What's right with our public schools?

[senseandsensibility]

I'll start. I'm a public school teacher in a poor, working class, immigrant neighborhood of a large city. We face many challenges that would curl most people's hair on an hourly basis. I won't go into detail here; that's not the purpose of this thread.

However, when I get to work this morning, I will be greeted by twenty children who come from non-English speaking homes who love me and think I'm a hero. They know English because the hard working teachers at my school have taught it to them, at the same time that we teach them everything else demanded by No Child Left Behind.

These children are seven or eight years old, started learning English at age five, and are already fluent. They can read, write essays with three well developed paragraphs, and are OFF THE CHARTS in Math, literally mastering pre algebra at an age when I was barely knew simple subtraction.

Just a report from the trenches...:) Remember, what you see on TV is not the truth about public schools. If they lie about politics, they will lie about anything.

[seemunkee]

1. There is a lot that is right

and people like you are the reason.

[senseandsensibility]

2. Thanks!

You're sweet, but really, my experience is mirrored by many other hard working teachers across the country. I don't recognize the picture of public schools painted by the media. I know it's not perfect, but there is no balance.

[RPM]

3. 1st amendment

After reading about how 1 of 3 kids thinks the first amendment goes "too far", I have to say that the question needs to be reframed.

What's right with the students?

Again, after reading that article, i think the answer is less and less each day.

[donco6]

4. We're seeing success, too.

Same demographics as you. People don't hear about this enough. Thanks for posting.

[NewJeffCT]

5. We have plenty of good public schools in this country, but...

The problem is that we have to make more of our schools better... and the anti-public school folks have been growing in power since 1980 and have fought that idea tooth & nail. Prior to the Reagan Revolution, public education was something that was valued in this country. We need to return to that era.

We have many good teachers in this country - we just need more of them. We need to make the idea of teaching our children something that a lot more college students think about as a potential career choice in our "Greed is Good" society. In many countries, teachers are held in great esteem. In our country, while many teachers are respected, it is just not the same. My wife was born & raised overseas and she was surprised to learn that when the teacher enters the classroom here, the students do not typically rise to greet them (like a judge in court) and that the students typically do not thank the teacher for teaching them after each lesson.

[LWolf]

6. Here's something;

a report on yesterday, a typical Monday at school:

I get to work, turn on the heat, fire up the computers, get the room ready, and check my inbox. There are messages from 4 parents with questions. I answer them.

Two more parents are waiting outside when I head for the office. They go with me, and I answer their questions on the way.

One more calls me 20 minutes after school starts, and I take the call.

After school I dismiss the kids and check my email. I have mail from 3 parents with questions that I begin to answer. The door bursts open, and in comes the teacher next door, delivering one of my students to me for "disrespecting" her on the playground. I listen carefully, ask the boy a few questions, and ask him to wait outside. Privately, I explain to the teacher that his refusal to make eye contact when she spoke to him is a cultural thing, not a message of disrespect. I tell her what a sensitive boy he is, and give her some background. I see the lightbulb come on, and we bring the boy back in. I gently ask him to explain to her that he didn't mean any disrespect, and stand with him, hand on his shoulder while he does. She sees that his eyes are directed at her feet, and she hears the hesitancy and fear in his voice, and relents. Her voice softens, as well.

Just as I usher them out, in comes another student. His parents sent him back for his "missing" assignments that he keeps "losing" and "forgetting." I've had an email conversation going with mom during the day about it. This boy lives down the street and walks home; he's already been home and back. I sit down with him and the list of missing assignments, and we start going over them one by one, making sure he has everything he needs. In the middle of this his dad bursts in, having run over from home to make sure that he is getting everything. We are now a group of 3, discussing how to stay organized and prioritizing his life until he catches everything up. Just as we get done, the door opens again and his mom, just out of a conference for his sister and on her way to night school, joins us. The parents stand side by side, look down at him, and lay down the law, marching him out to get to work.

I head back to my computer to finish the inbox, and there is a new message from the first boy's mom, wanting to know what the after school incident was about, and what she needs to do to follow up on it. I explain it to her.

Finally, I lock the door, decide not to check my email again, and know that the office staff has gone home so no more phone calls will be forwarded. As I roll up my sleeves, I contemplate the power of good parent/teacher relations. I've got a whole class of parents who do not hesitate to approach me with questions and concerns, as I do not hesitate to approach them. Together, we are creating the best experience for their kids possible with the resources we have to work with.

[fasttense]

7. Thanks for that reminder.

My experience with Repukes and their constant criticism of public schools is that Repukes want to do away with them. They want to go to private schools because then their kids wont be exposed to the great unwashed masses. But they want these private schools at the expense of the tax payers. They want to send their kids to schools that preach Repuke propaganda and want you and I to pay for it.

[senseandsensibility]

8. Bingo

I love people who can get right to the heart of the matter, and you did!

[senseandsensibility]

9. Recognizing that our schools

have problems is necessary and healthy. But how about some balance? I have to go to work now, and will be dealing with all the problems in spades. But I would like to hear your positive experiences with public schools, as a student, parent, or teacher. There are many stories to be told, and the media is not letting them out.

