Emily~Anne Posted November 13, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 146 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 2,308 Content Per Day: 0.36 Reputation: 6 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/11/2006 Status: Offline Author Share Posted November 13, 2007 Has anybody mentioned smaller classes? Smaller classes would be great! Lossforwords, just for clarification, please elaborate on what you mean about Head Start and etc. What did you mean by mandatory? Do you mean that it be made available to everyone? Or that parents must put their preschool aged children in Head Start, early childhood programs, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LossForWords Posted November 13, 2007 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 69 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 857 Content Per Day: 0.13 Reputation: 2 Days Won: 0 Joined: 11/07/2006 Status: Offline Birthday: 01/04/1981 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Smaller classes would be wonderful! Head Start programs, early intervention programs offered in the district, and child development classes should be mandatory if your child has not received any formal/informal education. The school districts should test 4/5 year olds before they enroll in their first year of school. If they aren't prepared to work at a school age level, parents should have to enroll their children in a program that actually prepares their child for school. I have several hundred thousand pet peeves about school districts in our area...and one of them is that schools allow children to enroll when the child knows NOTHING! Teachers can't be expected to give a child 5 years of social/emotional/mental learning in a few months. If parents aren't going to be held responsible anymore about what their child knows or does not know, then the district should mandate programs that prepare children before they even reach a classroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathqueen Posted November 13, 2007 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 55 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 962 Content Per Day: 0.15 Reputation: 1 Days Won: 0 Joined: 03/26/2006 Status: Offline Birthday: 05/16/1975 Share Posted November 13, 2007 The school system should either move the testing to the end of the year, or insist on instruction taking place regardless of the state testing being over. The private school my younger children go to has the standardized tests during the final week or two of the school year - and instruction even on the final day of school. (Mathy and other teachers here, I certainly hope your schools aren't like the high school my teens go to. Are you surprised to learn that their school was on the 'Drop-Out Factories' list?) Ok, rant over. The schools have no control over testing dates. That mandate comes from the states. It's hysterical, too, because the tests are given (at least here in CA) at the end of 85% of the school year. They expect us to cover 100% in 85% of the time. CLASSIC! As for movies, they are not used wisely, I agree. I NEVER show movies in class because I am WAY too busy teaching. However, for some courses, there are movies that are good for the course and can be used in a good way (social studies comes to mind the most). Some teachers use them for babysitting, though, because they don't FEEL like teaching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathqueen Posted November 13, 2007 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 55 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 962 Content Per Day: 0.15 Reputation: 1 Days Won: 0 Joined: 03/26/2006 Status: Offline Birthday: 05/16/1975 Share Posted November 13, 2007 Btw, smaller class sizes = more teachers = more $$$. And the states and districts are about money, period. Don't let anyone fool you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emily~Anne Posted November 14, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 146 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 2,308 Content Per Day: 0.36 Reputation: 6 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/11/2006 Status: Offline Author Share Posted November 14, 2007 Lossforwords, you'd probably like the way our local school district does it then. Upon enrollment, the children are evaluated. And then if they are not ready for kindergarten, they go to developmental kindergarten. The following year they are ready for regular kindergarten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shad Posted November 14, 2007 Group: Advanced Member Followers: 0 Topic Count: 60 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 445 Content Per Day: 0.07 Reputation: 6 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/10/2007 Status: Offline Birthday: 06/03/1974 Share Posted November 14, 2007 I agree that smaller classrooms would be good but in this day and time it's just not practical. Most schools have huge overcrowding problems to the point they have to bring in trailer units. If you make classes smaller it's just going to make that problem that much worse. We already have a school on nearly every street corner as it is there just isn't that much more room to build new ones and when they do they are full before they finish laying the last brick. Perhaps they should start thinking about building multi-level schools so instead of expanding out you build up and could easily double or triple the number of class rooms within the same amount