Demialltheway4334

I think that more budgiting should be aproved for schools. Cant do anything without money. Second, i think teachers should get more involved with the kids. Meet with them before school, and after if they have stuff to talk about. Third, like Lisa from the Simpsons said, Have the students grade the teachers. If they want more out them, they will apropriatly grade them. Fourth, students should be more involved in how the school runs. Now, I am not saying give them total control, but, they would know better how to run the school, givin the fact they are the ones schelping to school for 6-8 ouers per weekday. Oh and....NO UNIFORMS!!!

Advertising

Oberdan

1. Make Federal funds non scalable back per capita input. Meaning that if a State gets more money from a third party (ie State Lottery Percentage Donated) the Federal Government won't scale back the amount given to the State. Each year the Florida lottery gives 120 Million to the Florida Department of Education, the Fed reduces their block grant by the exact same amount. It's supposed to help with costs, not give the Fed a funding break! (This also includes Charity based contributions they do it on.)

2. Increase Federal Block Grants to each State in relation to their Student population. Don't cut buck Educational spending for smaller populated States, but increase to the States with significantly more students. The more we throw into Education, the less we can spend on getting our troops butchered.

3. Institute a program for true and severe punishment for Bullying not just for students, but staff. A lot of these kids who end up killing other students and even teachers are usually from being traumatized by other students, and even staff. Students are not raised on the same, fundemental principles and do not have the same mental faculties for dealing with a mentally stressing situation and can over-react violently. Lets stop treating the main side effects and start stopping the root of the problem. Make being a Bully a bad idea as the punishment is severe and slow it down, and you will see a lot less school shootings.

4. Reward academic achievements with something more than Pizza Hut gift certificates and low fund scholorships. If they are going to get 500 bucks for College three years from the day they make a 4.0 GPA in 10th Grade, it's not going to inspire them to keep doing it. Give them that 500 Bucks at the end of the school year, cash. Reward should equal achievement immediately. There are plenty of grant programs and scholorships in place for College anyways.

5. Re-evaluate the methods of Teaching and re-organize the learning process. Academic overkill should be eliminated. I.E. reading Romeo and Juliet, then watching it on DVD, then acting it out in the classroom, then doing an outline on it, then watching it in black and white for the old english experience. By that time, you're ready to puke and learn to hate Shakespeare. Besides, I got more out of it watching it on the stage, performed live as it was intended. That old dead guy didn't write it to have 10 questions answered at the end of each scene. If they are going to be asked, do it when it's over and has been enjoyed, not shoveled in large heaps down the throat in various formats.

6. No more treating students with a lack of respect and dignity. In order to get respect, one has to be willing to give it. A problem student throws a fit, respectfully punish him. If he starts acting out and hollering, don't give any speeches about being at work in the future for 8 hours at the top of the voice. Respectfully, calmly and with maybe a touch of regret, suspend the student. Anger and disrespect breeds anti-sentiments. It's easy for someone to feel wronged when they think their transgression was minor, then come back with twice the mis-behavior. Teachers and Staff would find their jobs a lot easier when a student knows he's not going to be dis-respected during an important discussion regarding any incident.

Those are six that come across my mind right this moment. I am sure if given enough thought, there would be far more.

Only posting within a narrow window of a few days, then I'll be offline again for a few more months. I'll write what I can, but dialup bites when I'm used to broadband.

I miss you guys.

Freedom for All

It's not a federal function to finance local schools. And school budgets should be based on what's needed, not on spending as much money as they can get.

Disband the United States Department of Education. It's done nothing to improve education, but wonders at wasting money.

Bullying is a minor problem blown up to national significance by a shallow news media feeding a shallow public. The only thing required in this regard is the expulsion of malcontents whose behavior denies the other students If the trash don't want to learn, don't teach it. If the trash's parents don't like it, let them pay for a private school.

Public schools shouldn't be considered day care for the youngest gangsters.

Pat them on the head and say how proud we are of them, but that since we expect them to do well, it's self-defeating to pay them in cash. If they keep up the good work, they'll be able to get a job. But, if you're the kid's parent, you can bribe them if you want.

Feslin

On what pretenses do you expect us to do well though?

If you have someone on ignore because you don't like their opinions, do us all a favor and just leave, moron.

Oberdan

They are basing the budgets on what schools need, in many of the reports, they say a school only needs 20 textbooks in a class of 33. (I've seen these budget sheets)


I agree. But put something else in it's place that is better, rather than leave a great void in due process of the appropiations committee when they balance the Federal Spending for Education.

Tell it to the two male teachers and four of the worst Bullies my middle school ever knew back inthe early 80's who were making bets an which kids they could slam into the wall the hardest on the way to lunch. Many kids then talked of bringing knives and guns to defend themselves.

