And Ted Kennedy's program too. Amazing how the left always forgets that.
Posted on 06/23/2008 4:10:42 PM PDT by Amelia
...they take lingering looks at Douglass’s teachers and administrators as they work and at its students as they, more often than not, don’t work. Though eventually the Raymonds (just barely) take sides — they seem not to be fans of Mr. Bush’s program — their dismaying film isn’t really asking whether No Child Left Behind can help Douglass. It’s asking whether anything can.
The film finds a few success stories among the school’s 1,100 students, but it is filled largely with teenagers who are drowning in apathy and attitude, those who seem well beyond any “To Sir With Love”-style rescue.
It is filled as well with emptiness. At “back-to-school night” for parents early in the school year the camera pans the auditorium; it is largely empty. At the Christmas concert the school’s well-regarded choir is belting out a lovely “Messiah,” again to a largely empty auditorium....
HBO, Monday night at 9, Eastern and Pacific times; 8, Central time.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
“....they seem not to be fans of Mr. Bush’s program ...”
Excuse me. That is Kennedy’s program. Bush just signed off on it.
It sounds hard, and it is, but it is not impossible. The first question is whether they are too stupid to learn or simply never cared enough to try. Stupid can't be fixed, but that's a rather small fraction of the kids who perform poorly. Lazy and indifferent are a challenge, but it's amazing what can be done if you break through that barrier. It's all a question of motivation and connections, and a teacher who cares may be able to connect with kids and motivate them. It's not a guarantee, and the teacher's style has to match the temperment of the kids (or be made to match), but the results can be spectacular.
To take your specific example: a senior who reads at the elementary school level, I know from personal experience that a math teacher can inspire a multi-year jump in math. I don't think you can fix everything in one year, but the sense of real accomplishment (not imitation self-esteem) can put the kid on track to make it through community college and beyond.
Can't wait to see if the media call Barack "Mr. Obama" incessantly if he wins the Presidency...
Hang in there and see if you can’t interest a few grandparents in tutoring some of the children. My 12-year old grandson failed Math 3 years in a row in AR and was dangerously close to failing English, also. When his mother requested that he be retained in 6th grade, we had to battle the teachers whose attitude was, “well after all, he’s only failing one subject”. We succeeded in having him retained and I enrolled him in school here in AL. After we resolved some of his glaringly apparent behaviorial issues, and with some tutoring from my husband and myself, he ended the 2007-2008 school year as an Honor Roll student and he passed Math for the first time in 3 years.
Yes, they will. It is standard style. The first time the name is mentioned in a story, the title, be it President, Congressman, whathaveyou, is used and and subsequent mention is either Mr., Mrs., or Ms. Prior to this style change, at least 10 if not more years ago, any subsequent mention of the name contained no title of any shape or form, just the last name.
Parental involvement is indeed a key ingredient, but so is the expulsion of the bad students, teachers unions and blood thirsty lawyers that have ruined the discipline necessary to create a safe learning environment.
If it’s on HBO it will be just another liberal propaganda film that bashes G W Bush and conservatives. I have no use for HBO, except for its boxing program.
And Ted Kennedy's program too. Amazing how the left always forgets that.
The article didn't say. Some substitutes in our system are retired teachers, and some are "warm bodies" - I don't know about this system.
Ten percent learn, no matter what you do. Ten percent don't learn, no matter what you do. Teaching is the art of reaching the other 80 percent. Looks like urban schools in the United States have succeeded in reaching absolutely zero percent of the salvagable, they are more or less complete, utter failures. It is truly a singular achievement.
Is anyone watching this show?
Poor Frederick Douglass is probably ashamed that the school bears his name at this point.
The school is cleaner than I thought it would be, much cleaner
That poor principal is doing her best, but she is way, way over her head with these kids that just don’t care.
Yes, one of the first things that struck me was how bright and clean much of the inside appears!
It is sad how much the teachers and staff seem to care, and how little the children seem to. The student at the beginning talking about having no home, who said she was the norm, probably is one reason why....
It was more than likely scrubbed from top to bottom for the cameras.......and HBO probably paid for the cleaning.
I think so, because parents that care enough to use vouchers have decent kids.
The problem is that even the kids in these urban schools who are halfway decent, are being brought down by the thug kids, because one bad apple spoils the whole bunch.
I'm finding that I'm impressed with the administration, and I didn't expect that. I expected to hate them and to be sitting here picking apart everything they are doing wrong - and I'm not seeing that in the least. I'm seeing administrators that are doing so many things right.
Someday, your grandson will rise up and call you and you husband “Blessed”!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.