Multani's Political Corner 6: Improving Education

[Multani]

The long awaited Multani's Political Corner 6 has arrived!
It is ironic that this month's topic has a relation to the place we all just got out of a few weeks ago: school.
How do you think education should be improved?
Whether it's year-round schooling or more budget for education programs, discuss your opinions!
Happy debating!

Note: Please refrain from personal insults, and excessive profanity....

 

[Jaws10387]

Actually, not everyone is out yet. We have 9 more days up here.
Here it would help most if our school district had more money. They want a new high school and they can't afford it. And all the tax override votes fail ect. Now most of the people I know who go there wish it would burn down so they could have a better school.

 

[Thallid Ice Cream Man]

Education gets something like .5% of the national budget, which is very very bad.

Part of the reason that our society is so messed up is that the education system sucks.

 

[Gerode]

10 more days until freedom for me

My school district doesn't seem to manage its money too effectively. I don't think the computers need to be replaced every year.

I don't know what year-round schooling would solve.

 

[Cateran Emperor]

12 days until I can leave.

I'm just sitting this one out. My life is politics, and as such this isn't what I come here to see.

 

[Hetemti]

As Arnold said in Kindergarden Cop: "You lack discipline!"

We need teachers who are allowed to smack troublemakers upside the head. The more paddles a kid gets in elementary, the less problems they'll give you in the higher levels.

 

[Killer Joe]

Check this out: How about the public starts realizing that you can't get the best teacher candidates when you offer a non-competetive salary. How about we reward our best and brightest High School graduates with full-time scholarships if they enter the education field. It's amazing to me that the public wants school teachers to be everything to their kids but don't want the local government to pony up on the money.
Want your school district not to hire some loser teacher(s) who don't care about kids and teaching? Make the job a competetive wage opportunity. That would weed out the alot of "Bad" teachers.
Concerned about discipline in the classroom? Hire a great teacher and that should solve about 80% of the discipline problems (there are just some Bad Seeds out there so 100% is impossible ). If kids don't like a teacher, chances are it isn't the kids fault, it's the mundane personality of the teacher, a great teacher keeps the students engaged not only in classwork, but on a one to one basis as well.
Ask Almindhra, she'll tell you that I touched base with all of my students, even the "Unpopular" kids. Kids, parents, and people in general, just want to know that someone cares and will listen to them, and that's what makes a great teacher.
So my answer is, MONEY!!!!! Stop paying and treating teachers like second class citizen's, for Christ's sakes, they're suppose to be our best and brightest!

 

[nodnarb24]

Two more days for me, then finals.

I think the budget should increase, and use some of it to increase salaries. This year 8 teachers are retiring, that is 8 slots that need to be filled and how are they going to fill it if nobody wants to do it for junk pay.

 

[Multani]

If you ask me, I think that students and teachers need to have a more active role in school activities, planning, etc.
And I also think that parents need to have more legal leverage over school, and education issues. Take for example the date of opening classes.
I believe parents, students, as well as the district should have a loud clear voice over such issues. My district starts school the second of August, the hottest part of the year in Dallas. Some parents have voiced concerns, but their concerns fell on deaf ears.
As it is, parents have very little true influence over schools, and I think that this is most unfair and most un-democratic.
After all, it is parents whose tax money keeps schools running isn't it?
My solution or at least my part of a solution, is to give parents as well as students more than a token representation in school affairs.

 

[Spiderman]

I pretty much agree with YJ. How are you going to attract the best candidates when you can make more money somewhere else with less aggravation? The tech market especially, despite the current downturn in the economy. One of my friends started out as a high school teacher making like $30,000. He switched into database management and 3 years later is making $90,000.

I slightly also agree with Multani, but that probably needs to be explored a bit more. One thing teachers are complaining is that some parents get TOO involved in "teaching" and that just wrecks the system. Too many cooks... either get in the teaching field yourself, home-school your kids, or leave it to those who actually got educated in it. And SUPPORT the teachers!

Starting times might be negotiable but I believe that most states have a required number of days for school and if you start later, you end later. So in your case, is it preferable to end later in June or July?

Yeah, parents give the tax money to school but that's why public education is FREE.

 

[Killer Joe]

Parent-Teacher-Association
I think parents ought to be more involved, however, it's the parents with personal only agenda's that make it bad. Commumnity members of all facets should be involed too, local bussineses, local public servants, etc.... I'm not a big Hillary fan but it does take a village to raise children.
For example, when I was in grade school (circa 1967), friggin' everyone in the whole neighborhood knew each other, and I grew up in the heart of the city. I remember the local butcher guy and the pretzel street vendor saying "Hi" to me each day on my way home from school (like something right out of a movie). The teachers were local community members too, I knew where a couple of my techers lived but that was normal then.
So there, want to have a say in what goes on in your district? Start a PTA, and remember, teachers and administartors are exactly like everybody else, they have families, friends, job, hobbies (MTG ), etc...They're not unapproachable and certainly not untouchable.

 

[Spiderman]

Yeah, but it seems more and more parents are going directly to thee teachers and working "outside of the system" if they have a problem.

But I agree, more involvement in the PTA would probably be better.