Tell that to my Wife whom I had to confront the guy who kept raising his hand to smack her, but would stop at the last second. Well, she was only my Girlfriend then, but you get the picture.

Explain how it's blown out of proportion when my third youngest child was born learning impared and she cried daily and 'was too sick' to go to school when I found out the teacher was looking the other way while the boy next to her tormented her daily for almost the whole school year. I didn't find out till almost too late. As it was, another girl in another class ended up getting SUSPENDED for the rest of the year because she had struck him with a pipe she brought from home. She was another victim and she had lashed out. Yet, he got to go back to school and continue his quest of torment.

When we moved to Texas, tell it to the kid upstairs who ran like hell to the apartment complex with 5 teens on his tail.

And on and on... three States I been to, all 3 had problems. Yeah, I can see it's really exagerated... not. Just because you never had problems doesn't mean the rest of the country revolves around you and does the same for others.

Giving money is not a bribe. If we're going to teach them that effort equals reward, it might as well be in cash. What do you do when you earn a college degree? Oh yeah, get money from grants. What do you do when you go to work? Oh yeah, get paid money. If you got your paycheck in 4 year bonds and pizza hut gift certificates, you'd throw a fit. A pat on the head is good for middle schoolers, not high schoolers who do have expenses to pay, like car insurence, etc.

I'm not saying thousands and thousands, I'm saying those ditzy awards they get would be better appreciated if they were in cash.

Only posting within a narrow window of a few days, then I'll be offline again for a few more months. I'll write what I can, but dialup bites when I'm used to broadband.

I miss you guys.

Freedom for All

They're basing their budgets on wish lists that get ever longer, and pretend these wishes are essentials. In California, it's routine to totally neglect schools facilities management, not supply soap or toilet paper to the lavatories, and then promote multi-million dollar bond measures to fix these "problems", and then curse the taxpayers for not being stupid enough to fall for it. That, and condemming bitterly the provision that bond measures have to pass by a 2/3 vote.

Nope, Calle Mayor Middle School in Torrance got a new $10,000 computer lab...and didn't have toilet paper in the bathrooms. The problem with the schools isn't that there's not enough money, the schools in California get more that $8000 per student per year. No. The problem is how it's being spent.

No, just disband the Department of Education. It's not a constitutional body, it's failed, let it go away. In it's place? Who cares? Education is a state function, not a federal one. So don't replace it with anything.

As for "bullying", what you're discussing is criminal assualt, and charges should have been filed and those criminals arrested. Sounds like a defect in the juvenile criminal code, not the schools. If you can prove that the teacher wilfully enabled the "bullying", then you either have a great case to own the school, or a wonderful excuse to set up a midnight personal interview with the teacher. I suggest the latter. Wear gloves, park at least six blocks away, and buy a Bill Clinton Halloween mask. And throw that bat in running water when you're done with it. Also, pay cash for all tools used.

Seems to me that your problem with bullies is exagerated. And no, just because you're having problems doesn't mean the rest of the country is and no, it doesn't revolve around you, either. The principle reason schoolyard physical dominance prevails is because pants-wetting liberals have problems with children learning to stand up for themselves. If America ever finds out what it did with it's testicles, bullying will no longer be even the minor problem you're experiencing.

Giving money is a bribe. Recognize them for their efforts by praise, and if the greedy brat wants more, tell 'em to get a job. Sheesh, it worked a hundred years ago, why mess with success?

W.J. Wilczek

Improve the curriculum. Then find some real teachers to teach it.

UAforever

The problem is not the curriculum, but just the teachers/administration. They spend to much time punishing kids and not enough time on educating them. So when you ask how would I reform Public Schools.

Well i would make them more public. State governments should gain more power over the school that they represent and not the city. All schools in one state should be on the same cirruculum. They should all have the same dresscode, calender, and schedule. Imo

saav

State governments with more control, ya, that's not a bad idea. After all, the federal arm is just a frickin' wanker.

W.J. Wilczek

No, it would depend on the curriculum; which is to say what value one places on knowledge. Knowledge to fit purpose is certainly of value, for to be without it is to live in a world without light; but by the same token, to pursue useless knowledge is worse than worthless, it is a waste of precious time. See Herbert Spencer, "What Knowledge is of Most Worth," Westminster Review (July 1859). Good schools are scarce, and useful knowledge invaluable. Individually, we are as much as we know; and as a nation, our democracy is dependent on an enlightened citizenry, which justifies placing a premium on education. What form that education takes - what curriculum our public schools provide - is a matter, if not all important, at least essential to everyone.