Public Schools are getting worse (1 Viewer)

[KarmaPolice]

I like to use an anecdotal story to state my opinion on why schools arent as effective anymore per dollar.

My son got hit in the back of the head during class by a die cast toy car once. A kid in his class had all sorts of problems. He was allowed to have said toy with him at all times. He had a person assigned to him that also sat in the class. He got mad and threw the die cast toy.

The most ridiculous consequence of this incident was it led to many discussions about class setup. Why would kids be in rows all facing one direction? Maybe if we had all the kids facing each other that would be better. It wasnt fair that this kid was in the back of the class, etc etc.

We arent a serious people. We stopped being serious long ago and of course public education in certain areas would be a casualty of that kind of a mindset.

In this school is there a lack of resources to have kids like this separate, or do you think there are a lot more of these types of kids and they are spilling over into other classes?

 

[Ilov80s]

I like to use an anecdotal story to state my opinion on why schools arent as effective anymore per dollar.

My son got hit in the back of the head during class by a die cast toy car once. A kid in his class had all sorts of problems. He was allowed to have said toy with him at all times. He had a person assigned to him that also sat in the class. He got mad and threw the die cast toy.

The most ridiculous consequence of this incident was it led to many discussions about class setup. Why would kids be in rows all facing one direction? Maybe if we had all the kids facing each other that would be better. It wasnt fair that this kid was in the back of the class, etc etc.

We arent a serious people. We stopped being serious long ago and of course public education in certain areas would be a casualty of that kind of a mindset.

In this school is there a lack of resources to have kids like this separate, or do you think there are a lot more of these types of kids and they are spilling over into other classes?

It has more to do with discrimination and what the parents want. If the parents really insist they want their kid in the general ed setting it can be hard to prevent it. Removing a kid from the general environment can be deemed discrimination.

 

[AAABatteries]

I hate private/charter schools, they have single handedly ruined our elementary school in a matter of 5 years. It was an A rated school a few years ago, but there were a couple charter schools open up and all of the people with means moved their kids. Now there are just 2 classes per grade and the average income of kids in our public school now is way below the average.

I refuse private school so that means we will need to move to a different school distract all because of charter schools and all in the last 5 years.

I despise charter/private schooling with the bottom of my heart, and privatization of early education is one of the major downfalls of the united states.

If we can do it without being political, I think a private vs public school discussion can be useful.

I was public school for all my education. I never even knew anyone from private school.

My 4 (now young adult) kids all went to public school and it was good. But there is a fairly prominent private school segment where I live in TN. Some of it's religious. Some of it's more prestige / academic.

I only went to private (Christian) school through HS - first time going to public school was college. My wife only went public. We sent our youngest 3 to university model school early on but moved to public school after we moved to an area where we liked the school system. It would be easy to generalize based on my experience, but I think there's good private and public schools almost everywhere in the country. The only issue or concern I have is many aren't fortunate enough to be able to afford private so we need strong public schools to keep things as reasonably even as we can.

I have zero issue with private and religious schools if that's what folks want. But I don't want nor need anything other than schooling from my schools. We need to pay our teachers more, support them and really focus on educating our kids. One other thing I'll throw in is we need more real-life application classes. Finances, diet/nutrition, etc. - things that are more practical. Just my 2 cents.

 

[HomerSimpson]

I hate private/charter schools, they have single handedly ruined our elementary school in a matter of 5 years. It was an A rated school a few years ago, but there were a couple charter schools open up and all of the people with means moved their kids. Now there are just 2 classes per grade and the average income of kids in our public school now is way below the average.

I refuse private school so that means we will need to move to a different school distract all because of charter schools and all in the last 5 years.

I despise charter/private schooling with the bottom of my heart, and privatization of early education is one of the major downfalls of the united states.

If we can do it without being political, I think a private vs public school discussion can be useful.

I was public school for all my education. I never even knew anyone from private school.

My 4 (now young adult) kids all went to public school and it was good. But there is a fairly prominent private school segment where I live in TN. Some of it's religious. Some of it's more prestige / academic.

I

I hate private/charter schools, they have single handedly ruined our elementary school in a matter of 5 years. It was an A rated school a few years ago, but there were a couple charter schools open up and all of the people with means moved their kids. Now there are just 2 classes per grade and the average income of kids in our public school now is way below the average.

I refuse private school so that means we will need to move to a different school distract all because of charter schools and all in the last 5 years.

I despise charter/private schooling with the bottom of my heart, and privatization of early education is one of the major downfalls of the united states.

If we can do it without being political, I think a private vs public school discussion can be useful.

I was public school for all my education. I never even knew anyone from private school.

My 4 (now young adult) kids all went to public school and it was good. But there is a fairly prominent private school segment where I live in TN. Some of it's religious. Some of it's more prestige / academic.

I only went to private (Christian) school through HS - first time going to public school was college. My wife only went public. We sent our youngest 3 to university model school early on but moved to public school after we moved to an area where we liked the school system. It would be easy to generalize based on my experience, but I think there's good private and public schools almost everywhere in the country. The only issue or concern I have is many aren't fortunate enough to be able to afford private so we need strong public schools to keep things as reasonably even as we can.

I have zero issue with private and religious schools if that's what folks want. But I don't want nor need anything other than schooling from my schools. We need to pay our teachers more, support them and really focus on educating our kids. One other thing I'll throw in is we need more real-life application classes. Finances, diet/nutrition, etc. - things that are more practical. Just my 2 cents.

I have zero issue with private and religious schools if that's what folks want. But I don't want nor need anything other than schooling from my schools. We need to pay our teachers more, support them and really focus on educating our kids. One other thing I'll throw in is we need more real-life application classes. Finances, diet/nutrition, etc. - things that are more practical. Just my 2 cents.

Agreed. I don't have any kids (yet) but I pay property taxes that go to public schools and think public schools are just fine for the most part. If someone wants to send their kids to a private or religious school that's cool, but that is on their dime, not mine.

 

[culdeus]

Housing and education have the same problem in that they have not gained productivity to match the rest of the economy. Housing has had few innovations in decades.

Teachers are not teaching more kids or teaching more classes, but they are getting raises no matter that teaching 24 kids is "crowded". Such a thing is not sustainable. Teachers need skills to teach more kids per class and consolidate the salary to fewer teachers that can manage large class sizes.

Covid was an opportunity to use technology to get more productive but we went backwards instead.

 

[BeTheMatch]

I like to use an anecdotal story to state my opinion on why schools arent as effective anymore per dollar.

My son got hit in the back of the head during class by a die cast toy car once. A kid in his class had all sorts of problems. He was allowed to have said toy with him at all times. He had a person assigned to him that also sat in the class. He got mad and threw the die cast toy.

The most ridiculous consequence of this incident was it led to many discussions about class setup. Why would kids be in rows all facing one direction? Maybe if we had all the kids facing each other that would be better. It wasnt fair that this kid was in the back of the class, etc etc.

We arent a serious people. We stopped being serious long ago and of course public education in certain areas would be a casualty of that kind of a mindset.

