Testing Time of Year

[Non-Typical Solutions]

It has been fun to read the posts on this one......my wife teaches 5th grade and she is one of the best in the country. Probably puts in an average of 3-4 hours a day after the kids are gone. She never gives out an assignment that doesn't get a grade. Works really hard to hold kids/parents accountable for their education but she holds herself to an even higher standard.

 

As computers and digital have stormed our educational systems you will see more and more kids who have no interaction with real people and real things. When you can get an online degree in just about everything under the sun it becomes even more apparent that our kids will have fewer real life learning experiences.

 

How many of you with kids have become familiar with Beyond Textbooks or BT in your kids school? The theory is teachers will get all of the material needed from an online service that provides materials for the teacher. Lessons for teachers developed by teachers. Your school district is paying money to this company to provide materials online to your teachers and your schools have asked your teachers to use BT instead of "outdated" books.

 

Teaching to the test is not a new concept but with teacher salaries and school budgets attached to student scores the money flow has put pressure on teachers to spend more time teaching the test.

 

The business of education has become complex due to federal mandates with money dangling that is never actually given to the schools even though the law requires the schools to put programs into force.

 

There is no excuse for a bad teacher in the classroom but honestly, what is our excuse as parents who don't spend time teaching our own kids?

 

Which brings us back to the one thing we all enjoy and that is hunting.....a great platform for teaching our kids how to fold a tarp, read a clock that has hands ticking on it instead of digital, hygiene, care of our land and the animals that roam it, safety, respect and that holy word ethics.

[Ringer]

I think teaching is critical BUT there are dumb teachers and terrible parents. There are classrooms full of kids who speak Spanish as the primary language. There are the mentally challenged kids that have been forced into the mainstream. All create challenges for teachers as well as the other kids. My daughter taught 8th grade until one of her 14 year olds called her a f'ing C word in the classroom. The parents were brought in and they actually said that was not considered foul language in their home and Bobby was justified in using it.

 

She quit and did the flight attendant thing then worked at a hospital. Now she is a teacher for online home schoolers.They get all the proper equipment mailed to the home and interact with her daily as well as doing online testing where they are both on camera. My grandson was in public schools until the age of 10 and now is home schooled. He is testing well above his grade level and is well adjusted. That will be the way of the future if public schools fail to police bad teachers and buckle to the unions IMO.

 

I also don't like the latest ballot initiative to sell off more state land to give more money to the schools. Why not sell it all off? Maybe we get rid of the unions and fire the bad teachers so the rest can be rewarded properly based upon merit.

[Non-Typical Solutions]

My oldest son told me yesterday that the new pitcher for the Dbacks will make about $10,000.00 a pitch this year......you dangle some of that kind of money in front of education for teachers and you will get to pick from some pretty dam good people to teach school.

I think teaching is critical BUT there are dumb teachers and terrible parents.

 

Pretty true words spoken there.......

 

The state has pretty much thrown public education under the bus with funding......charter schools get money but don't have to jump through the same hoops as public schools. We(wife and I) have never belonged to a union so have never been part of whatever they do, in the state of AZ the union for teachers is weak in comparison to other states.

 

I get frustrated with the system.......especially when I don't get an elk tag!!!

[Ringer]

I didn't get an elk tag AND I quit dipping Skoal after 35 years so watch out. I understand the funding mess but until the good teachers get more and the bad teachers get canned I doubt anything will change. Just too much of a burden between parents that don't care until little Johnny gets into trouble or ones that could care less. I feel for public school teachers today. Spare the rod and spoil the child.

[Pine Donkey]

We have the pre test, then the test to see if we are ready for the test, then the practice test and finally the test. What we need is some rancher mentality...old ranchers know that weighing your cattle more doesn't put more weight on them!

[Hoss50]

There are bad teachers for sure, but there are not enough teachers to go around. There is a shortage of tea hers right now because nobody wants to teach anymore. They are underpaid and have to put up with too much crap. My wife wants to quit weekly.

 

The only thing she has ever wanted to do for a career is teach. She is ready to give it up because of they stuff she has to deal with on a daily basis from kids, parents, staff, and administration.

[Non-Typical Solutions]

There are bad teachers for sure, but there are not enough teachers to go around. There is a shortage of tea hers right now because nobody wants to teach anymore. They are underpaid and have to put up with too much crap. My wife wants to quit weekly.

 

The only thing she has ever wanted to do for a career is teach. She is ready to give it up because of they stuff she has to deal with on a daily basis from kids, parents, staff, and administration.

And this is reality for most teachers, love what they do but can't afford to teach and the daily barrage from kids, parents, staff and administration pushing the love right out of the job......