[senaca]

13. The amount of knowledge taught by schools today is amazing

My children live approx. a similar area where I was raised. The difference in math, science, literature etc. learned, now vs. then is phenomenal. So much has been discovered. Even the things we learned in college are being taught at grade school levels. It seems that ACT scores in this area are rising. The major problem now is afford ability of college. Many students are opting for either taking a year off to make money to go to college or going to community college at first. What we have found, is our eldest daughter has learned to love learning for learnings sake. To us, that is the most important thing schools can give children. They can take that curiosity throughout life. I credit her teachers. Our fifth grader has a teacher, who believes grammar is extremely important. She is learning to dissect sentences with ease. This is good because neither her dad nor I have a clue about the different types of sentences and phrases. NCLB, does however, need to be changed. The linking of teacher's pay to results is ludicrous. Each class is different. I'm afraid that those very teachers, who have successfully taught our children, will leave. There are alot of opinions that our public schools are failing, but where is the statistical evidence that shows that as fact? I would guess that if we looked at graduation rates, ACT scores, college graduation rates etc. throughout the decades we would see that our public schools are doing a fine job of educating our children.

[seabeyond]

10. i just stepped into public school after 6 years private

a lot of things are right about public. i am seeing a good education adn i couldnt get kids into a "good" public, i had to put my children in a "poor" public. my children are immersed in diversity that they never saw in private

i have heard it is all in the principle. the principle stands in the halls and interacts with kids and parents, knows the kids by name. the teachers i have for boys are excellent, just excellent. i am finding the cirriculum to be a challenge, a greater demand of my children than private. i see the school having dealt with no child left behind for longer than rest of nation (being in texas) they have learned to integrate what is expected out of them in the best of ways, to the cirriculum so it isnt so much just studying for the test.

i also see this school working hard at the no bully rule. seeing my oldest is slim, small, wears glasses, and is intellectual, i see the school has little patience with the bully

i had been so conditioned of the evils of public schools all those years in private, but ultimately i always came to the parents as the main issue in problems in public. i give the parent the responsibility of their children, not teachers, and i allow the parent has the power, not hand it over. i always stood up for the public schools, but now that my children are part of the system, adn having watched the dedication of teachers with my nephews adn nieces, i see a lot of right with public school system

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

11. Every problem in society is placed on the schoolhouse door...

Poverty, substance abuse, child neglect, broken marriages. You name it. And public school teachers are somehow supposed to make all of those problems go away and meet a set of impossible standards (as defined by NCLB) with funding that is at least fifty percent less than what is needed to do the job.

If you're a public school teacher, then you're my hero.

[senseandsensibility]

17. Thanks, Jeff in Cincinnatti!

And you are right about the schools being a reflection of society. Our society is pretty messed up. and the children are damaged by that emotionally. All of the problems you listed affect children. I see the results daily. Yet the average person wants to put rose-colored glasses on and pretend that we still live in Leave It to Beaver land.

[SmokingJacket]

12. Well.. you're right!

I participate in some public school bashing because I was a teacher who fled the system because of various problems. BUT I do have my children in public school right now, though my in-laws have offered to pay for private school and I could easily homeschool, too.

Because: Public schools teach **all children**. This is really amazing, when you think about it. They are the cradle of democracy in this country.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. They range from excellent to abysmal, but

they all have this in common:

1) They expose children to a variety of children from groups other than their own. We don't have a Northern Ireland situation, where Protestants and Catholics attend completely separate parallell school systems.

2) They give second chances. In many countries, especially in Europe, they separate the university-bound and the vocational school-bound at an early age, and if you do poorly on the qualifying test, too bad. If you're a late bloomer, too bad.

Here, a student who goofed off during high school can always catch up by taking courses at the community college, and someone who decides to go to college late in life can do so, usually with the help of support systems for so-called "non-traditional" students.

[Ernesto]

15. Oh yeah, public schools suck

I guess that is why my 16 year old is being "head hunted" by colleges from all over the country.
His broke-dick school is located in semi rural culleeforneeya. Plenty of immigrant farm labor kids that are supposedly just "taking up space" learning about being Americans.
The fact is: public schools, no matter how challenged, can be just fine when parents get involved. Teachers will bend over back wards for kids if and when parents are able to lend a hand in their child's education. I firmly believe that if one treats their child's school as "day care" then "day care" is what it will be (witness gw bush's academic record).

[senseandsensibility]

19. sarcasm noted

and appreciated.:)

[UdoKier]

16. THANK YOU for this wonderful post!

Right now, my kids go to a WONDERFUL public school in San Francisco, but before that, my older school went to a public school in inner city Miami. The students were almost all poor Central American and Cuban kids who spoke English as a second language. The schools was not as superior as the one we are at now, but it was still very good. The children were beautiful, respectful and sweet, especially compared to affluent white kids in the suburbs, who I have seen to be obnoxious and rude.

But back to the school. The teachers in both schools do a great job. I HATE public school bashing. I got a very good education at a public school, and if I had applied myselff to get into AP classes I could have gotten an EXCELLENT education. It depends a lot on the child's and the parents' efforts.


I don't think that most private schools do much better.


BTW, I have seen nothing at any of the 3 public schools my kids have attended that would "curl your hair"....

[senseandsensibility]

18. Thanks for your kind words!

The things that would curt your hair are examples of really bad parenting, occasional abuse of children by parents and caretakers, and horrendous never ending paper work and red tape, thanks to NCLB. We deal with all of society's problems in the public schools, but, for the most part, schools are a safe haven for kids.