In this school is there a lack of resources to have kids like this separate, or do you think there are a lot more of these types of kids and they are spilling over into other classes?

It's typically federal and state law that require almost all kids to be in the mainstream classrooms now. It's increasingly not a teacher or even school decision in all except the most extreme situations. Their hands are mostly tied. The fear of litigation is real, on top of the moral responsibilities.

That's the inherent advantage that private schools have. They can basically say no to anyone they don't want at their school. Public schools can't. And I'm not being critical of that. It's a good thing for those kids with challenges and is the right thing to do in my opinion. We can't just throw these kids away.

But it creates enormous challenges for public schools. And it is a huge reason why "test scores are great at our private school." Of course they are. The makeup of their classrooms is vastly different than what you see in most public schools. It's ridiculous to even try to compare them, frankly.

And it's not just behavioral and mental and physical challenges. Public schools oftentimes have many kids who only speak 1 of 15 different (non-English) languages that they have to try to educate in any given school in their district. Public schools are not a business. It's unfair to compare to them to one. Are they often inefficient in many ways? Of course. And there are a lot of really, really, really good reasons for that that most people don't understand.

 

[stbugs]

Damn, this is all sad to read. Makes me glad my last son is a senior in high school now. I had no issues with the public schools. We are in a nice suburb of Charlotte and we specifically moved to this area because the schools, even the high schools (3 of them all within 5-10 minutes) were all top 10 in NC. All 3 of my sons were old enough that COVID didn’t affect their social/behavior well being. I do recall hearing about a lot of kids that did have grade issues when school was online but we didn’t have teacher issues (yet).

I think our area is more of the parents who care and are chill and parents who care and think their kids **** gold. I don’t think we have a lot of don’t care at all parents.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Couldn't agree more with the practical education stuff.

Several years ago, a nearby rural high school reached out to me and asked me to "teach" a presentation on how to apply for a job. It was real-life practical stuff. Lots of stuff that seemed like it should be obvious but wasn't. We videoed "job interviews" I gave them at the first of the semester and then again at the end of the semester and the improvement was remarkable.

I don't know how common that sort of thing is, but I thought it was a great idea from the school.

 

[AAABatteries]

One other thing I'll throw in is we need more real-life application classes. Finances, diet/nutrition, etc. - things that are more practical. Just my 2 cents.

Couldn't agree with this more.

Several years ago, a nearby rural high school reached out to me and asked me to "teach" a presentation on how to apply for a job. It was real life practical stuff. Lots of stuff that seemed like it should be obvious but wasnt'. We videoed "job interviews" I gave them at the first of the semester and then again at the end of the semester and the improvement was remarkable.

I don't know common that sort of thing is but I thought it was a great idea from the school.

Hey, that was my quote!

Seriously though - I don’t understand why we don’t do this. I can’t imagine it would be that controversial.

 

[BeTheMatch]

Couldn't agree more with the practical education stuff.

Several years ago, a nearby rural high school reached out to me and asked me to "teach" a presentation on how to apply for a job. It was real-life practical stuff. Lots of stuff that seemed like it should be obvious but wasn't. We videoed "job interviews" I gave them at the first of the semester and then again at the end of the semester and the improvement was remarkable.

I don't know how common that sort of thing is, but I thought it was a great idea from the school.

Not common enough, I don't think. How to do taxes, consequences of credit cards, how to change your oil or a tire, how to replace a light fixture and on and on and on. I don't know how you fit it in unfortunately with all the other requirements. The more options a school tries to give its kids, the harder it is to implement. It seems like almost everyone agrees with the idea of more practical education. I'm not sure why that isn't catching on in schools more.

 

[Joe Bryant]

One other thing I'll throw in is we need more real-life application classes. Finances, diet/nutrition, etc. - things that are more practical. Just my 2 cents.

Couldn't agree with this more.

Several years ago, a nearby rural high school reached out to me and asked me to "teach" a presentation on how to apply for a job. It was real life practical stuff. Lots of stuff that seemed like it should be obvious but wasnt'. We videoed "job interviews" I gave them at the first of the semester and then again at the end of the semester and the improvement was remarkable.

I don't know common that sort of thing is but I thought it was a great idea from the school.

Hey, that was my quote!

Seriously though - I don’t understand why we don’t do this. I can’t imagine it would be that controversial.

Sorry. Just saw it and replied.

It seems like it should be common. But I can understand why it doesn't happen more. It's non standard. And there's room for people to complain. And if teachers are feeling stressed doing whats required for not enough pay, there likely isn't a lot of incentive to do something more. :(

 

[Harry Manback]

Any idea what caused the overcrowding? It seems to me (outside observer) that our local school board has done a pretty good job looking at our demographics a few years down the road and staying ahead of predictable changes to incoming classes. Was this a case of something happening by surprise, or just folks being asleep at the switch?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say a lack of funding. This is what happens when people continuously vote against levies. What do you want them to do, build another building with no money?

This is part of what makes them "broken". Of course it's by design but broken nonetheless.

 

[beer 30]

Couldn't agree more with the practical education stuff.

Several years ago, a nearby rural high school reached out to me and asked me to "teach" a presentation on how to apply for a job. It was real-life practical stuff. Lots of stuff that seemed like it should be obvious but wasn't. We videoed "job interviews" I gave them at the first of the semester and then again at the end of the semester and the improvement was remarkable.

I don't know how common that sort of thing is, but I thought it was a great idea from the school.

I've long been a proponent of this but everyone looks at you sideways when you suggest it. Look, not every kid can or should go to college (insert obligatory ditch digger joke). The HS both my kids went to had a course that taught real life finances like making a budget, balancing a checkbook, what to do with your money beyond subscribing to streaming services or buying video games. Both my kids scoffed at it when I told them they should take the class.

I think we also suffer from a lack of trade schools as an option for kids that don't have a desire to go to college. We had a great trade school when I was in HS in the 80's that serviced 5-6 different HS's around the area. Welding, mechanic, carpentry, electrician, plumbing, HVAC...all the good trades. I don't see them anywhere these days. What's a kid supposed to do? Either learn on their own, know somebody in the business, help with the family business, etc. Maybe they are still out there but I don't know of any in this area.

 

[snellman]

Class sizes are bigger than they used to be. Parenting is worse. The kids grow up on screens and have much worse attention spans. I've heard teacher friends of mine talk about changes in the way they are allowed to discipline, such as not being able to send a disruptive kid to the principals office anymore.
So yeah, I'd agree public schools are getting worse for a lot of reasons and for many more than I just named.

I would say parent involvement is way more now than back in the 80's and 90's, there seems to be fewer latch key kids these days and parents take an active part in their child's education.