of space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParanoidAndroid Posted November 14, 2007 Group: Senior Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 39 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 591 Content Per Day: 0.09 Reputation: 14 Days Won: 0 Joined: 04/01/2007 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/27/1979 Share Posted November 14, 2007 I'm currently studying to be a Drama and Music teacher, so I've done a little bit of study on these issues. My first action would be to get rid of the "no kid left behind" policy. I don't know how other countries work, but in Australia, we have a policy that makes sure that the curriculum always caters for the lowest common denominator. While exceptional teachers are able to work around this with exceptional students, the majority of top-end students are just being hurt by having no real struggles. In its place, I would create an open-ended curriculum that could be taught in any way, to anyone. The curriculum would be broad enough to cater for many people, and then the individual classes would then decide where to narrow that focus of their curriculum. The curriculum would be relevant to our practical daily lives (ie, no "Be quiet. Good. Silence. Good. Now, copy page 34 out of your textbook). This is the start of revolutionising the classroom setting. This will hopefully pave the way for Step 2 of my plan. Step 2 involves implementing a strategy to bring kids back to wanting to study. Too often in the modern world kids are apathetic about their schooling. It's not that they don't have ability, but they just don't care enough about their education. Through actively involving students within the building of their school career, the relevance of their work will be clearer, and they will be more likely to care. This will inevitably lead to the situation where they want to be at school. And they will HAVE FUN. Forget facts, figures, curricula for a moment - kid's social and emotional well-being is just as important to cultivate as their intellectual well-being. Schools seem hellbent on ignoring that in favour of cramming their minds with standardized answers that don't really mean anything. F-U-N - FUN. That's what it all comes down to. If the students can enjoy themselves, then learning will become a joy, not a chore. This is only a very brief outline of my strategies - they are much more involved than this, but this would be my basic overview. Hope it makes people think ~ Paranoid Android Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParanoidAndroid Posted November 14, 2007 Group: Senior Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 39 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 591 Content Per Day: 0.09 Reputation: 14 Days Won: 0 Joined: 04/01/2007 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/27/1979 Share Posted November 14, 2007 And a few things i WOULD NOT do (and I'll probably ruffle some feathers with these) - * I would not bring back corporal punishment. There are better ways to deal with problems than punishment. While a spank cn be useful within the context of a family setting, it should not be used by anyone other than the parent. * I would not bring back prayer. I live in a multi-cultural country, based on multi-cultural values. It is NOT a Christian country, and this is NOT a Christian world we live in. And while my beliefs might indicate that I should pray, I do not think it is right to enforce this on others. There will of course be areas set aside if individuals want to pray or read the Bible, as well as elective religion education classes if they want (not in all schools though - as nice as that would be, funding just is not possible). * I would not teach Abstinence in sex-education (at least not on its own). I would put abstinence in as one aspect of sex-education. But I would also implement safe-sex discussions. Let's face it - even if we teach abstinence, many will not do that. They will go and have sex regardless. And the statistics prove that teaching abstinence does not lower sexual activity, it only raises teen pregnancy (because of ignorance of safe-sex practices). The only viable answer to teen pregnancy is better awareness of contraception. It is sad that this is the case, but it is a fact. America's Faith-based abstinence programs for sex education just do not work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emily~Anne Posted November 14, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 146 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 2,308 Content Per Day: 0.36 Reputation: 6 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/11/2006 Status: Offline Author Share Posted November 14, 2007 One concern I would have if we put prayer back in schools, is the wiccans, buddhists and etc. may insist on equal prayer time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forrestkc Posted November 14, 2007 Group: Royal Member Followers: 0 Topic Count: 114 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 4,015 Content Per Day: 0.60 Reputation: 8 Days Won: 1 Joined: 12/15/2005 Status: Offline Share Posted November 14, 2007 One concern I would have if we put prayer back in schools, is the wiccans, buddhists and etc. may insist on equal prayer time. Prayer is not out of schools. Anyone can pray in school during their free time. We just don't have school led prayer in class rooms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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