Posted on 01/18/2006 1:41:16 PM PST by RWR8189
A Few Humble Suggestions For Improving Public Schools I began teaching in 1968, and I retired in 2000. I have taught both in public and private schools. Here is my short list of ways to improve schools.
1. Small school districts with a maximum of one high school and five elementary schools (K-8).
2. Limited tenure
3. School board members elected (not selected) for two year term.
4. Standardized tests at start and end of school year.
5. Teachers evaluated on individual child's progress from the first test to the second test.
6. Pay scale of teacher in part based upon the effectiveness of the teacher in prior years.
7. Core subjects have priority over philosophical or social subjects. Topics as sex education, driver’s education, recycling, any kinds of studies based on only one category of people (womyn, African-American, migrant farm workers), and should be only offered in optional classes later in the school day.
In elementary school all the core subjects could be taught between 8:30 AM and 1:00 PM. Then parents could choose to enroll their children in various afternoon classes on the school campus, or to leave campus to attend youth activities such as Blue Birds, Good News Clubs or Hebrew classes.
In high school all the core subjects could be taught between 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM in a six period day . The core classes should include English, History/Geography, Math, Science, PE and an Arts class (music, art, drama) each semester.
But what about foreign languages, driver’s education, home economics, auto mechanics and other non-core classes? They should be available as two-hour block classes after 2:00 PM or on Saturday mornings. Both home school and private school students would be encouraged to participate in what the public school has to offer.
8. Principals and other non-teaching staff should not be able to earn more than 5% above that of a classroom teacher with the same experience and education.
9. Cameras in the classrooms. Parents could then decide for themselves if their children's educational needs are met.
10. Vouchers. Real choice and competition drives businesses to constantly improve their products. Real competition would be the best thing for schools since the invention of the typewriter.
"Here's just one example from New York City: It took years to fire a teacher who sent sexually oriented e-mails to "Cutie 101," a 16-year-old student. Klein said, "He hasn't taught, but we have had to pay him, because that's what's required under the contract."Only after six years of litigation were they able to fire him. In the meantime, they paid the teacher more than $300,000. Klein said he employs dozens of teachers who he's afraid to let near the kids, so he has them sit in what are called rubber rooms. This year he will spend $20 million dollars to warehouse teachers in five rubber rooms. It's an alternative to firing them. In the last four years, only two teachers out of 80,000 were fired for incompetence. Klein's office says the new contract will make it easier to get rid of sex offenders, but it will still be difficult to fire incompetent teachers."
Bump to beat Hillary!
BM
If parents could choose,very few would send their kids to a "heathe has two mommies" indoctrination center.that is why libs will fight to the death to prevent school choice.
Isn't it funny that they use "choice" only when it benefits them?-
bump
More money for schools will never improve things by itself. Kids and their parents need to make education more of a priority than watching "American Idol" or the latest sitcom.
I've seen Govt waste in Education in Action quite well.
Voters ignore it because they are gulled by the educrat poor-mouthing.
"Too many kids don't want to study when they get home, and all the money in the world will not fix that problem. Part of the problem is parents who do not do their part in making sure their kids are doing enough studying."
Oh, its worse than that!
We want our kids to study more. They wouldnt mind too much either.
The schools dont give them enough homework!
Why? other parents will complain. more work for teachers, etc.
So to satisfy lazy parents, everyone is dumbed down.
Its absurd ... and taxpayers pay $8000 a year per child in taxes for it.
We need total and complete school choice in every state in the nation. Give every kid a voucher for $5000 for an accredited school, and schooling would dramatically improve.
I don't mind an increase in the budget for the Dept of Education, I mind how its wasted. I'm all for spending 10,000 dollars per kid, as long as we get 10,000 worth of knowledge put into that little skull.
I know this goes against the grain for many conservatives, but I'm for national standards (very high standards) and testing. I'm for a national curriculum. Everyone who graduates from high school, from Mississippi to Maine, must prove he can master the key subjects. We need a populace unified behind some core truths. This doesn't need to be micromanaged from the top, and there can be some leeway, but some leeway doesn't mean a "states rights" free-for-all nor a concession to the progressives to run the education establishment into the Marxist ground.