Parents generally fall into 3 buckets:

• Not involved at all.
  • This is by far the biggest bucket. The number of parents who are not involved in their child's education is staggering. I can't count the number of times my wife came home pissed off because a parent was refusing to even communicate with the school about their child having problems. Hearing her vent over a parent letting their kid fall through the cracks was absolutely heartbreaking. And this was at all different types of schools. From inner city middle schools to high achieving charter schools in a smaller, more affluent city.
  • The second biggest bucket are parents who are involved and helpful (and of course, where all FBG parents fall). While it is the second biggest bucket it's not nearly as large as bucket 1. These are the parents who partner with teachers to benefit their child. Whether this is working to get students that are behind caught up, challenging students who are ahead, or making sure their child in the middle gets what they need. Teachers are extremely thankful for you guys.
  • The third bucket is the saddest. These are the parents who blame the school for everything that happens with their kid. Some real life examples:
    • Kid didn't turn in an assignment? The teacher is specifically targeting the kid by giving them a deadline (the same deadline the rest of the class had).
    • Kid got caught misspelling "F*$^ taechers" on the bathroom wall? The school should have been keeping a better eye on them.
    • Kid A steals kid B's lunch? The school should have just given kid B lunch. It's not Parent A's fault that kid B can't stick up for himself.
    • Kid has dyslexia and is falling behind in reading so the school want's to pull them out of second grade art class to make sure they learn to read? Mon and dad are both in artistic fields and are positive their child is going to grow up to be the next Michaelangelo. Do NOT, under any circumstances take them out of art class. And while you're at it, don't try to pull them from gym class either as the kid really likes gym class. It's the school's fault for not being able to teach their kid how to read.

I'll edit this a bit more in the future but have to go to a meeting...

I couldn't have said this better myself.

 

[snellman]

My father-in-law chastised us because we did not send our kids to the private school. My wife went to the Christian school and said it was no different other that religion class and it was not any better as far as kid's behavior etc. I saw no reason in sending our kids to a Christian school and also saw it as taking some opportunities from them in extracurricular activities due to being a smaller school.

One thing that I did disagree with my school on is what has been said earlier about college prep classes vs practical education. Our school district was very college prep driven and the kids that had no interest in going to college (I had 2 of my older children fall into this category) seemed to fall through the cracks. However, in the last 3 years the school district has teemed up with a local community college to offer a number of practical education classes and career paths kids can look into while getting credits from the community college for them if they want to continue. They still have to take the state required English, Math and Science credits, but they can take welding classes, robotics classes and other trades and even work towards an apprenticeship with local businesses during their senior year. As of right now my youngest, who is going into his junior year has plans of going to college, but if that changes at least there are other paths he can look at.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I like to use an anecdotal story to state my opinion on why schools arent as effective anymore per dollar.

My son got hit in the back of the head during class by a die cast toy car once. A kid in his class had all sorts of problems. He was allowed to have said toy with him at all times. He had a person assigned to him that also sat in the class. He got mad and threw the die cast toy.

The most ridiculous consequence of this incident was it led to many discussions about class setup. Why would kids be in rows all facing one direction? Maybe if we had all the kids facing each other that would be better. It wasnt fair that this kid was in the back of the class, etc etc.

We arent a serious people. We stopped being serious long ago and of course public education in certain areas would be a casualty of that kind of a mindset.

In this school is there a lack of resources to have kids like this separate, or do you think there are a lot more of these types of kids and they are spilling over into other classes?

It has more to do with discrimination and what the parents want. If the parents really insist they want their kid in the general ed setting it can be hard to prevent it. Removing a kid from the general environment can be deemed discrimination.

I like to use an anecdotal story to state my opinion on why schools arent as effective anymore per dollar.

My son got hit in the back of the head during class by a die cast toy car once. A kid in his class had all sorts of problems. He was allowed to have said toy with him at all times. He had a person assigned to him that also sat in the class. He got mad and threw the die cast toy.

The most ridiculous consequence of this incident was it led to many discussions about class setup. Why would kids be in rows all facing one direction? Maybe if we had all the kids facing each other that would be better. It wasnt fair that this kid was in the back of the class, etc etc.

We arent a serious people. We stopped being serious long ago and of course public education in certain areas would be a casualty of that kind of a mindset.

In this school is there a lack of resources to have kids like this separate, or do you think there are a lot more of these types of kids and they are spilling over into other classes?

It's typically federal and state law that require almost all kids to be in the mainstream classrooms now. It's increasingly not a teacher or even school decision in all except the most extreme situations. Their hands are mostly tied. The fear of litigation is real, on top of the moral responsibilities.

That's the inherent advantage that private schools have. They can basically say no to anyone they don't want at their school. Public schools can't. And I'm not being critical of that. It's a good thing for those kids with challenges and is the right thing to do in my opinion. We can't just throw these kids away.

But it creates enormous challenges for public schools. And it is a huge reason why "test scores are great at our private school." Of course they are. The makeup of their classrooms is vastly different than what you see in most public schools. It's ridiculous to even try to compare them, frankly.

And it's not just behavioral and mental and physical challenges. Public schools oftentimes have many kids who only speak 1 of 15 different (non-English) languages that they have to try to educate in any given school in their district. Public schools are not a business. It's unfair to compare to them to one. Are they often inefficient in many ways? Of course. And there are a lot of really, really, really good reasons for that that most people don't understand.

Great info here. I didn't realize it was that bad on this side of the equation. Sad I didn't notice the slow trickle that I assume led to this, but now that you two bring it up along with para's anecdote it see what you are saying and should be added to my above observation about differences in classes. Instead of separate classes and a more dedicated teacher for the kids that need that extra help, now they are in my kid's class with a helper.

Long story short, especially in the K-6th grades, it feels like teachers aren't teachers anymore, they are teacher/counselor/special ed teacher/disciplinarian ? Did I miss anything?

ETA: yeah, I did: language translator/ESL teacher

 

[Ilov80s]

I like to use an anecdotal story to state my opinion on why schools arent as effective anymore per dollar.

My son got hit in the back of the head during class by a die cast toy car once. A kid in his class had all sorts of problems. He was allowed to have said toy with him at all times. He had a person assigned to him that also sat in the class. He got mad and threw the die cast toy.

The most ridiculous consequence of this incident was it led to many discussions about class setup. Why would kids be in rows all facing one direction? Maybe if we had all the kids facing each other that would be better. It wasnt fair that this kid was in the back of the class, etc etc.

We arent a serious people. We stopped being serious long ago and of course public education in certain areas would be a casualty of that kind of a mindset.

In this school is there a lack of resources to have kids like this separate, or do you think there are a lot more of these types of kids and they are spilling over into other classes?

It has more to do with discrimination and what the parents want. If the parents really insist they want their kid in the general ed setting it can be hard to prevent it. Removing a kid from the general environment can be deemed discrimination.

I like to use an anecdotal story to state my opinion on why schools arent as effective anymore per dollar.

My son got hit in the back of the head during class by a die cast toy car once. A kid in his class had all sorts of problems. He was allowed to have said toy with him at all times. He had a person assigned to him that also sat in the class. He got mad and threw the die cast toy.

The most ridiculous consequence of this incident was it led to many discussions about class setup. Why would kids be in rows all facing one direction? Maybe if we had all the kids facing each other that would be better. It wasnt fair that this kid was in the back of the class, etc etc.

We arent a serious people. We stopped being serious long ago and of course public education in certain areas would be a casualty of that kind of a mindset.

