicated to employment are not the same thing. IMO there is so much emphasis on "being real" these days in so many districts that not nearly enough useful/broadbased knowledge is being taught, knowledge which can be applied to a much wider spectrum of one's life.
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project based curriculum.
No thank you. One can go over to the education forum here, or any other forum where parents report on what their kids' schools are doing, to find out the problems associated with this mode of "learning". This site has a lot of info on this issue.
And involved parents being a good thing? That depends on how they involve themselves. Unfortunately I believe too many well-meaning people can end up actually interfering with their kids' education, mostly because they are not professionally-trained educators. That statement may be perceived as arrogant but oh well (I don't tell my doctor what to do or the guy who comes out to repair my A/C). I realize certain types of teaching methods have proved to be problematic, but constantly looking over a teacher's shoulder does little to change that because there's a good chance they have to do what their superior desires, and mostly just ends up stressing out everyone involved. Want something changed? Personally I would talk to the school board or your local politician.
Typos and grammatical errors are indicative of a poor teacher? Really?
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