I’m a retired urban public school teacher. Permit me to make two points.
1. I fought my corrupt teachers union every step of the way. But the unions have very little to do with the decline of public schools. They have zero input into what is being taught in the classroom or how the schools are managed.
2. I could write a book about what’s wrong with urban public education. Instead I’ll just mention the top two problems.
- Disruptive students are tolerated by administrators. These administrators get bonuses and promotions when their suspension numbers are low. So they suspend very few disruptive students.
In a class of 25 students, one or two chronically disruptive kids can and do put a complete stop to learning. It’s tough to teach algebra when you have one kid running around the room and two more yelling at each other.
- The second problem is attendance. Even in my worst classes most of the kids were okay. But they only came to school maybe three or four times a week. Missing 12 school days in a quarter was not uncommon.
So, can urban public schools be fixed? I think not. They are too far gone.
Yes, that is a substantiated claim and it makes teaching/learning near impossible.
The parent(s) don't even know if their child is IN school, much how they are doing.They don't know when report cards are handed out, much less how their child is doing.
They don't know about special projects or offer help with them. They don't monitor homework.
They don't teach their child how to conduct themselves in a classroom. That includes paying attention, sitting quietly, participating in the lesson, and not creating a disturbance. Also, in these times, not assaulting the teacher. Or throwing furniture out the window.
The students, particularly in certain ethnic groups, would not only cut class, but travel the halls in herds, vandalizing bulletin boards and destroying any equipment they ran across. There was absolutely no pride in having their work displayed.
A lot of the problems were not caused by simply throwing more money at them. They could be solved by enforcing discipline, both at home and in the classroom. Too many parents try to be their kid's "friend" instead of the parent. And far too many have to work 2 or more jobs, leaving little time or energy to see to their child's needs, including the emotional ones.
And, the libtards handing down the dumbed down curricula filled with politically approved garbage, utterly destroy whatever is left.