In this school is there a lack of resources to have kids like this separate, or do you think there are a lot more of these types of kids and they are spilling over into other classes?

It's typically federal and state law that require almost all kids to be in the mainstream classrooms now. It's increasingly not a teacher or even school decision in all except the most extreme situations. Their hands are mostly tied. The fear of litigation is real, on top of the moral responsibilities.

That's the inherent advantage that private schools have. They can basically say no to anyone they don't want at their school. Public schools can't. And I'm not being critical of that. It's a good thing for those kids with challenges and is the right thing to do in my opinion. We can't just throw these kids away.

But it creates enormous challenges for public schools. And it is a huge reason why "test scores are great at our private school." Of course they are. The makeup of their classrooms is vastly different than what you see in most public schools. It's ridiculous to even try to compare them, frankly.

And it's not just behavioral and mental and physical challenges. Public schools oftentimes have many kids who only speak 1 of 15 different (non-English) languages that they have to try to educate in any given school in their district. Public schools are not a business. It's unfair to compare to them to one. Are they often inefficient in many ways? Of course. And there are a lot of really, really, really good reasons for that that most people don't understand.

Great info here. I didn't realize it was that bad on this side of the equation. Sad I didn't notice the slow trickle that I assume led to this, but now that you two bring it up along with para's anecdote it see what you are saying and should be added to my above observation about differences in classes. Instead of separate classes and a more dedicated teacher for the kids that need that extra help, now they are in my kid's class with a helper.

Long story short, especially in the K-6th grades, it feels like teachers aren't teachers anymore, they are teacher/counselor/special ed teacher/disciplinarian ? Did I miss anything?

ETA: yeah, I did: language translator/ESL teacher

I obviously don't know anything about this specfic kid but I will say in my general experience the mainstreaming is fine. Schools usually have drop level classes and one can't often tell the difference between a kid with a disability and a kid who just struggles. Parents usually follow what the schools suggest for placement and kids with very severe disabilities are in special programs built for their needs. Even if parents disagree, good schools will gather data, make their case and stand their ground. Now of course if the parents are really willing to spend on litigation, the schools will probably cave but this is very very rare in my experience. But it does happen where we get kids with some bizarre behaviors and there's a lot of exceptions and accomodations made for them. Now one could look at this as a bad thing- an ineffeciency or whatever but also if you had a kid with a disability I think you would really appreciate the depth of services and effort made to give them an adequate education.

 

[culdeus]

Couldn't agree more with the practical education stuff.

Several years ago, a nearby rural high school reached out to me and asked me to "teach" a presentation on how to apply for a job. It was real-life practical stuff. Lots of stuff that seemed like it should be obvious but wasn't. We videoed "job interviews" I gave them at the first of the semester and then again at the end of the semester and the improvement was remarkable.

I don't know how common that sort of thing is, but I thought it was a great idea from the school.

Not common enough, I don't think. How to do taxes, consequences of credit cards, how to change your oil or a tire, how to replace a light fixture and on and on and on. I don't know how you fit it in unfortunately with all the other requirements. The more options a school tries to give its kids, the harder it is to implement. It seems like almost everyone agrees with the idea of more practical education. I'm not sure why that isn't catching on in schools more.

Because slotting is frowned upon, and doesn't really really work in Austrailia. Everyone thinks their little johnny is going to be an IBanker on Wall Street making 450k. Nobody wants to be put on the non-college track. So that prevents people that don't even want to be on it, from getting practical education. And here we are.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I like to use an anecdotal story to state my opinion on why schools arent as effective anymore per dollar.

My son got hit in the back of the head during class by a die cast toy car once. A kid in his class had all sorts of problems. He was allowed to have said toy with him at all times. He had a person assigned to him that also sat in the class. He got mad and threw the die cast toy.

The most ridiculous consequence of this incident was it led to many discussions about class setup. Why would kids be in rows all facing one direction? Maybe if we had all the kids facing each other that would be better. It wasnt fair that this kid was in the back of the class, etc etc.

We arent a serious people. We stopped being serious long ago and of course public education in certain areas would be a casualty of that kind of a mindset.

In this school is there a lack of resources to have kids like this separate, or do you think there are a lot more of these types of kids and they are spilling over into other classes?

It has more to do with discrimination and what the parents want. If the parents really insist they want their kid in the general ed setting it can be hard to prevent it. Removing a kid from the general environment can be deemed discrimination.

I like to use an anecdotal story to state my opinion on why schools arent as effective anymore per dollar.

My son got hit in the back of the head during class by a die cast toy car once. A kid in his class had all sorts of problems. He was allowed to have said toy with him at all times. He had a person assigned to him that also sat in the class. He got mad and threw the die cast toy.

The most ridiculous consequence of this incident was it led to many discussions about class setup. Why would kids be in rows all facing one direction? Maybe if we had all the kids facing each other that would be better. It wasnt fair that this kid was in the back of the class, etc etc.

We arent a serious people. We stopped being serious long ago and of course public education in certain areas would be a casualty of that kind of a mindset.

In this school is there a lack of resources to have kids like this separate, or do you think there are a lot more of these types of kids and they are spilling over into other classes?

It's typically federal and state law that require almost all kids to be in the mainstream classrooms now. It's increasingly not a teacher or even school decision in all except the most extreme situations. Their hands are mostly tied. The fear of litigation is real, on top of the moral responsibilities.

That's the inherent advantage that private schools have. They can basically say no to anyone they don't want at their school. Public schools can't. And I'm not being critical of that. It's a good thing for those kids with challenges and is the right thing to do in my opinion. We can't just throw these kids away.

But it creates enormous challenges for public schools. And it is a huge reason why "test scores are great at our private school." Of course they are. The makeup of their classrooms is vastly different than what you see in most public schools. It's ridiculous to even try to compare them, frankly.

And it's not just behavioral and mental and physical challenges. Public schools oftentimes have many kids who only speak 1 of 15 different (non-English) languages that they have to try to educate in any given school in their district. Public schools are not a business. It's unfair to compare to them to one. Are they often inefficient in many ways? Of course. And there are a lot of really, really, really good reasons for that that most people don't understand.

Great info here. I didn't realize it was that bad on this side of the equation. Sad I didn't notice the slow trickle that I assume led to this, but now that you two bring it up along with para's anecdote it see what you are saying and should be added to my above observation about differences in classes. Instead of separate classes and a more dedicated teacher for the kids that need that extra help, now they are in my kid's class with a helper.

Long story short, especially in the K-6th grades, it feels like teachers aren't teachers anymore, they are teacher/counselor/special ed teacher/disciplinarian ? Did I miss anything?

ETA: yeah, I did: language translator/ESL teacher

I obviously don't know anything about this specfic kid but I will say in my general experience the mainstreaming is fine. Schools usually have drop level classes and one can't often tell the difference between a kid with a disability and a kid who just struggles. Parents usually follow what the schools suggest for placement and kids with very severe disabilities are in special programs built for their needs. Even if parents disagree, good schools will gather data, make their case and stand their ground. Now of course if the parents are really willing to spend on litigation, the schools will probably cave but this is very very rare in my experience. But it does happen where we get kids with some bizarre behaviors and there's a lot of exceptions and accomodations made for them. Now one could look at this as a bad thing- an ineffeciency or whatever but also if you had a kid with a disability I think you would really appreciate the depth of services and effort made to give them an adequate education.

