The present schedule is not working well enough. Common sense says that being off for 2.5 months harms many/most students in that they have to spend too much time in August/Sept re-learning what they were taught in April and May.

 

So, again, why can't our schools make the switch and make it work when others have made it work?

 

But a big part of that has to be put on the worthless parents that don't stress education all year long to their kids. Maybe the teachers should not review at the beginning of the year and jump right into the cirriculum for that year and move on. Who cares if a kid is lost blame it on the parent for not doing their job in the summer working with their kid to keep them up with others. And by the end of the year when their kid needs to be retained tell them tough luck you didn't do your job as a parent preparring your child for the next level.

First, the teacher won't have 25 kids with bad parents. Second, ask for volunteers to work with kids after school. Third, require kids that need remedial work in reading to stay after school. If the kids and their parents get tired of staying after school every day, they'll start to do their homework.

 

You can not require kids to stay after school for learning purposes it is against the law. If parents want they can enroll them in ESS or tutoring but can not make them stay after for remedial lessons.

Okay, I will make it simple for you...I give work and if they don't do it they get zeroes. If that makes them fail, then so be it.

 

Then why did you say these are your two choices as a teacher?

 

You want to fix schools, here is your simple formula bolded.

 

Honestly, homework is going by the wayside in schools because as a teacher you have two choices with many, many students.

1) Assign it, they don't do it, they refuse to do it and they fail because of the zeroes they earned on the homework assignments which also contribute to poor test grades.

2) Not assign it and give those students who would end up refusing to take it a better chance of passing with in class work.

Do we improve "other schools" by following a model set by those top schools. If so, logic would say to start in late August or early September, and keep a traditional schedule. One forgets, a lot of these kids learn just as much in the summer, especially if they travel a bit.

 

I'm not sure exactly what you're advocating.

 

90% of the schools start late August .

 

How many kids do yo think "travel" for educational reasons during the summer? 0.5%? 1%?

Homework is the magic elixar?

 

You know, when I first started teaching, I thought that all kids HAD to have homework. Over the years, I've learned that, with some groups, "chunking" the information, and incorporating review a little differently, that you eliminate the need for homework.

 

I didn't say anything about homework being an elixir.

 

LBBC said he had two choices which neither of them seemed very good.

I'm not sure exactly what you're advocating.

 

90% of the schools start late August .

 

How many kids do yo think "travel" for educational reasons during the summer? 0.5%? 1%?

 

All of the schools in my area start in early August. I believe we start August 11th.

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.

All of the schools in my area start in early August. I believe we start August 11th.

 

Would starting two weeks later make an impact?

Went to basketball practice today that my child had. No air conditioning on in the gym. It was hot and they were sweating hard.

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.

 

You are getting close to understanding it.

 

Those problems in school that shows our schools are failing because of some test score, the ones you listed above are the main reason that schools are considered failing.

 

Not all the time and schools are not perfect places. We screw up too. But the main core of the problem is what you listed above.

 

And all of those changes to make that DOESN'T address the problems you list above is superficial.

Would starting two weeks later make an impact?

 

Later? I thought you were saying year round which would be starting earlier in August?

Then why did you say these are your two choices as a teacher?

 

What I do would be choice 1 would it not?

You are getting close to understanding it.

 

Those problems in school that shows our schools are failing because of some test score, the ones you listed above are the main reason that schools are considered failing.

 

Not all the time and schools are not perfect places. We screw up too. But the main core of the problem is what you listed above.

 

And all of those changes to make that DOESN'T address the problems you list above is superficial.

 

You can't hide behind the problems you list. Those are a given. In some schools they are not going to change? So because of the minority, we don't try to improve the overall process? Doesn't make sense.

Later? I thought you were saying year round which would be starting earlier in August?

 

Someone made a point I wasn't following about successful schools starting late August vs , I assumed, starting early August. I find no substance in that being an argument to support anything.

What I do would be choice 1 would it not?

 

I guess. However, you made it sound like it was not a method you want to employ because of the impact on test scores.