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 ...
I’m really surprised to see the principal herself going to the homes. We have a social worker who does that, but I’ve never heard of the principal doing it personally.
Wilson Reading system - another good choice. Excellent reading program, completely phonics based.
I teach at a major university. Distance learning (buzzword for online classes) works well with adult learners who opt into the class. It doesn't work worth a darn with traditional 18 year-old college freshmen.
Motivation is my number one goal with that group. Only about 10% of that group are self motivated. If I wasn't there to check that the students were doing their work each day, more than half would flunk. Most are shocked that a they don't get an automatic B for just showing up. They are even more stunned when they do something and still receive an F.
Student: But I worked so hard on that.
Professor: I'm sorry, but the assignment was a break even analysis. You can't do that without numbers.
Student: But if I don't get a B I'll lose my school loans.
Or my personal favorite:
Student: I don't understand any of this.
Professor: Perhaps you aren't studying effectively and I can help. Can you show me the notes you took when you read the book?
Student: I don't take notes on the book.
Professor: OK. Can you show me the notes you took in class?
Student: I don't have any.
"I just want to do what I do and you should pass me for doing nothin" "I should pass you for doing nothing and not coming to class?" "Yeah, cuz I'm just gonna do what I do, walk de halls."
I'm speechless
I can’t understand why Auddie, the 17-year-old 9th grader who won’t go to class, even bothers to show up ever, at all.
The teacher talking about why the state doesn’t take over the schools even though they’ve been threatening for years - “I don’t think they have any solutions either.”
Both my parents were teachers, and I recall endless exasperation at the dinner table nearly every night as they each complained about the lack of parental involvement in the schooling of their most failed students, and that was nearly 30 years ago. The only thing that’s changed since then is that the government has thrown more money at the problem, and the parents continue to care even less, which equals continued failure.
Sad.
That choir is quite talented. Too bad almost no one is there to hear it.
I went through one of those parent/principal conferences back in December because of the "no nit" policy. Apparently the principal was/is on my side about the situation because technically Jax should not have been promoted to 5th grade due to excess absences. It would have been pretty dang hard for them to keep her back though, since she made both honor roll and Principal's list (straight A honor roll) 3 out of 4 quarters. And the quarter she didn't make the honor roll, she had perfect attendance - go figger.
Okay, the kids are way below grade level, they don’t come to school, and if they do they spend half the day roaming the halls...but if they aren’t passing, the teachers aren’t doing their jobs?
It'll be nice to see what the experts can do. I want to watch that
Did you see all the kids SLEEPING instead of doing the required tests? Just signed their name and stretched out over two or three chairs. I guess this is the fault of the teachers too?
So, the is a school that has been restructured due to NCLB due to continuing failures
The school featured in the documentary could have been one of dozens I have worked in from New Orleans to San Francisco.
No,most of the students are not”bad”.They are not a throng of out of control thugs selling dope in the hallways,dragging little girls into the restroom or mouthing off about”racist devils”Thats a myth.
Its the refusal of these types of schools to set high standards,both academically and related to discipline.Sadly,white liberals and even lots of black faculty have this attitude that”You know how THOSE kids are.You just got to let it all slide.
Set down a rule the first day of school-come prepared to work with all required materials or we will call security in to remove you from class.If it means five kids are left in the class,so be it.
Don’t even mention the family unit.With some exceptions,the black family unit is gone and will never come back.The kids will just have to carry on anyway.
Life is cruel and unfair.Thats the first lesson you learn growing up in the ghetto.You struggle despite that cold reality.
I agree. There were a lot of things I liked about the principal, but I felt she failed very badly in not getting the kids out of the hallway - that set a bad tone to begin with, that students were allowed to roam the halls without going to class.
I also felt that she was wrong in putting the blame on the teachers when the students who didn't go to class weren't passing. The students needed to have some responsibility on them - as the 2 senior advisors said near the end, it wasn't giving the students a good life-lesson.
I agree completely that the principal was much too tolerant of what was going on in her school.And blaming the teachers isn’t the solution.Look at the young English teacher who quit mid-year.He was working his behind off trying to make the class interesting but the kids wanted to play and act a fool.
I also thought that it was interesting that the black teachers were treated just as rudely by the students as the white teachers.Too many in this black generation just have no respect for adults period.
You appear to have an informed insight in to this national problem. Setting high standards and sticking with them is certainly part of the solution. However, a more important ingredient I believe is missing: A structured family.
Society has failed these kids. I'm not talking about money, text books, or facilities. Just that most don't have responsible fathers in their life to help them achieve. We can all thankfully point to exceptions to my point. However I'm talking about the majority. Our society just doesn't acknowledge or recognize that the nuclear family is important anymore. So these kids pay the price of our arrogance.
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