I am sure that would give me a different appreciation. I hope that wasn't taken as a slight on what the schools are trying to do for the kids either. I was more coming from the teacher's POV and understanding why there would be the shortage if these are some of these things they are encountering more regularly now.

To be fair, I have no idea what the child's conditions are, so keep that in mind. Where my thoughts went as I was reading was general comments I have heard from my kid in the past year. Just thinks like the one student was having a bad day and their helper had to take them out or calm them down. I know there are a couple in their area that have dedicated helpers. In a poor way, I guess what I was trying to do was dig into the reasons for that, and understand that could cause a bit more stress for the head teacher. If the reason is because we have better resources and knowledge to handle those situations and can afford the dedicated help that's one thing. If it's because the dedicated programs were cut or it's like this because parents want it that's another. That's what I was trying to scratch at.

In general it feels to like more responsibility has been shifted to the K-12 teachers and they certainly don't seem to be compensated or treated any better. I understand the shortage, especially in states like NC that seem to cap their salary.

 

[dkp993]

administrators who consistently took the parents side due to fear of repercussion, daily battles with administration over the contract, parents blaming teachers (kids can do no wrong)

I realize I’m old now at 49 but I’m 100% convinced the 2 bolded items are the cause of many of our schooling issues. This shift took all of the power away from teachers to hold kids accountable.

Old man rant over.

 

[Jayrod]

So much of the success of a school is about the people in charge and the teachers.

My wife is (by all accounts) an unbelievably gifted elementary educator. She has tremendous patience/empathy, an incredible work ethic, is very creative and highly energetic. She is a principal now, but the district used to send other teachers in to watch her teach constantly (she kind of got tired of that actually).

She is not book smart, like at all. In reality she was a C student that got As & Bs through sheer effort in college. She also wanted to be a teacher her entire life because that is what her mom and both grandmothers did.

In my life experience, she's a rare human being. She'd get eaten alive in a business setting, can't play politics and takes a long time to learn anything new. But for an elementary school she's perfect. She's learned how to handle crazy parents and angry teachers now that she's in admin, but that was not very easy for her for the first 2 years.

I say all that to say that the district has valued her, invested in her, honored her and let her pick her spots basically for the last 10 years. They paid for 1/3 of her Masters and gave her an admin job as soon as she graduated. She won teacher of the year and got some bonus checks. There is a non-profit that hosts an annual gala where they provide a very fancy dinner (with a cash bar) and spouses come (we have to pay) and they give out awards for all school staff.

Our public district is fantastic because the money is provided, the leadership is great, the community is invested, there is a solid tradition and they invest heavily in their staff.

 

[shuke]

Couldn't agree more with the practical education stuff.

Several years ago, a nearby rural high school reached out to me and asked me to "teach" a presentation on how to apply for a job. It was real-life practical stuff. Lots of stuff that seemed like it should be obvious but wasn't. We videoed "job interviews" I gave them at the first of the semester and then again at the end of the semester and the improvement was remarkable.

I don't know how common that sort of thing is, but I thought it was a great idea from the school.

Not common enough, I don't think. How to do taxes, consequences of credit cards, how to change your oil or a tire, how to replace a light fixture and on and on and on. I don't know how you fit it in unfortunately with all the other requirements. The more options a school tries to give its kids, the harder it is to implement. It seems like almost everyone agrees with the idea of more practical education. I'm not sure why that isn't catching on in schools more.

My daughter's school started requiring all freshmen to take a semester course on financial literacy this year. Thought that was a great idea.

 

[Galileo]

I am a product of private school education all the way from 1st grade through College. Tomorrow begins my 34th year teaching in a public school classroom. I live in the community where I teach, and my own 2 children graduated from the school where I teach. In fact, we moved to this community in large part for the schools. Suffice it to say I have seen a lot through the years good, bad, and ugly. I know of public schools that are fantastic (like the one I am part of) and I know of public schools that are a hot mess. I know of private schools that are fantastic, and I know of private schools that are well below par. There are so many factors and moving parts...finances, leadership, community values, home life, etc... that contribute to the well being of a school district that it is difficult to make sweeping generalizations. Much of Jayrod's description of his wife's situation could probably be echoed for my district as well. The school leadership values the staff. Good teaching involves creating the conditions for student learning to happen. Similarly, good administration creates the conditions and culture for teachers to accomplish that goal. Don't underestimate the power of good leadership.

Are public schools getting worse? In some ways, I am sure they are. Although I am part of a great district we are not without problems. I see the things that people have discussed in this thread like grade inflation, overcrowding, lack of student accountability in my school as well. We are not immune. But in some ways schools have gotten better over the years. There is greater emphasis of the process of learning, giving students voice in their learning, individualized instruction designed to target student needs, systems of intervention to support learning, emphasis on collaboration, empathy, resilience, and critical thinking rather than grades etc...

 

[Galileo]

Couldn't agree more with the practical education stuff.

Several years ago, a nearby rural high school reached out to me and asked me to "teach" a presentation on how to apply for a job. It was real-life practical stuff. Lots of stuff that seemed like it should be obvious but wasn't. We videoed "job interviews" I gave them at the first of the semester and then again at the end of the semester and the improvement was remarkable.

I don't know how common that sort of thing is, but I thought it was a great idea from the school.

Not common enough, I don't think. How to do taxes, consequences of credit cards, how to change your oil or a tire, how to replace a light fixture and on and on and on. I don't know how you fit it in unfortunately with all the other requirements. The more options a school tries to give its kids, the harder it is to implement. It seems like almost everyone agrees with the idea of more practical education. I'm not sure why that isn't catching on in schools more.

My daughter's school started requiring all freshmen to take a semester course on financial literacy this year. Thought that was a great idea.

This became required by law in Ohio to earn a high school diploma starting with students entering 9th grade after July of 2022.

 

[Hooper31]

Getting ready to start year 32 teaching math in a smaller high school in Washington state. A few things I think...

1. I love my job.
2. Would do it for less money. My salary went up significantly over the past five years.
3. Students in my district have wildly diverse opportunities. Both academic and occupational.
4. Lots of great parents. Some terrible ones. Either way, I put in a big effort to remind myself that kids don't get to pick their parents.
5. I don't close the door on a kids opportunity, ever. There's always a way forward.
6. Admin have a horrible job. They've been handcuffed by policy, laws, and fear of parents.
7. The schools in my county are all great. Very similar. Way better than what I remember as a kid in the 80s.
8. Cell phones are problem for kids. Highly recommend the book "The Anxious Generation". We're going to see more and more schools outright ban smart phones.
9. Education funding varies wildly from state to state. It can have a big impact on failing, surviving, or thriving.

Last note: I just spend two years teaching in a wealthy private international school in China. Wealthy asian parents are the bomb. They work hard making sure their kids work hard. Really going to miss the asian parents.