The Three Rs are non-negotiable. Our society is not producing the engineers and scientists needed to keep our country the focal point of worldwide innovation. India and China are probably going to overtake us when it comes to scientific achievement and thus MNC capital investment, because those countries have made science education a nation-wide priority. When these Asian kids go to college, they come here, but they don't stay--they go back home and do research there. When the Baby Boomers start retiring, there is going to be a major deficit of American engineers, not just because of the lack of reproductive replenishment, but the impetus on "humanities" and other dubious degree programs in colleges. Yeah, Gay and Lesbian studies are *really* important.
Economics and Business--high schoolers must understand these things. Everyone leaving high school, should know how to start a business. Logic, a necessity. If a Republican President set a national education agenda around economics and logic, the Democratic party would shrink to about 20%, a good number to represent the usual contrarianism for the sake of contrarianism. American history--Patriotic, American history. A foreign language or three wouldn't hurt, either.
This is too important to be left up to the teacher's unions or to some idealized notion of laissez faire education. That's a false choice. A Republican President that genuinely made education reform a cornerstone in his platform, would create a Republican party that would stay in power for decades. It's an issue Democrats can be very weak on, if the Republicans would fight for it. This would actually be a way to slip in a national curriculum based on pro-American values, and coopting the education issue in such a way that the Democrats would be trounced on the issue for a generation. This, with Defense, Taxes, and a Pro-life segment rewarded for its efforts, would keep the DNC on the outs in our lifetime.
In fact, testing and standards should help debureacratize the national education system, as it lays out to parents and teachers exactly what children are expected to understand. No need for middlemen--here's the range, the ballpark children are expected to be in at each grade level, now get to it parents and teachers. Offer tax breaks (or heck, cash outright) to parents whose children do well on national standardized tests, to help reawaken this culture to the lost art of parenting. This would take leadership, someone able to discern as to which initiatives need to be financed and which ones are wasteful, someone who can communicate his policies to the public, and most importantly, fight for them like a rabid dog at the crotch of an intruder.
Privatize where you can, put stringent budget oversight in place, give communities and states the freedom to meet those goals however they best see fit--but we must have a core curriculum that creates a generation of scientists, inventors, and businessmen that clobber the rest of the global competition. We are *not* heading into that direction under the status quo, and there's more than enough blame to go around.
"I agree that vouchers are not the best solution."
It's like what Churchill said of democracy ... all other options are worse.
WE NEED VOUCHERS, DESPERATELY.
"With the evidence that homeschoolers continue to do as well or better than public schools on average, without the resources, let the market work."
the only way to make the market work is to give school choice to parents. otherwise it is a monopoly not a market.
"You know why they have that 10 million dollar football stadium (the one near where I live cost more and has a Jumbotron)? They have it because the next town over has it, and because the parents let them get away with it."
You make it sound like most people/voters/parents want this.
Simple question: HOW MANY VOTERS said yes to it?
What was the turnout.
A lot of the blame goes to the boards and the educrats for pushing this junk.
Let me tell you how HARD it is to defeat these bond elections. First they set it up so the bond committee works with building contractors. Everyone in the room has a vested interest in raping the taxpayer to build the educrat empire.
Then they have the elections (here in Texas) at odd dates with low community participation. They also have 'early voting' at select locations. What locations? why schools of course! The 'pro-bond' money comes from the contractors, who will make money on the buildings, so its an 'investment' and the school administrators are adept at treating taxpayer money like free money.
They grease the wheels to make these things happen, and there is rarely organized opposition because its 'only' the taxpayer getting stuck with the bill, and it is never phrased as the tax increase it really is. ... last year though residents stopped a big bond package here in ROund Rock school district. they wanted a $100 million high school and other absurdities.
It took a lot of concerted effort but it was voted down 2-to-1. OTOH, what will the board do? Just come back again with another proposal!!!
Yes, parents with wrong priorities are to blame and voters who vote for this stuff are to blame too... but when you have bond elections that have 5% voter turnout, and the 'special interests' ie building contractors are paying off the boards to put out glossy material on how great an idea this is, to uninformed unorganized voters, some of whom are football parents with stars in their eyes ... well, I'd call it the Educrat 'culture of corruption and waste'.
GREAT ARTICLE BUMP
"You cant budget cut your way to a better school system, many have tried. "
Huh? Education spending has never been higher.
must be fuzzy math!
John Stossel is a gem! A lone voice of reason in the wilderness of ABC (and other MSM).. But don't bother the left with the facts!
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