I have to tell you that a former football coach who could still benchpress around 400 lbs. with a large wooden paddle in his hand did wonders for discipline back in the day.

 

Although we heard stories of him blasting a guy's skeleton clear out of his skin, no one was truly harmed during his tenure... and I would say that several were probably given some good direction for their lives.

A rare thread where virtually all posters contributed reasoned views and solutions. Being close to a number of teachers I can attest that, where available, public school teachers often opt to spend money to send their children to private school rather than send them to free public schools. RRR is accurate-the privates are selective. The problems suffered by public schools are generally not the making of the teachers, and generally it is not a shortage of money-the average public school usually has more money than the average private. The difference, for the most part, is the type of student and the type of parent. Public schools have many pupils with little or no money that come from single parent households and neighborhoods that do not value education. Privates, particularly in Louisville, often come from middle class families that have a strong religious culture that values education.

 

leatherneck and H tackle the problem head on. Perhaps, in some way, there should be some system to segregate "problem" students from those students who want to learn. However, this runs counter to the currently accepted theory to mainsteam problem kids. I have often wondered why citizens don't band together and form PACs to endorse slates of candidates to regain control of school boards. Then, leatherneck and H's views (probably the majority) would prevail.

Very good post, Diogenes.

I agree. :thumb:

 

The problematic issue I see to be the biggest obstacle in public education is trying to make a "one-size-fits-all" education.

 

Private schools and selective public schools do a great job of creating opportunities for the individual student to achieve.

 

This isn't the educator's fault, though. I blame politics and legislation.

 

 

Amen!

 

There has been discussion for years about "dumbing down" our education system, and we are achieving just that in many places.

Is It possible that the type of child found in private schools are more apt to work harder. It only takes a small number of disobedient children to disrupt the best teacher's lesson plans. A class with fewer disruptions will progress much faster, and learn more. I believe during the first two years of school correct disipline is of the utmost importance. Is it possible that the article was trying to use our fears to sale a program. I beliece our tearches are great.

Most private schools are NOT selective. If you want to come, you can come. Very few have entrance exams that require a certain score to get in. The Catholic schools will work with kids to help them when money is tight. Work Study is more common that many people realize.

Personally I feel that the difference between what makes a school good vs bad has less to do with the people educating and more with the person being taught. Good students make good schools. At a selective private school the learning environment will, in most cases, be more competitive, less distractive, and more productive than in a public school half serving as a public babysitter for kids with no interest in learning. The proof can be seen in selective public school programs, like magnate schools and traditional schools that have proven to be on par with private schools.

As someone with several years of teaching experience in a public school setting, I'd say I have to agree wholeheartedly. The hardest trick as a teacher is trying to motivate those students that couldn't care less about school. Depending on the location, public schools have many students with parents who do no not stress the importance of education. As you can imagine, parents who don't value education have children who don't value education. Though I don't believe that these problems are completely exclusive to public schools, I am willing to bet that public schools see them much more often.

I am currently working in a school district that has approximately 77% of its students receiving free and reduced lunch. Such a high percentage is indicative of the countless barriers to learning that low-income students face. High expectations and steady academic progress are still apparent in the low-income districts that I've been associated with. However, when you have kids come to school on Monday that haven't eaten all weekend because there's no food at home or kids that haven't slept because they had to babysit their younger brothers and sisters all night while their mom was out working, it hopefully becomes clear that there are unique obstacles that our students (and as a result our teachers) face because of difficult circumstances at home.

Though my school district has many EXCELLENT support programs in place to address these "barriers to learning", unfortunately, only so much can be done within the school day. Once they head home, many students are faced with a harsher reality that will ultimately affect attitudes, behaviors, and performance the next school day.

I just hope that people keep in mind the additional challenges that teachers within low-income public school districts face when looking at achievement levels. I am confident that we'll get where we need to be (Proficiency by 2014 for those in the industry) However, considering our challenges, it may end up taking us a little bit longer. Please be patient.