Edit: Last last note: Any attempt to blame children for the any form of societal problem will bring my rage. They didn't create the world they live in. You did. Kids aren't worse today in any way. They're reacting to the world you handed them. Kids these days? Seriously? If I hear anyone utter the phrase "kids these days" I lose my mind and go off. Don't go there. It's the largest trigger I got. I will fong you.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Edit: Last last note: Any attempt to blame children for the any form of societal problem will bring my rage. They didn't create the world they live in. You did. Kids aren't worse today in any way. They're reacting to the world you handed them. Kids these days? Seriously? If I hear anyone utter the phrase "kids these days" I lose my mind and go off. Don't go there. It's the largest trigger I got. I will fong you.

Getting ready to start year 32 teaching math in a smaller high school in Washington state. A few things I think...

1. I love my job.
2. Would do it for less money. My salary went up significantly over the past five years.
3. Students in my district have wildly diverse opportunities. Both academic and occupational.
4. Lots of great parents. Some terrible ones. Either way, I put in a big effort to remind myself that kids don't get to pick their parents.
5. I don't close the door on a kids opportunity, ever. There's always a way forward.
6. Admin have a horrible job. They've been handcuffed by policy, laws, and fear of parents.
7. The schools in my county are all great. Very similar. Way better than what I remember as a kid in the 80s.
8. Cell phones are problem for kids. Highly recommend the book "The Anxious Generation". We're going to see more and more schools outright ban smart phones.
9. Education funding varies wildly from state to state. It can have a big impact on failing, surviving, or thriving.

Last note: I just spend two years teaching in a wealthy private international school in China. Wealthy asian parents are the bomb. They work hard making sure their kids work hard. Really going to miss the asian parents.

Edit: Last last note: Any attempt to blame children for the any form of societal problem will bring my rage. They didn't create the world they live in. You did. Kids aren't worse today in any way. They're reacting to the world you handed them. Kids these days? Seriously? If I hear anyone utter the phrase "kids these days" I lose my mind and go off. Don't go there. It's the largest trigger I got. I will fong you.

Thanks for the insights and sharing. And thanks for being a teacher as the world needs more like you.

Please drop the "fong you" shtick (kick/whip?) though as that doesn't help real discussion.

I do think the personal responsibility part is and can be an interesting discussion. Context matters a lot and that usually gets dismissed in discussions. Obviously a high school senior had more expected responsibility than a 1st grader. How that plays out is super interesting I think.

Also completely with you on the cell phones. We've talked a good bit about Jonathan Haidt and social media for kids. Would love to hear more from you there as you're on the front lines with is https://forums.footballguys.com/thr...llowing-social-media-for-young-people.812226/

 

[IvanKaramazov]

I'm 52. My brain was fully developed -- and had been for a long time -- before I got my first cell phone. If I'm being honest with myself, my attention span has definitely degraded since then. I used to be the kind of person who could sit there and read quietly for a couple of hours at a time. That is not the case anymore. Some of that is probably age-related, but it's really the constant dopamine hit that comes from social media. A bunch of my colleagues have reported the same experience, so it's not just me.

Well, if cell phones and social media can reduce attention spans in grown adults, surely they're that much more impactful on kids whose brains are still developing. Right? I think it would take quite a bit of very high-quality evidence to talk me out of this hypothesis.

 

[belljr]

Couldn't agree more with the practical education stuff.

Several years ago, a nearby rural high school reached out to me and asked me to "teach" a presentation on how to apply for a job. It was real-life practical stuff. Lots of stuff that seemed like it should be obvious but wasn't. We videoed "job interviews" I gave them at the first of the semester and then again at the end of the semester and the improvement was remarkable.

I don't know how common that sort of thing is, but I thought it was a great idea from the school.

Not common enough, I don't think. How to do taxes, consequences of credit cards, how to change your oil or a tire, how to replace a light fixture and on and on and on. I don't know how you fit it in unfortunately with all the other requirements. The more options a school tries to give its kids, the harder it is to implement. It seems like almost everyone agrees with the idea of more practical education. I'm not sure why that isn't catching on in schools more.

My daughter's school started requiring all freshmen to take a semester course on financial literacy this year. Thought that was a great idea.

Yeah we've had that for quite sometime

 

[Max Power]

Edit: Last last note: Any attempt to blame children for the any form of societal problem will bring my rage. They didn't create the world they live in. You did. Kids aren't worse today in any way. They're reacting to the world you handed them. Kids these days? Seriously? If I hear anyone utter the phrase "kids these days" I lose my mind and go off. Don't go there. It's the largest trigger I got. I will fong you.

Getting ready to start year 32 teaching math in a smaller high school in Washington state. A few things I think...

1. I love my job.
2. Would do it for less money. My salary went up significantly over the past five years.
3. Students in my district have wildly diverse opportunities. Both academic and occupational.
4. Lots of great parents. Some terrible ones. Either way, I put in a big effort to remind myself that kids don't get to pick their parents.
5. I don't close the door on a kids opportunity, ever. There's always a way forward.
6. Admin have a horrible job. They've been handcuffed by policy, laws, and fear of parents.
7. The schools in my county are all great. Very similar. Way better than what I remember as a kid in the 80s.
8. Cell phones are problem for kids. Highly recommend the book "The Anxious Generation". We're going to see more and more schools outright ban smart phones.
9. Education funding varies wildly from state to state. It can have a big impact on failing, surviving, or thriving.

Last note: I just spend two years teaching in a wealthy private international school in China. Wealthy asian parents are the bomb. They work hard making sure their kids work hard. Really going to miss the asian parents.

Edit: Last last note: Any attempt to blame children for the any form of societal problem will bring my rage. They didn't create the world they live in. You did. Kids aren't worse today in any way. They're reacting to the world you handed them. Kids these days? Seriously? If I hear anyone utter the phrase "kids these days" I lose my mind and go off. Don't go there. It's the largest trigger I got. I will fong you.

Thanks for the insights and sharing. And thanks for being a teacher as the world needs more like you.

Please drop the "fong you" shtick (kick/whip?) though as that doesn't help real discussion.

I do think the personal responsibility part is and can be an interesting discussion. Context matters a lot and that usually gets dismissed in discussions. Obviously a high school senior had more expected responsibility than a 1st grader. How that plays out is super interesting I think.

Also completely with you on the cell phones. We've talked a good bit about Jonathan Haidt and social media for kids. Would love to hear more from you there as you're on the front lines with is https://forums.footballguys.com/thr...llowing-social-media-for-young-people.812226/

I wish Cell phones were banned from the classroom, but I just don't see it happening. My wife used to substitute and had issues with kids playing on their phones during class. She'd echo what many others have already said about "some parents" vs school administration. There are some parents who are 100% committed to their child having their phone on them and turned on at all times. Its a non-negotiable for various reasons. They become the loudest voice in the room and schools tend to cave to it. Once they cave to one parent, they cave to them all.

Phones in the classroom is a very difficult policy to navigate from my outsider point of view. I'd support some form of a cubby system off to the side or even a teacher taking a phone from a student when it becomes a disruption. Admittedly taking a phone away has the potential to escalate. I'm in favor of that, but also like I said in the OP, when the principle of my daughter's middle school went through her phone without a parent involved... That was 200% over the line in my book.

