Posted on 02/28/2005 3:51:30 AM PST by Theodore R.
The teachers often lead the way in fighting raised standards and extra tests, etc.
First of all, it does NOT require a "well educated" parent. I homeschooled my own kids for years, and several others over the years, and I never graduated from high school. The need to be "well educated" is a total, complete myth. A good friend is homeschooling her kids, and all she has is a GED.
What it requires is the determination and interest to do it. Period. If a parent sees the need to save his or her child from the gaping maw of public school depravity, he or she will find the time and means.
It is realistic only for a small percentage only because a small percentage want to. Where there's a will, there's a way.
"Getting every child to graduate high school with a meaningful diploma in their hands is one of the biggest challenges our country faces..."
We need to replace "country" with "Chatham County"... as in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia. Even our school board is on probation.... and with private schools, including elementary, costing more per year than college, something needs to be done.
I left high school just before graduation in 1960, because I was a testosterone driven horse's patootie. In 1978, I walked in, signed up, and took the GED exams. I was the valedictorian. I do OK, but I ain't that smart! The GED was elementary.
I finished all requirements for My AA, in 18 months with a 3.6 GPA, while working enough hours each week to keep My Family fed and sheltered. That was elementary, as well.
We bought into the theory that everyone is entitled to a high school diploma, everyone is entitled to a college education, and We devalued the very things We value so much.
I should have gone on for a PHD, just couldn't listen to all those left wing professors any more.
Of course the NEA and ATF will never allow any of the above to happen, as they are unions desiring of protecting the jobs of teachers NOT educating the nation's children. Unfortunately, until we the people realize what the real problem is with the Government Schools - Unions that do not represent the education of students, their parents, nor the taxpayers, we cannot begin to fix the problem. It is like taking asprin for a headache when you have a brain tumor - might make you feel better for a time but you are only substituting a cure with a temporary remedy.
Lots of data and information school performance here with recommendations. Will things change? Don't know but I like what I see from achieve.
Does Achieve had a vested interest in this? You bet.
Created by the nation's governors and business leaders, Achieve, Inc., is a bipartisan, non-profit organization that helps states raise academic standards, improve assessments and strengthen accountability to prepare all young people for postsecondary education, work and citizenship.
Businesses are tired of finishing the education that schools should have done. It's expensive.
http://www.achieve.org/
I said educated; you supplied well. A diploma, a degree or lack thereof is not necessarily reflective of ones education. Whereas I will agree that most parents probably lack the motivation, it may not be possible for a single parent who is the sole breadwinner.
"Wonderful ... a one size fits all approach. Throw away vocational education and pretend that each student is college bound."
From Achieve.
In every state today, students can meet the requirements for high school graduation and still be unprepared for success in college or
"You can't mandate that high schoolers take rigorous coursework if they aren't prepared for it from elementary school on up."
This is true and giving such a kid a HS diploma only cheapens the worth of the diploma. By default the lower grade schools will have to do better if a kid is going to get a "real" diploma based on the higher standards.
"proceed to the Schools of Education and test those instructors; eliminate all courses that do not involve real subject matter."
I say proceed to the schools of education and close them down. Require teachers to have a degree in the course they are going to teach, and throw in some education classes to teach lesson planning etc.
Click on PDF then download the Lousiana info.
They are doing better but have a ways to go compared to the rest of the country and the best schools.
http://www.2005summit.org/en_US/interactive/stateProfile_content.html
"it's clear that homeschooling is the only way to go."
If what's been said about how poor the schooling in New Orleans is, how are these under educated parents going to homeschool?
You buy curriculum and make sure the work is done...You don't have to homeschool do it yourself...there is some good stuff out there ready to go. Sort of like distance learning.
"It's not PC to have vocational tracks anymore,"
Not sure about elsewhere, but where I live they began paring back on VoTech classes because of a lack of interest.....probably students who think they're too good for such and don't want to get their hands dirty?
That said, the movement that Achieve is pushing seems to set a goal of a minimal education for each studtent to have the tools to function as a literate whether one goes to college or straight into the workforce period.
"You buy curriculum and make sure the work is done"
If it's that easy any kid can learn in a public school regardless of the teacher. The parent just has to make sure the work is done. ;-)
"But, but but... Public Education is just as good as private"....
Ok guys... you get pissed when I tell you that subjecting your child to public education when you have the means to prevent it is child abuse as far as I am concerned... now argue with me again how I'm wrong?
If the parent is there with the kid, and the kid isn't hanging out with the kids that are getting them in trouble, they are a lot more likely to do the work. Fewer distractions, fewer options.
But still, and this was my point, you don't have to be highly educated to make sure your kid is doing the assignments, either. If you don't feel competent in putting curriculum together, you buy it, and then oversee it. A lot of the pre-packaged stuff includes expert help on call.
It becomes a matter of discipline. That's something most parents can do, especially with younger children.
It's not impossible. It's a matter of what people want for their kids, mostly.
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