August 8, 200917 yr I didn't think I would have to state the "givens" but I guess I do. Schools are made up of people. Some are good. Some are poor. That's parents, teachers, and administrators. Some schools are better than others for various reasons. Some schools have great parental support. Some do not. Some have strong support despite having a handful that are not very good (again, teachers and parents). So, now that we've got the obvious out of the way can we avoid the "well you know my school has some kids whose parents..." or "my school had a bad principal..." or..... Some of you guys would sound like you would tell a group of adults who all wanted to lose weight that the program they want to implement is worthless because a few will still eat twinkies and another guy's nose will still be hideous when he gets skinny. Forest....trees. Your weight loss program does not compare to a school. A school gets assigned a score on a test (and schools are judged by this score by the government who funds the said school). All students must perform at a certain level or the school will be labeled poorly. This does not take into account the fact that some students in that school have done very well and have gone on to be successful. In the paper and to the state, the school is still failing and thus looses funding or is labeled poorly etc. The weight loss program some people will not do well because they are going off the diet. They know this and most of them will realize it is there fault they did not follow the diet. It's their fault. Some will be successful and say that it was a good program. People go on diets because they choose to. Kids go to school because they have to. There is a big difference there. If you have not taught, you have no idea what you are talking about. Please read my previous post to see the root of many of the problem with education.
August 28, 200917 yr A group called Kentucky Save Our Summer has shown some studies, from the American Legislative Exchange Council, to educational leaders that show starting school early does not improve test scores. The article says that of the top 5 states (educationally speaking) all but 1 start school the last week of August or later. The article is at http://www.kypost.com. To go along with this is an article in today's Cincinnati Enquirer, by Krista Ramsey, that states that the biggest improvement in education would be parents doing their job of helping their chidren to be prepared for school and encouraging them.
August 29, 200917 yr Author A group called Kentucky Save Our Summer has shown some studies, from the American Legislative Exchange Council, to educational leaders that show starting school early does not improve test scores. The article says that of the top 5 states (educationally speaking) all but 1 start school the last week of August or later. The article is at http://www.kypost.com. To go along with this is an article in today's Cincinnati Enquirer, by Krista Ramsey, that states that the biggest improvement in education would be parents doing their job of helping their chidren to be prepared for school and encouraging them. You and the author have both missed the point. Its not simply starting earlier. Heck, many school start earlier AND get out earlier so its a wash. The real issue is how the school year is broken down. If you're starting early August and getting out two weeks earlier than normal you still have the same issue. Shorter breaks between end of one year and the start of another is the key to this. Lastly, comparing states is irrelevant. Its like my child telling me after doing poorly on a test that everyone else did poorly as well. I'm only concerned about MY child. Similarly, using Texas and other states and comparing them to KY is , again, immaterial. I'm trying to improve MY state. So, the only valid data to support any theory is changing one variable and that being the way ONE state schedules.
August 29, 200917 yr You and the author have both missed the point. Its not simply starting earlier. Heck, many school start earlier AND get out earlier so its a wash. The real issue is how the school year is broken down. If you're starting early August and getting out two weeks earlier than normal you still have the same issue. Shorter breaks between end of one year and the start of another is the key to this. Lastly, comparing states is irrelevant. Its like my child telling me after doing poorly on a test that everyone else did poorly as well. I'm only concerned about MY child. Similarly, using Texas and other states and comparing them to KY is , again, immaterial. I'm trying to improve MY state. So, the only valid data to support any theory is changing one variable and that being the way ONE state schedules. The one variable that matters is attitude, as discussed in the Ramsey article. This is the one that matters. You can have shortages of materials or any calendar you want, but if you have parents, students and teachers with the right attitude there will be learning. Without the right attitude it does not matter how good of a facility you have or what calendar you have, learning will not take place. In fact attitude is what defines this country. Individuals who have the right attitude will overcome many difficulties to make good lives for theirselves and their families. Even formerly weak students will eventually wake-up and figure it out. They just have to make-up for all the wasted time during their educational careers
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