 

[Max Power]

As for an update: The school has made the same substitute teacher a long term sub until the teacher opening is filled. So that's good for stability at least. I'm sure he's just teaching off curriculum that was put together by someone else. It's Algebra II, which to me would be a hard subject to walk into a teach well.

Anyone with teaching/school admin experience know how difficult it is to fill a teacher opening mid-school year?

 

[MAC_32]

Anyone with teaching/school admin experience know how difficult it is to fill a teacher opening mid-school year?

If you're after skill it's incredibly hard. If you'll settle for will then it depends on where you are. Here, it's still a challenge. Teacher shortage is a nationwide problem that is only going to get worse as less quality people choose it as a career path. At the risk of sending this down a political drain, I'll just leave it at that

 

[MAC_32]

I wish Cell phones were banned from the classroom, but I just don't see it happening.

Our governor didn't outright ban them, but he did enact a requirement that each school establish an official cell phone policy. I think it's a precursor to a potential future ban, but that's just tea leaf reading.

 

[belljr]

Our schools have a no cell phone policy in class. Now as the year progresses the policy is more lacks with some classes than others

 

[MAC_32]

I worry about a teacher shortage very soon. I know more than a few young teachers who left the profession coming out of the pandemic. People in their 20s and early 30s who just felt like the juice wasn't worth the squeeze and found other jobs before they got too old to find another career.

It's already here. My only question is how many $ gets pumped into the next rounds of grants - cause not surprisingly this didn't do much.

 

[MAC_32]

Part of the problem ?

Increase spending and I’ll put money on which line it goes to.

Some of it is bloat, but not as much as you'd think. Due to all the reporting requirements the need for admin work has grown exponentially (some hyperbole) over the last 20-30 years. Want to spend smarter? Revert classroom time back to developing young mind's instead of test takers.

 

[Joe Bryant]

If you think your schools are great, please add the the detail of what area you live in. And why you think they're great.

Same for if you feel they're not good. Where you are and why.

Because we are ranked number one or number three in the country depending on which link you use

We just have really good teachers and a tough curriculum for the advanced student

Of course not all teachers are great and we have problem schools also but overall you move to certain areas for certain public schools

Thanks. Where is that?

 

[Joe Bryant]

I'm not sure states are a good way to rank schools.

It might make sense for small less diverse states. But for big diverse states like California or Texas, it's way more difficult.

In my experience it seems like location related to city / suburb / rural and economic factors for areas are much bigger factors than state mandated rules.

A Seattle public school in a high-income area can be pretty different than a rural school outside of Spokane in a lower-income area.

Even in the same city they can vary.

 

[Joe Bryant]

I am a product of private school education all the way from 1st grade through College. Tomorrow begins my 34th year teaching in a public school classroom. I live in the community where I teach, and my own 2 children graduated from the school where I teach. In fact, we moved to this community in large part for the schools. Suffice it to say I have seen a lot through the years good, bad, and ugly. I know of public schools that are fantastic (like the one I am part of) and I know of public schools that are a hot mess. I know of private schools that are fantastic, and I know of private schools that are well below par. There are so many factors and moving parts...finances, leadership, community values, home life, etc... that contribute to the well being of a school district that it is difficult to make sweeping generalizations. Much of Jayrod's description of his wife's situation could probably be echoed for my district as well. The school leadership values the staff. Good teaching involves creating the conditions for student learning to happen. Similarly, good administration creates the conditions and culture for teachers to accomplish that goal. Don't underestimate the power of good leadership.

Are public schools getting worse? In some ways, I am sure they are. Although I am part of a great district we are not without problems. I see the things that people have discussed in this thread like grade inflation, overcrowding, lack of student accountability in my school as well. We are not immune. But in some ways schools have gotten better over the years. There is greater emphasis of the process of learning, giving students voice in their learning, individualized instruction designed to target student needs, systems of intervention to support learning, emphasis on collaboration, empathy, resilience, and critical thinking rather than grades etc...

Thank you and thanks for being a teacher. I'm glad to know the students have someone like you. What area of the country?

 

[Joe Bryant]

I am a product of private school education all the way from 1st grade through College. Tomorrow begins my 34th year teaching in a public school classroom. I live in the community where I teach, and my own 2 children graduated from the school where I teach. In fact, we moved to this community in large part for the schools. Suffice it to say I have seen a lot through the years good, bad, and ugly. I know of public schools that are fantastic (like the one I am part of) and I know of public schools that are a hot mess. I know of private schools that are fantastic, and I know of private schools that are well below par. There are so many factors and moving parts...finances, leadership, community values, home life, etc... that contribute to the well being of a school district that it is difficult to make sweeping generalizations. Much of Jayrod's description of his wife's situation could probably be echoed for my district as well. The school leadership values the staff. Good teaching involves creating the conditions for student learning to happen. Similarly, good administration creates the conditions and culture for teachers to accomplish that goal. Don't underestimate the power of good leadership.

Are public schools getting worse? In some ways, I am sure they are. Although I am part of a great district we are not without problems. I see the things that people have discussed in this thread like grade inflation, overcrowding, lack of student accountability in my school as well. We are not immune. But in some ways schools have gotten better over the years. There is greater emphasis of the process of learning, giving students voice in their learning, individualized instruction designed to target student needs, systems of intervention to support learning, emphasis on collaboration, empathy, resilience, and critical thinking rather than grades etc...

Also, would love to hear any thoughts on practical ideas on how to improve public schools.

And do you have thoughts on cell phones / social media in schools and for young people in general?

 

[AAABatteries]

I'm not sure states are a good way to rank schools.

It might make sense for small less diverse states. But for big diverse states like California or Texas, it's way more difficult.

In my experience it seems like location related to city / suburb / rural and economic factors for areas are much bigger factors than state mandated rules.

A Seattle public school in a high-income area can be pretty different than a rural school outside of Spokane in a lower-income area.

Even in the same city they can vary.

I tend to agree but think it happens for a couple reasons - 1. If you are trying to rank it just makes it simpler to do even if it’s not as accurate. 2. I believe in most states the majority of funding comes from the state itself.

 

[MAC_32]

In my experience it seems like location related to city / suburb / rural and economic factors for areas are much bigger factors than state mandated rules.

Generally speaking, agreed. Some states really handcuff localities, but more exception than rule. What you described is certainly the case in Ohio. I'm in admin at a private network of schools - we're focusing our resources on strengthening our schools in poor performing public communities. Strategically, it's obviously the $right thing to do for us, but for overall societal growth it is too. If it isn't broke don't fix it in strong public school areas, but it is broke so let's do something about fixing it in others.

 

[MAC_32]

Also, would love to hear any thoughts on practical ideas on how to improve public schools.

Less regulations, emboldened admin, teachers with more freedom, stricter discipline, and above all else - patience. Because this is not going to be a quick fix. In many cases it'll get worse first before it gets better. Regulators and poor parenting are the primary root causes to our current environment and there will be resistance from both (and media mouth pieces) while such a transition will take place.

I don't see it happening

 

[Max Power]

I wish Cell phones were banned from the classroom, but I just don't see it happening.

Our governor didn't outright ban them, but he did enact a requirement that each school establish an official cell phone policy. I think it's a precursor to a potential future ban, but that's just tea leaf reading.

I'll be interested to see how this plays out. Anecdotally to me it seems like people in general have harder and harder of a time letting go of their phones. Some of these kids are getting phones/tablets way too young and grow up not knowing what it's like to not have a phone on them. It seems like their anxiety levels increase when they lose access.

I work in a phone restricted building and we're having issues with the 20 somethings that start working here.

 

[Ilov80s]

As for an update: The school has made the same substitute teacher a long term sub until the teacher opening is filled. So that's good for stability at least. I'm sure he's just teaching off curriculum that was put together by someone else. It's Algebra II, which to me would be a hard subject to walk into a teach well.

Anyone with teaching/school admin experience know how difficult it is to fill a teacher opening mid-school year?

It totally depends on the district. What are they willing to offer financially? Do they have a good reputation? If it’s a district willing to pay better or that has a reputation for quality culture, good students, nice facilities, nice area, etc than its not very hard to hire mid year.

 

[AAABatteries]

I wish Cell phones were banned from the classroom, but I just don't see it happening.

Our governor didn't outright ban them, but he did enact a requirement that each school establish an official cell phone policy. I think it's a precursor to a potential future ban, but that's just tea leaf reading.

I'll be interested to see how this plays out. Anecdotally to me it seems like people in general have harder and harder of a time letting go of their phones. Some of these kids are getting phones/tablets way too young and grow up not knowing what it's like to not have a phone on them. It seems like their anxiety levels increase when they lose access.

I work in a phone restricted building and we're having issues with the 20 somethings that start working here.

Feels like the horse has left the barn with regards to phone/device usage. I just see no way to fix the issue broadly - but I am totally in favor of restrictions or banning in schools.

 

[Max Power]

As for an update: The school has made the same substitute teacher a long term sub until the teacher opening is filled. So that's good for stability at least. I'm sure he's just teaching off curriculum that was put together by someone else. It's Algebra II, which to me would be a hard subject to walk into a teach well.

Anyone with teaching/school admin experience know how difficult it is to fill a teacher opening mid-school year?

It totally depends on the district. What are they willing to offer financially? Do they have a good reputation? If it’s a district willing to pay better or that has a reputation for quality culture, good students, nice facilities, nice are, etc than its not very hard to hire mid year.

Public school reviews give it a 6/10 rating and better than state average in most educational categories, but not by much. Facilites are very old and outdated.

Its such an odd area to me as well. There is a gated high end country club community that feeds into that high school, but also several poverty-stricken areas that go there as well. The rest is made up of middle class families that skew heavy military as the Base is nearby.

 

[Ilov80s]

As for an update: The school has made the same substitute teacher a long term sub until the teacher opening is filled. So that's good for stability at least. I'm sure he's just teaching off curriculum that was put together by someone else. It's Algebra II, which to me would be a hard subject to walk into a teach well.

Anyone with teaching/school admin experience know how difficult it is to fill a teacher opening mid-school year?

It totally depends on the district. What are they willing to offer financially? Do they have a good reputation? If it’s a district willing to pay better or that has a reputation for quality culture, good students, nice facilities, nice are, etc than its not very hard to hire mid year.

Public school reviews give it a 6/10 rating and better than state average in most educational categories, but not by much. Facilites are very old and outdated.

Its such an odd area to me as well. There is a gated high end country club community that feeds into that high school, but also several poverty-stricken areas that go there as well. The rest is made up of middle class families that skew heavy military as the Base is nearby.

And I guess nice is relative. How does it compared to the 30 mile surrounding area? Is it nicer so teachers would want to leave where they are at to be there? That’s the real question I suppose. Though if they are having trouble now, it’s likely to continue through the year. Also maybe other states differ but in Michigan, districts will always allow a teacher to leave mid year but I suppose we are under contract and some States could put block it somehow.

 

[Chicago Hooligan]

I will fong you.

[yelling from the back of the theater with popcorn falling out of my mouth] That's from A Knight's Tale!

 

[stbugs]

As for an update: The school has made the same substitute teacher a long term sub until the teacher opening is filled. So that's good for stability at least. I'm sure he's just teaching off curriculum that was put together by someone else. It's Algebra II, which to me would be a hard subject to walk into a teach well.

Anyone with teaching/school admin experience know how difficult it is to fill a teacher opening mid-school year?

It totally depends on the district. What are they willing to offer financially? Do they have a good reputation? If it’s a district willing to pay better or that has a reputation for quality culture, good students, nice facilities, nice are, etc than its not very hard to hire mid year.

Public school reviews give it a 6/10 rating and better than state average in most educational categories, but not by much. Facilites are very old and outdated.

Its such an odd area to me as well. There is a gated high end country club community that feeds into that high school, but also several poverty-stricken areas that go there as well. The rest is made up of middle class families that skew heavy military as the Base is nearby.

I’m outside of Charlotte and our elementary, middle and high school are all 10/10. That goes for the two other closest HS near us. It drops quite a bit for some other schools in our county. Like they say in real estate, location, location, location. We picked our house 18 years ago because of the schools even though the schools our boys went to were all built while we lived here in between the two really good schools around us. Area is still growing like a weed but this part of the county is where people have been moving to because of the schools.

I agree with Joe that looking at a state level makes sense for funding and such but the difference between schools and school districts can be pretty stark in a matter of miles.

 

[Max Power]

As for an update: The school has made the same substitute teacher a long term sub until the teacher opening is filled. So that's good for stability at least. I'm sure he's just teaching off curriculum that was put together by someone else. It's Algebra II, which to me would be a hard subject to walk into a teach well.

Anyone with teaching/school admin experience know how difficult it is to fill a teacher opening mid-school year?

It totally depends on the district. What are they willing to offer financially? Do they have a good reputation? If it’s a district willing to pay better or that has a reputation for quality culture, good students, nice facilities, nice are, etc than its not very hard to hire mid year.

Public school reviews give it a 6/10 rating and better than state average in most educational categories, but not by much. Facilites are very old and outdated.

Its such an odd area to me as well. There is a gated high end country club community that feeds into that high school, but also several poverty-stricken areas that go there as well. The rest is made up of middle class families that skew heavy military as the Base is nearby.

And I guess nice is relative. How does it compared to the 30 mile surrounding area? Is it nicer so teachers would want to leave where they are at to be there? That’s the real question I suppose. Though if they are having trouble now, it’s likely to continue through the year. Also maybe other states differ but in Michigan, districts will always allow a teacher to leave mid year but I suppose we are under contract and some States could put block it somehow.

I can't imagine it would be a big draw for teachers. The best thing the area offers is that it's halfway between Raleigh and Fayetteville, so it gets the families who have to split commute times. I've kind of mentally accepted this might be a band-aid fix all year, but its frustrating.